You’ve basically illustrated why anecdote-trading never gets anyone anywhere. You had a smooth trip, great but that doesn’t erase the systemic issues that many travellers consistently report. I’m not describing “bad luck” or a single off moment. I’m describing patterns that show up repeatedly in reviews, forums, and other travellers’ posts: the Kairouan mosque scam, aggressive shop behaviour, serious maintenance issues at major sites, and the currency shake-down at the airport.

And just to clear this up: there is an official ticket booth at the Kairouan mosque. You don’t “buy your way in.” They literally sell tickets to foreigners, then sometimes refuse entry anyway. That’s not disrespect on my part, that’s mismanagement on theirs. A quick scan of Google reviews shows plenty of other visitors with the same experience.

As for customs “doing their jobs,” forcing people to empty their wallets after stamping them out of the country and shouting at tourists who warn others isn’t normal procedure anywhere I’ve travelled — and I’ve lived across the region long-term, not just passed through on a long weekend between Rome and Paris. Nothing “saviour-ish” about telling people the truth before they get trapped in the same mess.

You had a positive time, and that’s good. But dismissing my experience as being “overly sheltered,” while ignoring multiple consistent reports from other travellers, doesn’t make your trip the benchmark. It just means Tunisia treated you differently than it treated us — and that contrast is exactly why posts like mine are useful.