Choosing Gulf International Shipping as your shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia means our crew picks up your furniture, cartons, trade goods and eligible car anywhere in the Kingdom and trucks them to Jeddah Islamic Port; there the container boards a ship heading north through Suez to a relay port on the Mediterranean, and a smaller feeder vessel takes it on to Radès, Sfax or Sousse; once Tunisian customs releases it, we deliver to the door anywhere in Tunisia. Plan on roughly 5–7 weeks from your door to the consignee’s for a dedicated container, and 6–8 weeks when sharing one, while an air parcel arrives in 3–7 days on the nonstop flights from Jeddah to Tunis-Carthage. Our starting prices are SAR 92 for a small parcel, SAR 17 per kg by air, SAR 1,655 for a complete bedroom, SAR 5,520 for a 20 ft container and SAR 7,360 for a 40 ft container.
This guide is for the Tunisian family packing up after years in Riyadh, Jeddah or Al-Khobar, for the student sending books and clothes home, and for the trader exporting Saudi goods to the Tunisian market. It sets out the route a container really takes rather than the short promises found in many adverts, the expected time from each Saudi city, the starting price for each item, what Tunisian customs asks of returning residents and car owners, and the practical steps to book.
At a glance
- How it travels: container ships leaving Jeddah Islamic Port, with planes for urgent parcels; no road route to Tunisia exists
- Arrival ports: Radès (the main container port near Tunis), Sfax, Sousse, and Bizerte depending on the shipping line
- Door to door: 5 to 7 weeks for a full container, 6 to 8 weeks for groupage, plus 3–5 days for southern towns
- Air freight: daily nonstop flights from Jeddah to Tunis-Carthage, delivery in 3–7 days, from SAR 17 per kg
- Prices: small parcel from SAR 92, 10–20 kg carton from SAR 230, bedroom from SAR 1,655, 20 ft container from SAR 5,520
- Cars: under the FCR scheme for Tunisians living abroad, car no older than 5 years, shipped inside a closed container
- Customs: Tunisian VAT is 19% on new items; returning residents get a one-time allowance of up to 50,000 dinars per family
Route: your Saudi home → Jeddah → Suez → transshipment stop → Radès / Sfax / Sousse → your Tunisian address · Time: 5–7 weeks · Contact: 0568829975
How long does shipping from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia really take?
Sea freight from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia with Gulf International Shipping needs roughly 30 to 47 days when you book a whole container, the exact figure hinging on which Saudi city loads it, and 40 to 55 days for groupage. That is longer than the 6 or 10 days promised on many pages, because those pages count only the sailing time, or guess it. Our figures cover the whole move: from the moment the first carton is wrapped in your home until the last piece is unloaded at your family’s house in Tunisia.
The trip is made of five back-to-back stages. First comes the inland haul from your city to Jeddah, one to three days. Second, Saudi export formalities and waiting for the vessel cut-off, 3 to 7 days. Third, the voyage from Jeddah through Suez to the Mediterranean transshipment port, about 10 days. Fourth, waiting for the feeder and the short hop to the Tunisian port, 5 to 12 days. Fifth, Tunisian customs and delivery, 4 to 10 days. Add those together and a container needs at least five weeks.
Groupage is slower because the shared box waits in Jeddah until enough customers’ goods fill it, and in Tunisia it is stripped in a shared warehouse before each consignment is handed over. Anyone living in Gabès, Médenine, Djerba, Tataouine or Tozeur should add 3–5 days for the road from the port. Anyone working to a flight date or a new school term should book about two months early and fly out the first week’s essentials.
Plan in weeks, not days
If your final exit visa or the end of your lease is a month away, start packing and booking now. The container usually lands weeks after you do, so carry what you need for the first days in your luggage and send urgent essentials as an air parcel.
Is there road freight from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia?
