She should be prepared for lots of catcalls and the like. I don't know why, but both of my unbiased female friends who spent time in Tunis felt very set upon on a regular basis. The only men who gave my other female friends trouble in Morocco were the overly aggressive street vendors in Marrakesh. Maybe they showed a little too much arm and neck skin, I don't know exactly what they wore, but they aren't known for Lebslut dress by any means. More rural areas of Tunisia did not have this issue either.

how long is she going for? my info is two years out of date, but i can provide some advice. living there for a year should provide some sort of benefit, right?

if she's jewish she probably will want to visit the synagogue on the island of djerba. it's still active if a bit fortified what with the suicide bombing a few years back. If she wants to see more such sites, there are one or two other synagogues around the country, such as the big one in Tunis next to Bourguiba School.

if she likes beaches, it really depends on the time of year she visits. i haven't been following the weather too closely this year in tunis, but two years ago it was horridly cold (when one considers the whole country has two pieces of insulation to share between all of the houses) from november through may in the north. if she's there in the summer, she might try tabarka to get away from the big crowds or if she's only around for a few days, just go to the tourist complexes out in hammamet. otherwise, there are plenty of beaches in the south on djerba and in other places. however, i wouldn't go swiming anywhere near sfax or anywhere within 100km of the gulf of gabes. i toured the phosphate plants in gabes and have observed the ones in sfax. you don't want anything to do with water near either of those places. for that matter, i wouldn't swim anywhere south of sidi bou said in tunis for a similar reason. beaches out on cap bon are quite nice but hard to get to without a car.

if she wants the desert, head straight for douz. good camel riding (if she's in that) either in douz for tame stuff or out in zaafrain for some bigger dunes. if she's really in for an adventure, she should take a camel ride from douz or zaafrain to ksar ghilad. however, it should be noted it takes about 10 days each way by camel. another fascinating desert place is nefta. tozeur is overrated but the markets are interesting (douz's little markets are much more friendly and laid back than anywhere else in the country).

try to visit the moutnain oases of midas (along the algerian border), and... i cant remember the names of the other two. i was especially impressed with the beauty of the canyon at the midas oasis, also of the pill boxes and mine fields of the algerian border.

avoid gafsa if possible. don't stay there overnight if at all avoidable. sure, there are interesting things, but its no place for someone who doesn't know what they're doing.

the same goes for kasserine but only because the hotels are desolate (except for the fancy new one at the edge of town that isnt in most guidebooks yet) and the town is equally so. the ruins on the west edge of town are interesting, however, and it makes a good transit point if taking a louage or bus.

i could go on for days. you should try to get some more details from her on what she's interested in, etc.

oh, also, it is quite difficult to move about the country as an unaccompanied woman, especially if she doesn't speak some arabic. it would be well worth her while to get a rent-a-cock (guy to go with her wherever she goes) or travel with another woman. if she's american, expect her to come back in tears. if she's european, expect her to come back with some tunisian boy toy waiting for her back on the beach. (yes, generalizations, but they do seem to fit most of the time)

i'd be happy to talk to her more in depth if she wants more reccomendations of where to go, what to see, what to avoid (back alleys in the tunis medina on sunday afternoons, like the one i was nearly stabbed in. they thought i was a bloody tourist.), where to eat, etc.

also, get the lonely planet guidebook for sure. footprints was my backup and roughguide was 3rd source for me. well, naturally after a few months there, my tunisian colleagues and friends started telling me where to go and what to see, but the books are still a worthwhile backup.

Thanks to both.