The short answer: Alcohol is legal in Tunisia, for Tunisians and visitors alike, from the age of 18. It is sold in the big supermarket chains (from a separate room, roughly noon to 6:30 pm, and not on Fridays), served without fuss in hotels and licensed restaurants and bars, and almost invisible everywhere else. Tunisia is not a dry country; it is a discreet one. During Ramadan, which in 2027 runs from about 8 February to 9 March, supermarket sales stop and most bars close, with tourist hotels the exception. Drink in licensed places and private homes, never in the street, and you will have no trouble at all.
Tunisia is a Muslim-majority country and one of North Africa’s most popular destinations, with a record eleven million visitors in 2025, which makes it Africa’s third most-visited country after Morocco and Egypt.
For travellers from Europe, North America and beyond, that raises a practical question: can you drink here, and how do you do it without causing offence? This guide covers everything from where to buy a bottle of Celtia to which Tunisian wines to seek out, what it all costs, and what changes during the fasting month.
Is Alcohol Legal in Tunisia?
Yes. Buying and drinking alcohol is fully legal for both Tunisians and foreigners. The country has produced wine since Carthage, brews the most beer in the Maghreb, and taxes the whole business enthusiastically. That said, sales are heavily regulated, and the regulations are not posted anywhere, so here is what you need to know.
The drinking age is 18
The legal age to buy and drink alcohol in Tunisia is 18. Supermarkets and bars rarely ask for ID from visitors who look like adults, but the rule exists and hotels apply it.
No supermarket sales on Fridays
Friday is the Muslim day of communal prayer, and supermarkets close their alcohol section all day. Hotels and licensed restaurants and bars are the exception and serve as normal.
Limited daily hours
Even on days alcohol is sold, the supermarket “alcohol rooms” generally operate from around noon to 6:30 pm. Plan ahead; the queue at 6:15 on a Thursday is a Tunisian institution.
Heavy restrictions during Ramadan
During the fasting month, supermarket alcohol sales stop almost entirely, and only a limited number of restaurants and bars, mostly inside hotels catering to foreign tourists, continue to serve. The next Ramadan runs from about 8 February to 9 March 2027, then moves eleven days earlier each year. For what else changes during the month, see our Ramadan in Tunisia guide.
Public intoxication is illegal
Public drunkenness, drinking on streets or in parks, and being visibly intoxicated in public are all prohibited and can result in a fine or a night in a cell. Tunisia’s public decency laws are interpreted broadly, and during Ramadan daylight hours even eating, drinking water or smoking in the street can draw attention.
Where to Buy Alcohol in Tunisia
Alcohol is significantly harder to find in Tunisia than in Europe or North America. You won’t see it in small corner shops or convenience stores. Look instead for:
Large supermarket chains
The major chains are your most reliable bet. Alcohol is sold from a separate, screened-off back room with its own hours, and sometimes a security guard at the door: Carrefour (large branches in Tunis on the La Marsa highway, Sousse and Sfax), Géant (including the branch on the road to Bizerte) and selected Monoprix stores, including Menzah 6. Availability varies branch by branch, even within the same chain; when in doubt, call ahead or ask locally. Prices are in dinars and cards work at the chains; the currency guide explains the rates and why you can’t buy dinars before you fly.
Hotels and resorts
Most mid- to upper-range hotels, particularly the all-inclusive resorts in Hammamet, Sousse, Port El Kantaoui and Djerba, serve alcohol at their bars and restaurants without restriction, Ramadan being the main exception.
Licensed restaurants and bars
Many higher-end restaurants in Tunis, La Marsa, Carthage, Sidi Bou Said, Sousse, Hammamet and Djerba serve wine and spirits, and some allow you to bring your own bottle. For special occasions, call ahead; selection and policy vary. Our guide to where to eat in Tunis notes which places are licensed.
What’s Available: Beer, Wine and Spirits
Beer
Celtia is by far Tunisia’s dominant brand, a 5 percent pale lager brewed locally since the 1950s; you’ll see it everywhere alcohol is sold. Other Tunisian options like Berber and 33 Export show up occasionally, alongside imported European lagers. The selection is more limited than a typical European supermarket, and the craft-beer scene is virtually non-existent. Tunisia nonetheless brews more beer than any other country in the region, almost all of it Celtia.
