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side·track (sīd´trăk): n. 1. A diversion from the main course. 2. A detour taken with children that you would never, ever take without them.

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Who and What:
My husband, our two kids (7 and 4) and I.  A visit to the (spectacular) locations in the Tunisian Sahara where scenes from Star Wars were filmed.

Why:
We were in northern Tunisia and decided to fly to southern Tunisia, where we could organize a desert trip of special interest to our 7-year-old Star Wars fanatic.

The High Point:
Visiting Ksar Haddada, one of the whimsical structures which once stored grain and served as a trading post for itinerant Berber merchants and the mostly uninhabited Berber town of Chenini, carved into the rocks and perched dramatically over the desert. Riding a camel through the stunning Eastern Erg, with its dramatic, wind-swept sand dunes as far as the eye can see.

The Low Point:
Reaching places of interest in the desert means lots of bumpy, off-track desert driving in a jeep. The stunning landscape is extremely impressive. Unfortunately, our youngest son is prone to motion sickness and, well – you guessed it. Definitely the low point of an otherwise perfect day.

The Kids’ Take:
“Wow!”and “Cool!” were what we heard most. Our Star Wars fan loved seeing scenes from Luke Skywalker’s home planet and Annakin Skywalker’s slave quarters on the planet of Tatooine (named for the Tunisian desert town of the same name). Both kids were enthusiastic about riding a camel through the desert and running up and down the sand dunes at full speed.

The Adults’  Take:
My husband and I  certainly do not share in this obsession with all things related to a galaxy far, far away.  Still, it was an amazing experience for the entire family – and it also happens to be the location where those beautiful desert scenes in The English Patient were shot.

The Bottom Line: You definitely can’t do this trip on your own, with tough driving conditions over lots of unmarked paths through rocky desert. Hire a good driver and a guide. There are many tour agencies that can arrange your itinerary – we were pleased with Experience It Tours .

We’ll definitely be back in a few years to take a longer, 4 to 5-day camel ride through the desert, camping out in Berber tents along the way. The kids are already holding us to this. Let’s just hope our littlest desert explorer overcomes his motion sickness by then…

January 22nd, 2010 | by Kimberly Sullivan 10 comments