No. Some older pages, including earlier pages on well-known shipping sites, mention “land shipping” and “land border crossings” to Tunisia, but no such service exists. The two countries are thousands of kilometres and several borders apart, and no regular truck service crosses them with household loads. The workable options are the sea for furniture, cars and large volumes, and the air for small parcels, documents and light valuables.
At Gulf International Shipping the truck works only at either end: from your home in the Kingdom to Jeddah port, and from the Tunisian port to the delivery address. Everything between the two ports is covered by the container at sea. Being clear about this matters because it sets both the price and the timeline, and because a company that sells you “road freight to Tunisia” will end up using the sea anyway, only after promising you a date it cannot meet.
Three questions that expose a vague advert
Before paying anyone, ask: which Saudi port will the container leave from? Which Tunisian port will it be unloaded at? How many weeks door to door? If the answer is “by road” or “one week”, the company does not know the route.
The container route from Jeddah Islamic Port to Radès
Your container leaves the quay at Jeddah Islamic Port on a vessel bound north for Suez, is landed at a relay port on the Mediterranean, and waits there for a smaller ship to Radès, Sfax or Sousse. There is currently no direct container service from Jeddah to Tunisian ports, so every shipment passes through at least one relay. The relay port depends on the shipping line and the week’s schedule, which is why we do not promise a fixed hub name; we tell you at booking, together with your bill of lading number.
We book lines that transit the Suez Canal from Jeddah and check the sailing schedule before every shipment, then send you the cut-off and expected sailing dates on WhatsApp. When the container reaches the transshipment port it waits in the yard for its feeder slot; that wait is the most variable part of the trip, which is why we always quote a range rather than a single number.
Shipping to Tunisia from Riyadh, Dammam and every Saudi city
Gulf International Shipping collects Tunisia-bound shipments throughout the Kingdom: Riyadh and Qassim in the centre; Jeddah, Makkah, Taif and Madinah in the west; Tabuk in the north; Dammam, Al-Khobar, Dhahran, Jubail and Al-Ahsa in the Eastern Province; and Abha and Khamis Mushait in the south. They all meet at Jeddah Islamic Port, the Saudi port served by the lines heading north to Suez.
Loads from Dammam, Al-Khobar and Al-Ahsa first cross the country by road to Jeddah, then continue by sea via Suez. That is our routing choice: the voyage from Jeddah to the Mediterranean is shorter and its schedules are clearer. Dammam to Jeddah is about 1,300–1,400 km, two to three days by truck, which is why Dammam takes a few days longer than Jeddah. The Riyadh–Jeddah drive is about 950 km, Tabuk’s about 1,000 km and Madinah’s about 420 km. The inland haul is already in the final price we send you; nothing is added later.
Approximate shipping prices from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia
Before building this table we went through the Tunisia rates advertised by shippers in Saudi cities, then pitched each Gulf International Shipping starting price under the cheapest advertised rate for that item. The price covers transport from the Kingdom to Tunisia with standard packing; it does not include the duties and taxes Tunisian customs charges on new items or on a car, which are paid to customs directly.
Note: a full container reaches the consignee in Tunisia in about 5–7 weeks, groupage in 6–8 weeks and an air parcel in 3–7 days. Prices run from Jeddah port to the Tunisian port with the usual inland haul, and rise slightly for southern towns far from the ports.
For the full list of more than forty items, from a small parcel and a treadmill to heavy machinery, see shipping prices from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia, which also works through costed examples for a flat, a single room and a student’s cartons.
Groupage (LCL) or a full container (FCL) to Tunisia?
With groupage, your goods ride alongside other customers’ in one box and the bill reflects only the room they occupy. With a full container the box is reserved for you, packed outside your home and sealed, and the seal is broken only by Tunisian customs. The right choice depends on how much you are sending, how soon you need it and how fragile it is.