Wine
Tunisia has one of the oldest winemaking traditions in the Mediterranean, dating back nearly 3,000 years to Phoenician Carthage. The modern industry covers around 14,000 to 15,000 hectares of vineyards, mostly in Cap Bon, and produces roughly 30 million bottles a year. A few labels worth tasting: Magon, the flagship red, named after the Carthaginian agronomist who literally wrote the book on viticulture; Vieux Magon and the other reds from Les Vignerons de Carthage, the cooperative responsible for about two-thirds of national production; and Domaine Neferis, Château Defleur and Selian, quality producers gaining international attention.
Tunisia has seven AOC-protected regions, and over 60 percent of production is rosé, a legacy of French winemaking. The reds, built on Syrah, Carignan, Mourvèdre and Grenache, are increasingly the standout category. The Tunisian wine guide covers the regions, the grapes and the labels worth carrying home.
Local spirits: boukha and Thibarine
Two distinctly Tunisian spirits worth trying. Boukha is a clear fig brandy, traditionally drunk as an aperitif or digestif, originally produced by Tunisia’s Jewish community and now found wherever alcohol is sold; our full guide to boukha tells the story and names the good bottles. Thibarine is a date liqueur with warm herbal notes, named after the Thibar region in the northwest. Both make memorable souvenirs, and a sealed bottle in checked luggage goes home without trouble, subject to your own country’s limits.
Imported spirits
Whisky, vodka, gin and the rest are available at larger supermarkets and licensed venues. Selection narrows sharply outside major cities, and prices on imports run well above European levels because of tax.
What Alcohol Costs in Tunisia
Local beer and wine are cheap by European standards; imports are not. As a rough 2026 guide, a 33cl Celtia is around 2.5 to 3 dinars in a supermarket, 5 to 8 in a bar, and 10 or more in a hotel. A bottle of Magon or another decent Tunisian red is 15 to 25 dinars in a supermarket and 40 to 70 in a restaurant; rosé a little less. Boukha is 25 to 40 dinars a bottle. A bottle of imported whisky or gin starts around 80 dinars and climbs quickly. The cost of living guide puts these beside everything else.
Drinking in Public: What’s Acceptable
Public drinking in Tunisia operates on a clear divide between licensed venues and public spaces.
Acceptable: hotels and resorts (any time, Ramadan excepted in some venues); licensed bars and restaurants; beach bars and beachside restaurants inside tourist zones; private homes and rentals.
Not acceptable: drinking on the street, in parks or on public non-resort beaches; visible intoxication anywhere in public; drinking openly in conservative neighbourhoods, small towns, or during Ramadan daylight hours.
The unwritten rule: alcohol is private. Tunisians who drink generally do so discreetly, and visitors are expected to do the same. Alcohol is one of the few areas where law and custom diverge; the Tunisian culture and etiquette guide covers the rest of them.
The “Tourist Zone Bubble”
Spending time in resorts and Westernised neighbourhoods can give visitors the false impression that Tunisia is permissive about alcohol everywhere. It isn’t. Tourism contributes roughly 14 percent of GDP and brought in a record 7.9 billion dinars in 2025, so the country has every incentive to keep the tourist zones welcoming, and locals in Hammamet, Sousse and Djerba refer openly to “the zone”, where bikinis on the beach and a cocktail by the pool are entirely normal.
Step outside it, into a small town, a working-class neighbourhood or a rural area, and expectations shift sharply. What’s acceptable inside the resort isn’t acceptable on a public beach two hundred metres down the coast. The same logic applies to drinking: a glass at your hotel or in a licensed restaurant and no one will blink; a residential street with an open beer and you’re asking for trouble.
Tunisians and Alcohol: A Quiet Coexistence
Islam prohibits alcohol, and the majority of Tunisians abstain. Attitudes remain broadly conservative, particularly outside the big cities. That said, Tunisia has long had a more secular and cosmopolitan urban culture than its neighbours. In Tunis, La Marsa, Sousse and Sfax, drinking among educated, secular Tunisians is fairly common, usually behind closed doors or in licensed venues; wine bars in La Marsa and Gammarth, lounge bars in downtown Tunis, and a small but growing cocktail scene are all part of modern Tunisian life.
Most Tunisians, drinkers and abstainers alike, take a live-and-let-live approach, provided drinking happens privately and respectfully. The religion in Tunisia guide explains how that balance works.
