Tunisia (Monastir & Djerba)

The northern Tunisian coast and the Gulf of Gabès offer something genuinely different from the crowded western Mediterranean: warm, shallow water, a mostly benign summer wind pattern, and a shoreside culture that rewards the curious.

From Monastir's well-equipped marina — the obvious charter base, with reliable bareboat fleets and a handful of skippered options — you can work south past the Sahel littoral, crossing to Djerba in a straightforward day passage of around 80 nautical miles.

The prevailing summer wind is a moderate northerly or north-westerly, rarely punishing, though the Gulf of Gabès has famously small tidal ranges and some genuinely shallow approaches that demand attention to your chart plotter and a conservative draught.

Djerba itself is the prize. Anchor off the north coast near Houmt Souk, take the dinghy ashore, and spend an afternoon in the medina haggling for ceramics or tracing the old Jewish quarter. Inland roads lead to the Mos Espa set from the original Star Wars films, still standing and strange under the desert light.

The food is exceptional and cheap: brik pastry, merguez, and couscous eaten at pavement restaurants that barely register in tourist guides. Roman ruins at El Jem are a long taxi ride from Monastir but worth every dinar.

Paperwork is modest — a cruising permit is required and your charter company will handle the forms — but carry photocopies of everything. Provisioning in Monastir is solid for basics; stock wine and spirits before you leave, as availability becomes patchy further south.

Best months are June through September; avoid October onwards when short-lived but violent north-easterly storms, locally called chergui variants, can pin you in harbour for days.