Expect a 20 ft box to swallow a two- or three-bedroom flat, appliances and cartons included, while a 40 ft is the size for a villa, a big family home, or furniture travelling with a car. If your goods fill less than roughly half a small container, groupage is usually cheaper; if they come close to half, ask us to price both, because the gap may be small in exchange for a faster, safer trip.
Moving furniture and household goods from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia
Furniture that spends five weeks or more at sea and is lifted in two or three ports needs sturdier packing than a local move. Our crew takes apart beds and wardrobes, numbering every part and bagging its screws, wraps wood in corrugated board and clear film, puts glass, mirrors and marble in wooden crates, and covers sofas with heavy covers against damp. Before loading we empty the water from fridges and washers and lock anything that can rattle.
What sets a Tunisia shipment apart is the inventory. We photograph every piece, number and describe every carton, and record the brand, model and serial number of each electrical and electronic appliance, because Tunisian customs accepts one appliance of each kind in a returning resident’s effects and asks for these details on the declaration. The same list serves the insurance and the delivery check in Tunisia, so it only has to be written once.
We offer storage in the Kingdom if you hand back your home before the sailing date, then load straight from the warehouse into the container. In Tunisia the delivery crew carries everything to the right rooms and reassembles the beds and wardrobes we took apart. Packing, container sizes and item-by-item prices are covered in furniture moving from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia.
Radès, Sfax or Sousse: where will your shipment land?
Most cargo from Jeddah lands at Radès, the country’s busiest container terminal on the southern edge of Tunis, and it is the natural choice for Greater Tunis, the north and Cap Bon. Sfax is closer for Sfax itself, the centre and the south, such as Sidi Bouzid, Gabès and Gafsa, and Sousse serves the Sahel: Sousse, Monastir and Mahdia. Bizerte is used when a suitable line calls there.
The choice of port barely changes the sea freight, but it does change the length and duration of the road leg inside Tunisia. So we ask for the delivery address before booking and pick the port that shortens the drive after unloading, while also weighing which line offers the earliest sailing. If a relative or agent will attend clearance in person, we give you the port name early so they can plan.
Delivery across Tunisia
We deliver to the door in all these towns and call the consignee the day before to agree a time. In older homes on narrow lanes, as in some medina quarters, we switch to a smaller truck or carry by hand for the last stretch, and tell you in advance if that adds any cost.
Car shipping from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia under FCR
We ship a car for a Tunisian living abroad under the FCR scheme if the car is no more than 5 years old at import and its owner has spent two or more years living outside Tunisia, provided no single year saw more than 183 days back home. The car travels strapped and covered inside a closed container from Jeddah to Radès; we never use roll-on/roll-off vessels. Each person may use the scheme once in any 10-year period, and the car must be in the beneficiary’s own name.
In Tunisia the owner chooses between two routes. Full exemption gives the car RS plates, and it cannot be sold or transferred without customs approval. Partial exemption means paying 25% of the normal duties and taxes for petrol cars up to 2,000 cc, diesel up to 2,500 cc, hybrids, electric and utility vehicles, or 30% above those sizes, paid in foreign currency; the car then gets ordinary Tunisian plates and can be sold freely. The car has to arrive no later than two years after the definitive return.
On the Saudi side we complete the car’s final export with you through Absher, followed by the export declaration on Fasah. Because the scheme’s terms are reviewed from time to time, confirm the conditions with Tunisian customs before shipping. The cost depends on the car’s size and on whether it shares a container with furniture, so request a quote on WhatsApp 0568829975. Full details and paperwork are in car shipping from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia.
Car and furniture in one container
A 40 ft container usually takes a saloon car plus much of a flat’s furniture, saving you a second container. The car goes in first against the end wall, a timber partition goes up, and the furniture is stacked on the door side.
Shipping cartons, parcels and personal effects to Tunisia
Not everyone shipping to Tunisia needs a container. The graduating student, the worker sending Eid gifts, the pilgrim who bought more than a suitcase can hold: they all send cartons. At Gulf International Shipping a small 1–5 kg parcel starts from SAR 92, a 5–10 kg parcel from SAR 184 and a 10–20 kg personal-effects carton from SAR 230, and cartons go in the next shared container bound for Tunisia.