Nightlife in Tunisia
Bars and nightclubs exist but are concentrated in the coastal cities and tourist destinations: Tunis and La Marsa (rooftop bars, lounge bars and hotel bars around Berges du Lac and the La Marsa corniche); Hammamet and Yasmine Hammamet (resort-driven nightlife); Sousse and Port El Kantaoui (beach clubs and hotel bars); Djerba (resort nightlife along the Aghir–Midoun strip); and Sidi Bou Said (a handful of upscale wine bars with sea views).
Outside these areas, evenings follow the traditional Tunisian script: hours in a café over mint tea or coffee, often with shisha. It’s worth experiencing; café culture is a cornerstone of Tunisian social life and just as enjoyable in its own way as bar-hopping.
Bringing Alcohol Into Tunisia
Tunisian customs allow travellers over 18 a personal allowance of either two litres of wine or beer or one litre of spirits, not both. Declare anything above that, and check the current limits before you fly, because they change; the customs rules guide has the full list of what you can and can’t bring in.
Safety Considerations
Petty crime, pickpocketing, bag-snatching and taxi overcharging, does happen in Tunisia, particularly in nightlife areas, and alcohol increases your vulnerability. Use licensed yellow taxis when heading home from bars, confirm the meter is running or agree a price before you get in (Uber and Bolt do not operate in Tunisia; the local app inDrive does, cash only), don’t carry large amounts of cash or flash valuables, and stay aware of your surroundings late at night. The taxi guide covers fares and the night rate, and for the wider picture see Is Tunisia Safe?
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. It is legal for anyone over 18, sold in supermarkets and served in hotels, licensed restaurants and bars.
No. Alcohol is legal, produced locally and widely available in cities and resorts. It is simply sold and drunk discreetly, and not at all in the street.
Yes, in hotels, licensed venues and private accommodation. The same rules apply to tourists and Tunisians.
18.
Yes. The capital has the country’s best bars, most of them in La Marsa, Gammarth, Berges du Lac and the better downtown hotels, and every large supermarket sells alcohol except on Fridays.
Most don’t; a sizeable urban minority does, privately or in licensed venues. Tunisia produces about 30 million bottles of wine a year and most of it is drunk at home.
In the big supermarket chains, from a separate room, roughly noon to 6:30 pm, and not on Fridays or during Ramadan. Not in corner shops.
Local beer and wine are cheap; imported spirits are expensive. A Celtia is a few dinars, a bottle of Tunisian red 15 to 25 in a supermarket.
Only in a handful of tourist hotels. Supermarket sales stop and most bars close for the month.
The Bottom Line
Drinking in Tunisia is legal, manageable and, if you take the time to explore the local wine and spirits, genuinely rewarding. Know where: hotels, licensed venues or your own accommodation. Know when: not on Fridays at supermarkets, and with major restrictions during Ramadan. Drink discreetly, especially outside the tourist zones. And try something local: a glass of Magon, a sunset Celtia, a post-dinner boukha.
Tunisia has far more to offer than what’s at the hotel bar; the medinas, the desert, the Roman ruins, the food and the people are the picture, and the alcohol question is one small piece of it. The planning guide is where the rest begins.
From the Carthage Magazine Bookshelf
If you’re planning to drink your way politely through Tunisia, these three will help with everything else.
- All About Tunisia — the definitive English-language traveler’s guide. 572 pages, 27 chapters, all nine regions, every UNESCO inscription, five thematic trails — and the practical answers (visa, currency, transport, etiquette) most travelers wish they’d had on the plane. $24.99 · PDF & EPUB.
- Speak Like a Local — 200+ Tunisian Arabic phrases with native audio recorded in Tunis. The phrases for the taxi, the souk, the café, and the dinner table. $14.99 · PDF, EPUB, MP3.
- The Authentic Tunisian Cookbook — sixty traditional recipes from the heart of North Africa. For when you get home and find yourself missing the food. $9.99 · PDF & EPUB.
All three available as a bundle for $39.99 — guide, language, and food, delivered together.
1 comment
I am a major contributor to the Tunisia Holiday Forum on Trip Advisor
I am Scottish,but as a long time visitor to Tunisia, i now try to share my experiences with others and give help advice.
Alcohol questions are asked often
Is it ok? Where to buy? when to buy, How much ? Will it offend Tunisians? Things like that,
May i have your permission to use some of the alcohol advice written here on the Trip Advisor forum and i will acknowledge the source
Regards Mick