Ambulance in Bizerte

The canal and the mobile bridge, the first factor in any journey

The canal separates the city centre, the Old Port and the Corniche, to the north, from Zarzouna, Menzel Abderrahmen and Menzel Jemil, to the south. The A4 motorway from Tunis ends on the southern side, so the direct way into the centre is over the mobile bridge. The bridge is raised regularly to let ships through, and traffic stops while the manoeuvre takes place; at busy times, queues build up on both sides.

A new fixed bridge is under construction over the canal, and its opening has been announced for the end of 2027. Until then, we build this crossing into the departure time, especially when an appointment or a flight sets the time the patient must arrive.

Public hospitals in Bizerte and across the governorate

In Bizerte itself, Habib Bougatfa University Hospital is the city's main public facility, the point of departure or arrival for an admission, a consultation or a discharge after a hospital stay. The governorate also has regional hospitals in Menzel Bourguiba, Mateur and Ras Jebel, as well as local hospitals in El Alia, Utique, Sejnane and Joumine.

A patient may travel from Ras Jebel for tests in Bizerte, or be discharged from Habib Bougatfa to a specialist department in Tunis. Give us the name of the department, the expected discharge time and the person to contact: the crew then goes straight to the right building, without searching around the site.

Menzel Bourguiba, Mateur and the hinterland

Menzel Bourguiba, some twenty kilometres south of Bizerte, lies on the south-western shore of the lake, not far from Lake Ichkeul. Because the town sits south of the lake, well away from the canal, a transfer from its regional hospital to Tunis goes neither through central Bizerte nor over the mobile bridge.

Mateur, in the middle of a farming plain, and Sejnane and Joumine, further west, call for a different kind of preparation: distances grow longer and some homes stand well back from the main road. Outside built-up areas, describe the way in: the name of the douar, or hamlet, a landmark, and the state of the track if the house cannot be reached by a tarmac road.

To Tunis and Tunis-Carthage Airport on the A4

The A4 links Bizerte to Tunis with around fifty kilometres of motorway; from city to city, allow about 65 km and roughly an hour by road, longer when the approach to the capital is congested. This is the route for specialist consultations and for admissions to the university hospitals of Tunis.

The nearest airport is Tunis-Carthage, about 65 km away, roughly an hour by road. For a patient who is flying, the transport is timed around check-in and the airline's requirements: medical form, ground assistance, a wheelchair to the aircraft door. If the ticket shows Enfidha-Hammamet instead, the journey is considerably longer.

Indicative road times from Bizerte

These figures assume free-flowing traffic, without any wait at the mobile bridge and without the breaks the patient's condition may require:

• Tunis: about 65 km, roughly 1 h by road
• Tunis-Carthage Airport: about 65 km, about 1 h by road
• Enfidha-Hammamet Airport: about 180 km, about 2 h by road
• Sousse: about 210 km, about 2 h 30 by road
• Monastir: about 235 km, about 2 h 45 by road
• Sfax: about 335 km, about 3 h 45 by road

Towards the Sahel and Sfax, the route follows the A4 and then, once through Tunis, the A1; a rest stop can be planned along the way.

Summer on the Corniche and the coast

Its beaches make Bizerte a very popular destination in summer, both for people from the region and for Tunisian holidaymakers. The streets around the Corniche, the Old Port and the lanes of the nearby medina are then often congested. On the eastern coast of the governorate, Ras Jebel, Rafraf and Ghar El Melh also draw large numbers of summer visitors.

During this period, give us a pick-up point that can be reached with a stretcher: the main entrance of the hotel, the car park of the residence, the point closest to the beach that a vehicle can reach. In the medina, a nearby meeting point accessible by car saves everyone time.

Arranging a transport to or from Bizerte

Call EMS or message us on WhatsApp with the pick-up address, which side of the canal it is on, the destination, the date and the arrival time you need. Add the patient's condition: mobility, oxygen, drip, need for monitoring. The level of escort, whether ambulance crew, nurse or doctor, is decided on the basis of this information and the instructions of the medical team.

A dedicated coordinator calls you back in under 10 minutes and sends you a quote before anything is confirmed. In a life-threatening emergency, your first call should still be to the SAMU (190): EMS is a private service and does not replace the public emergency services.