Private ambulance in Djerba, 24/7

Houmt Souk, Midoun, Ajim: pinpointing the pick-up

Djerba is not a single town but an island divided into three delegations, and the address makes all the difference. Houmt Souk, on the north coast, is home to the port, the administrative offices and the regional hospital. Midoun, in the east, is the gateway to the resort area, which stretches for some twenty kilometres along the north-east coast, from Sidi Mahrez to Aghir. Ajim, in the south-west, is where the ferry leaves from, while El Kantara, in the south-east, marks the start of the causeway.

For a pick-up at a houch or a menzel, the traditional homesteads scattered across the interior of the island, a well-known landmark (a mosque, a school, a café) and a location shared on WhatsApp save the crew from hunting for the address along the narrow back roads.

El Kantara causeway or Ajim ferry: choosing the crossing

Two crossings link the island to the mainland, and the choice is made case by case.

• The El Kantara causeway, about 7 km long, reaches the mainland on the Zarzis side. It does not depend on any boarding, at the cost of a detour towards Medenine or Gabès.
• The Ajim–Jorf ferry crosses a strait about 2.5 km wide. Although it looks more direct on the map, it brings an unpredictable wait: in summer, the Tunisian press has repeatedly reported long lines of vehicles waiting to board, particularly when only one ferry was running.

For a patient who is lying down, on a drip or frail, a long queue in full sun often weighs more heavily than a detour. The EMS coordinator decides according to the season, the time of day and the patient's condition.

Houmt Souk hospital and transfers to the mainland

On the island, the Sadok Mokaddem Regional Hospital in Houmt Souk is the main public facility. Transfers to a specialist department on the mainland often start from its wards, and many holidaymakers leave it on discharge to return to their Midoun hotel or head for Djerba-Zarzis Airport.

On the mainland, the Habib Bourguiba University Hospital in Medenine, which gained two new university surgical departments in February 2026, receives some of these transfers: see our ambulance in Medenine page.

For a transfer from Houmt Souk, to Gabès, Sfax or Sousse for example, send us the discharging ward, the receiving ward, the time agreed with the care team and the medical report. The type of vehicle, a standard ambulance or medicalised transport, and the level of clinical escort are decided on the basis of this information.

Djerba-Zarzis International Airport

Djerba-Zarzis International Airport lies near Mellita, about 9 km west of Houmt Souk, which is roughly a quarter of an hour by road; from the hotels of Midoun, allow about half an hour by road instead.

Two kinds of request come up regularly: taking a sick or injured traveller to their flight home, or meeting a patient who has just landed and needs to reach a hospital, a clinic or their home. For a departure, give us the airline, the flight number and the check-in deadline; assistance in the terminal and on board must be requested from the airline. For an arrival, allow enough margin for passport control and baggage collection.

The Midoun resort area: pick-ups at the hotel

A good share of requests in Djerba concern holidaymakers: a fall by the pool, feeling unwell in the heat, or a discharge from hospital before the journey home.

For a pick-up without detours, give us the exact name of the hotel, the room number and the name of a member of staff who can be reached at reception. Have the patient's passport and travel insurance documents ready, together with the medical report written locally, if there is one.

A relative abroad, a travel agency or the traveller's insurer can make the request remotely, as long as someone on site confirms the address and meets the team on the day of the journey.

Indicative road times from Djerba

Since the Gabès–Medenine section opened in 2023, the A1 motorway has run without a break from Medenine to Gabès, Sfax, Sousse and Tunis. The times below start from Houmt Souk via the El Kantara causeway, excluding waiting time and breaks:

• Medenine: about 1 h 30 by road;
• Gabès: about 2 h 30 by road;
• Sfax: about 3 h 30 to 4 h by road;
• Sousse and Monastir: about 5 h to 5 h 30 by road;
• Tunis: about 7 h to 7 h 30 by road.

Taking the ferry shortens the drive to Medenine or Gabès when the queue is short. On long journeys, stops are planned for the patient and the person travelling with them. In summer, the influx of visitors adds to the traffic on the island, and the departure time we suggest takes this into account.

Arranging a transport from or to Djerba

Requests are taken 24 hours a day, by phone or on WhatsApp. Give us the exact pick-up point on the island (hotel, home, hospital or airport), the destination, the preferred date, the patient's condition (seated, lying down, on oxygen) and whether someone will travel with them. A dedicated coordinator calls you back in under 10 minutes to go over the route, choose the crossing and send you a quote before anything is confirmed.

For a scheduled departure, a request made the day before leaves time to plan the route properly. EMS remains a private medical transport service: in a life-threatening emergency, call the SAMU on 190 first.