Kuriat Islands from Monastir: What the Yacht Trip Offers and What It Doesn't
Updated October 22, 2026 · 4 min read
The Kuriat Islands are worth a day if swimming in clear water and a lunch on an island appeal to you, and the yacht trip from Monastir is the one tour in the Sousse listings that goes there. It costs €69 per person, lasts 7 hours, and is rated 3.5 from 47 reviews, a weaker score than most trips on this site. Do not book it expecting to see turtles: the listing does not promise them.
What the trip offers
The listing describes a sail from Monastir to Kuriat Island on a yacht, with dolphin watching, a swim in clear water, a lunch on the island and information on the local wildlife. Monastir lies about 20 km south of Sousse, so ask when you book whether pickup from Sousse is possible or whether you have to get to the harbour yourself.
Check dates and prices for the yacht trip to Kuriat Island
Why the islands are known for turtles
The Kuriat archipelago is the main nesting site of the loggerhead turtle in Tunisia, with around forty nests a year according to conservation monitoring. The hatchlings emerge between August and October. That falls in the bathing season, and the islands are a protected area. A visit is therefore a visit to a sensitive place. Keep to marked areas, do not touch nests and follow the instructions of the crew or the conservation volunteers you may meet.
Seeing a hatchling or a turtle on the day is a matter of season and luck. The listing speaks of local wildlife, not of turtles, so the honest way to read it is as a beach day on an island that happens to be important for turtles.
The rating
A 3.5 from 47 reviews is the lowest of the boat trips with a meaningful number of reviews in Sousse and Monastir. We cannot say from the short description what lies behind that score, so read the recent reviews on the booking page, and look especially for comments on the food, the number of passengers and the timing.
What the listing leaves open
The short description does not state a minimum age, whether there is shade on the island, how many passengers come aboard, or when exactly the boat leaves and returns. Seven hours on and around a boat is a long time for small children and for anyone who is prone to seasickness. Those details are on the booking page, and with a family they are the first thing to read.
When to skip it
If you want a short and easy outing, the catamaran cruises from Port El Kantaoui take two to three hours and start closer to the Sousse hotels. If you want to understand the area’s history rather than swim, the Sousse medina and Ribat are a better use of the day.
Our recommendation
- For most people: the Kuriat trip only if you want a full beach-and-boat day and have read the recent reviews. Otherwise a shorter catamaran cruise.
- For turtles: go for the setting, not for a promise, and keep the rules of the protected area.
Other boat options are on the boat trips in Sousse page.