Label every box with who will collect it in Tunisia, their mobile number and the governorate, and share a contents list with us. Popular gifts from Saudi Arabia need care: henna and palm products are on the prohibited list of the Tunisian import guide, so ask us first if your gift box includes either. Perfume, clothes, small rugs and books normally ship without trouble.
Commercial cargo and goods to Tunisia
For traders and factories, Gulf International Shipping ships light goods of 10–50 kg from SAR 640, industrial equipment from SAR 1,010, heavy machinery from SAR 2,300, car spare parts from SAR 505 and medical devices from SAR 690. Larger volumes go in a full 20 or 40 ft container loaded at your warehouse.
Trade shipments travel with an invoice, a packing list and the sender’s Saudi commercial registration, and in Tunisia it pays customs duty by tariff line plus VAT. Goods of Arab origin may qualify for reduced duty when accompanied by a certificate of origin, so request one from the chamber of commerce before shipping. We advise the Tunisian importer to confirm the tariff line and any licences before we book the container.
Air freight from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia
Air freight to Tunisia moves on the daily nonstop flights from Jeddah to Tunis-Carthage according to the airline schedule; the flight takes about five hours and a parcel reaches the door within 3–7 days including clearance. From Riyadh, Madinah and Dammam, parcels route through Jeddah. Gulf International Shipping’s air tariff opens at SAR 17 a kilo, and small consignments pay a minimum charge.
Air suits documents and certificates, permitted medicines with a prescription, urgent clothes and personal items, phones and laptops, and small spare parts a factory or workshop is waiting for. Airlines bill whichever is greater, the scale reading or the carton’s dimensional weight, so bulky but light boxes can cost more than expected. We often suggest splitting the load: what you need in the first week by air, the rest in the container. See our air freight service for more.
Tunisian customs: what is exempt and what pays duty?
Tunisia’s standard VAT rate is 19%, with reduced rates of 13% and 7% on some goods, and it applies to new items and commercial goods together with customs duty by tariff line. A Tunisian returning for good after at least two years abroad can claim, once and never again, duty relief on personal goods up to a value of 50,000 dinars per family, and the return date is the last entry into Tunisia.
The returning resident lists furniture and belongings in the household effects declaration («تصريح الأمتعة والأشياء المنقولة») with the regional customs office responsible for the address shown on the national ID card, together with a copy of the card, the passport pages proving the last entry, a fiscal stamp and a form signed with a signature legalised at the town hall or the embassy. New items above the allowance pay duty and VAT. Check with Tunisian customs before shipping; the full process is in Tunisia returning residents household goods.
If you are not moving back
If you are sending goods to family while staying in Saudi Arabia, the definitive-return exemption does not apply. Used personal items are assessed by customs according to type and condition, and new items pay duty and VAT, so keep your receipts.
Documents required for shipping to Tunisia
Prohibited and restricted items for Tunisia
The main import prohibitions in Tunisia are narcotics, pornography, counterfeit goods, archaeological and cultural artefacts, henna, palm trees and their products, explosives, weapons and ammunition, certain dog breeds and falcons. Restricted items need a permit or certificate: live animals with a health certificate and vaccinations, plants with a phytosanitary certificate, medicines, hunting weapons with Interior Ministry approval, and satellite receivers, two-way radios and telephones that may require authorisation.
Leaving Saudi Arabia, weapons, antiquities and subsidised goods are not allowed out, and flammables such as gas cylinders, fuel and damaged batteries cannot be shipped. Tobacco and alcohol have strict limits in Tunisia, so keep them out of the shipment. Not sure about something? WhatsApp us a picture before it goes in a box.
How to ship from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia with Gulf International Shipping
- 1Send the details: your Saudi city, the Tunisian governorate, photos or a list of items, and whether you want a full container, groupage or air.
