BudgetTravel

The Real Deal Round-trip airfare, 14 nights' accommodations, 30 meals, guided sightseeing tours, and local transportation by bus and plane, from $2,695 per person—plus an estimated $119 in taxes.

When Dec. 12, 2008; add $200 for Nov. 28, 30, and Dec. 18, 26; $300 for Dec. 14, 21; $500 for Oct. 5, 6, 13, 19, 20, 24, 27, and Nov. 2, 3, 9. There are also departures in 2009.

Tiled archway and minoret of the Great Mosque (Michele Burgess/Corbis)

Gateways Boston and New York City; add from $200 for Chicago; from $300 for L.A., Miami, Seattle; additional cities available.

The Fine Print Hotel taxes, 30 meals, local transportation, airport-hotel transfers, and the services of an English-speaking guide are included. Additional taxes and fees total $119 per person and break down as follows: a transportation tax of $54, an international transportation tax of $31, an agricultural inspection fee of $5, a passenger facility charge of $16, a federal inspection fee of $7, and a custom user fee of $6. Based on double occupancy; single supplement is $350. U.S. citizens do not need a visa to travel in Tunisia. Read these guidelines before you book any Real Deal.

Book By No deadline; based on availability.

Contact Overseas Adventure Travel, 800/493-6824, oattravel.com.

Why It's a Deal A recent Kayak search yielded a mid-December round-trip flight between New York City and Tunisia for $929 (Alitalia). With this package, $1,766 more buys you 14 nights' accommodations, tours of each location, ground transportation by private air-conditioned bus, and a one-way flight between cities. Also consider that the price breaks down to about $179 per day, and you won't have to book anything yourself. OAT also guarantees small groups (10 to 16 passengers), so you'll have a more personal experience, and once reserved, the price is locked in—no pesky fuel surcharges will be added later.

Trip Details The Tunisia: From the Mediterranean to the Sahara package starts with an overnight flight to Tunis on Alitalia. Your trip leader will meet you at the airport and take you to the 47-room Tunisia Palace Hotel, your base for three nights. It's just a few steps from a local street market. You'll enjoy an included dinner with your fellow travel companions and get a little rest before your journey really begins.

In the morning, you'll set out on your full-day tour of Tunis. The architecture of the dynasties from the 12th through the 16th centuries remains intact, and you'll see it in the fountains, mosques, and palaces on the tour. You'll make a stop at the Bardo Museum, Tunisia's national museum of archaeology, packed with Roman mosaics and sarcophagi.

Next, you'll hit ancient Carthage, where you can admire scattered ruins and other sights of the once-powerful Phoenician city, a former trading post on the Mediterranean. The afternoon brings a visit to the North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial, a 27-acre site where almost 3,000 WWII soldiers are buried. Before returning to your hotel in Tunis for the night, stop at the coastal town Sidi Bou Said, on a hill with views of the Gulf of Tunis. Here you can shop in the galleries or just take in the view. Dinner is on your own in Tunis, as is the entire next day (or you can go on a $80 per person tour of Roman Dougga). You can put your bargaining skills to the test in the large souks, or street markets, throughout the city—be dazzled by gold jewelry, intricate carpets, and other goods and crafts.

Say goodbye to Tunis as you head northeast to the Cap Bon Peninsula. This is part of Tunisia is close to Europe and has similar vineyards and citrus groves and views of the Mediterranean. After lunch, you'll continue onwards to the sandy beaches of nearby Hammamet and then to the port city of Sousse, the capital of Sahel, the country's eastern coastal region. The influence of the early Islamic period (the 7th and 8th centuries) is still noticeable in Sousse, as you'll discover on your walking tour.

Next, you'll check in to the Abou Nawas Boujaafar, where you'll spend two nights. The 234-room hotel is close to the city's ribat, or fortified monastery. It also boasts indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a gym, beauty salon, and a sauna.