Exercise caution — there are real risks that travellers should plan around. Political freedoms are limited and travellers should be mindful of local sensitivities.
Regional breakdown
The main coastal resorts sit outside the zones with the strongest warnings. This includes Tunis, Hammamet, Sousse, Monastir and the island of Djerba. These places anchor the long-running UK package-holiday market. Neither government uses against-all-travel language for them. Both governments still flag a background terrorism risk across the country. They warn that groups keep plotting attacks on hotels, resorts, transport hubs and markets. So the lower warning level on the coast is relative, not absolute. The stricter language is geographic. The official advisory guidance warns against all travel to Chaambi Mountains National Park, the militarised zones at Mount Salloum. Mount Sammamma and Mount Mghila, the area within 20 km of the Libyan border north of Dhehiba. And Ben Guerdane town. It warns against all but essential travel to areas north and west of Ghardimaou in Jendouba. Within 20 km of the Algerian border in El Kef and Jendouba, the Kasserine Governorate including Sbeitla. And within 75 km of the Libyan border. Zarzis and the C118 road are excluded. The official advisory guidance uses a 16 km buffer along both borders. It names Tabarka and Ain Draham as exceptions. It also flags Mount Orbata in Gafsa and the desert south of Remada.
Recent advisory changes
The official advisory guidance updated its Tunisia page on 23 February 2026. The regional limits stayed the same through that update. The UK cites cross-border terrorist activity, Tunisian security operations in the interior, and ongoing fighting in Libya near the southern border. The official advisory guidance reissued its advisory on 23 October 2024 at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution. It gives terrorism as the main reason. It uses the same border buffers and named mountain zones. Neither government has tightened its advice because of the Iran-related regional conflict. Tunisia sits far from that area. The live advisory texts do not link events further east to conditions inside Tunisia. There has been no ordered departure of US government staff. There has been no change to the overall level. Travellers comparing Tunisia with other Wave 1 destinations should read it as a country where the listed concerns are long-standing and tied to specific places. They are not driven by a recent escalation.
What travellers should know
The picture is about knowing the map, not avoiding the country. Standard coastal resort trips through Tunis, Hammamet, Sousse, Monastir and Djerba sit outside the higher-warning interior and border zones. That is the main reason Tunisia still works for European leisure travel. Travellers planning routes through Kasserine, Jendouba, the southern desert. Or the Libyan and Algerian frontier should read official advisory guidance regional list and the US buffer distances directly. The named exclusions and the kilometre figures are specific. Check them before locking in a route. Background terrorism risk runs through both texts. Both name hotels, transport hubs, museums, markets and religious sites as possible targets. Standard steps apply. Keep ID and accommodation details to hand. Register with a home government travel service if one exists. Watch local media. Stay away from demonstrations and large political gatherings, which can shift fast. Travellers should also check that any inland trips, especially desert or mountain ones, do not enter the named national parks or militarised zones. Expect security checks in border governorates.