Glenn,

Quit traveling and finish that darn boat already.

I have been twice. Tunisia is wildly popular for package deals from Europe. The coast is actually north of Malta.

Anyway, there are all kinds of beach resorts that should have off season rates .

The Souk is incredible. Be warned, you can get lost in there. I bought several hand woven rugs for about $150 each for a 3x4' rug. About half what you might pay in the Mideast. And they are really unique. We bought lots of terra cotta tableware that chipped as all terra cotta does.

The Roman and Lycean ruins are something to be seen. Massive cities that were rebuilt a bit by the French last century. And nobody there. We paid a goatherd $10 to give us a tour. He spoke a little French and no English.
There were no other tourists there. We did see a NG photographer that was trying to catch the sunset as it hit the lionshead above the entrance to the senate ruins.

We also took a couple of horses down to the beach and rode them like we were being chased by the Turks.

As far as safety goes, use your hotel for any taxi or drivers. We drove one day and it was fine but felt better in the city with a local driver.

Have a ball.