Hi All,

I have just returned from a nice 4-day trip to Mahdia and I would like to update everyone on the formalities, safety and berthing status:

– formalities: We were asked to moor alongside attached to a large tourist boat at the police dock. Everything went smooth with our varied group of nationalities (Italian, Japanese, French, USA registered boat, etc). The customs officers visited the boat but no sign of backshish requests, everyone was pleasant and polite. Everything was done in about 1h which I think is pretty good to Mediterranean police standards.

– safety: for the whole time we felt very safe, just a mid-size fisherman harbour and beach town. Everyone was nice and welcoming. Most people commented they were badly hurt by the terrorist reputation as tourists are very rare now. No signs of beggars or other characters trying to take advantage of tourists, most transportation prices were publicly written and no extra charge added.

– Berthing: there is a new marina supposedly under construction, just out of town, but things seem to be still far from complete. The only place available for cruisers is the police dock, very safe but quite small. Not sure what happens if tourists return, they will probably do their best to accomodate as many as they can.

Bottom line: I highly recommend a trip, especially if you were put off by safety issues so far.