Tunis-Carthage Airport (TUN): Arrivals Guide, Transport & Car Rental

Tunis-Carthage International Airport (TUN) is the country's main gateway and the one most business travellers and city visitors use. It sits only about 8 km north-east of the centre of Tunis, between the capital and the coastal suburbs of La Marsa and Gammarth, so the city is close enough to start your trip within minutes of leaving the terminal. This guide explains where the airport is, how long the usual journeys take, the ways to get into town, what to have ready if you intend to drive, and how departures work.

VIPCAR's head office is at Les Berges du Lac 2, about ten minutes from the airport, and our agents deliver cars in the arrivals hall at TUN every day. The guide is written for any traveller landing there, whether you rent with us or not.

The airport lies on the northern shore of the Lake of Tunis. Distances are short, but the capital's traffic is not: a journey that takes 15 minutes at night can take 40 at eight in the morning. Typical times by car outside rush hour:

Tunis-Carthage is busy and compact rather than large: everything is on foot, and the car park and the taxi rank are right outside the terminal doors.

After passport control, baggage claim and customs you walk into the public arrivals hall, which is where taxi drivers, hotel representatives and rental agents wait. Have your passport and your accommodation details ready for immigration. The hall has exchange counters and cash machines: the Tunisian dinar cannot be bought abroad, so change or withdraw your first dinars here. Mobile operators have counters in the arrivals area; a local SIM with data costs little and is worth it if you plan to drive with a map app.

Four options cover almost every arrival. Which one is right depends on where you are going and how long you are staying.

VIPCAR has no counter inside the terminal, and you never queue at one: the car is reserved on WhatsApp with a fixed quote, you give us your flight number, our agent follows the actual landing time and waits in the arrivals hall with a sign bearing your name. The contract is signed on the spot, the deposit is held on your card, you check the car together and drive off from the car park outside. Full details, live prices for every car and answers to the usual questions are on our car hire at Tunis-Carthage airport page. What to have ready:

Every rental includes 300 km per day, accumulated over the rental, basic third-party insurance and full-to-full fuel; there is no airport or night surcharge at TUN. For a trip that ends in the south, one-way rentals to Gabès or Djerba cost €70–€100 depending on the route.

Leaving the car park, signs point one way to La Marsa and the northern suburbs and the other to Tunis centre and the motorways. For Les Berges du Lac, La Marsa, Gammarth and Sidi Bou Saïd you are there in minutes. For Hammamet, Nabeul and the Cap Bon, follow signs for the A1 motorway south; it is a toll road paid in cash at the booths, so keep a few dinars handy. For Bizerte, take the A4 north. Set the map app before leaving the car park, keep the contract in the glovebox, and take the capital's roundabouts gently on day one: expect vehicles to enter without stopping.

Fuel stations are everywhere in Greater Tunis and along the motorway; fuel is paid in cash or by card. Our driving in Tunisia guide covers rules, speed limits and the road to the south.

Arrive two to three hours before an international flight; security and passport queues vary a lot with the time of day. Returning a VIPCAR car is simple: agree the time on WhatsApp the day before, the agent meets you at the departures level, checks the car with you, closes the contract, and the deposit is released once the car is inspected. Bring the car back full-to-full, with the same fuel level as at delivery. Collection is free at any hour, including for a six o'clock flight; if your flight changes, tell us and we move the time. Taxis and transfers drop you at the departures level.

Tunis-Carthage is a good starting point for the whole country. Hammamet and the Cap Bon are an hour away, with hotel delivery possible for those who prefer to collect the car later (car rental in Hammamet); Bizerte and the northern coast an hour; Kairouan and El Jem two to three hours; the south a full day. One-way rentals to Gabès or Djerba let you fly home from Djerba airport; our Djerba airport guide covers that end of the trip.