- 2Get your quote: we send the price and the next sailing from Jeddah, and suggest the Tunisian port closest to your address.
- 3Survey and inventory: our crew visits or surveys by video call, and we build the inventory with brands and serial numbers.
- 4Packing and loading: we export-pack the furniture and load the truck or container at your door.
- 5Export and sailing: the Fasah export filing is done by us, the box reaches the port ahead of cut-off, and you receive the bill of lading number.
- 6Tunisian customs: our agent handles the declaration and inspection with you or your representative; any duties are paid to customs directly.
- 7Delivery and assembly: the truck reaches your address, we carry everything in, reassemble what we dismantled and check the list piece by piece.
How is the cost of shipping to Tunisia calculated?
Gulf International Shipping prices a Tunisia shipment on six things: the cubic metres or kilos involved; whether the load travels shared, in its own container or by plane; how much packing and any wooden crates; the distance from your city to Jeddah port; the distance from the Tunisian port to the address; and the season, since demand climbs before summer when many families return.
A worked example at starting prices: a small family sending a complete bedroom (from SAR 1,655), a fridge (from SAR 550), an automatic washing machine (from SAR 460) and five personal cartons (from SAR 230 each) starts from SAR 3,815 in groupage. Once a living room, two air conditioners and a small kitchen join in, the volume nears a 20 ft box, at which point a dedicated container from SAR 5,520 becomes the faster and safer option.
The cheapest way to ship from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia
- Declutter first: old mattresses and cheap flat-pack wardrobes are often worth less than their freight, so buy new ones in Tunisia.
- Use groupage for small loads: the bill follows your volume, at the price of a few extra days.
- Fill a full container properly: if you book a 20 ft, use every gap for cartons instead of shipping them later.
- Book before the return season: container demand rises before summer, and early booking gets you a better sailing.
- Fly only the essentials: air starts from SAR 17 per kg, while a sea carton holds twenty kilos from SAR 230.
Common mistakes when shipping to Tunisia
- Believing an advert for “road freight to Tunisia” or “delivery in a week” and planning travel around it.
- Shipping furniture before fixing the definitive return date, which is the last entry into Tunisia and the basis of the exemption.
- Packing two appliances of the same kind without knowing the exemption accepts one of each.
- Shipping a car older than 5 years in the hope of using the FCR scheme.
- Forgetting henna and palm products in the gift cartons.
- Trusting a promise that “we pay your customs for you”: duties are assessed by Tunisian customs and paid to it.
Do you ship from Tunisia to Saudi Arabia?
Yes. We can arrange the reverse route from Tunisia to the Kingdom for families relocating to work in Saudi Arabia and for traders importing Tunisian products, by sea to Jeddah or by air from Tunis-Carthage. Cost and transit time hinge on the Tunisian port and the cargo, so share the details for a price.
Why Gulf International Shipping for Tunisia?
Honest timing
We tell you five to seven weeks up front, so you plan your move on solid ground.
Below published prices
Every starting price we list is under the lowest advertised figure for the same item.
Customs-ready inventory
Brand, model and serial number for every appliance from day one.
Every Saudi city
From Dammam and Tabuk to Jeddah and Abha, your goods meet at Jeddah port.
Your car in a closed box
No ro-ro ships: straps, a cover and a sealed container.
One number to follow up
One line, 0568829975, for calls and WhatsApp throughout the move.
Work out the cost of your Tunisia shipment
Send photos of your goods, your Saudi city and the Tunisian governorate, and expect a reply listing the cost and the next Jeddah sailing date.
Related Tunisia guides
- Furniture moving from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia and Tunisia returning residents household goods
- Car shipping from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia and shipping prices from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia
- Shipping company from Saudi Arabia to Algeria and all destinations from Saudi Arabia
- International furniture moving, car shipping, air freight and customs clearance
