aTUNISIA's aim to be a red-hot holiday destination was halfway there even before they built those glimmering white brochure hotels.

That is the trouble. One can have too much of a good thing - even the sun. Those going there in July and August will sprawl with the air-conditioning full on, dialling room service for more ice and fresh orange.

They can forget camel rides, historical sites, and even the Mediterranean coastline. By the time they reach the water they'll look and feel like kebabs.

This is positive advice, negatively put. Certainly the high-summer visitor can return in one uncooked piece, but that will be down to frantic dowsings in Factor 20. Far better to see Tunisia in late spring or early autumn. That way this stunning slice of North Africa can be experienced at its best.

The Tunisians owe much to the French. During their 75-year rule they left their mark in the form of comparatively high standards of hygiene, sanitation, and transport systems. They also imparted their enthusiasm for good food, properly cooked.

It is now more than four decades since the French handed over independence. Since then this most liberal of Arab countries has, like a former pupil recalling the influence of his favourite master, used these advantages to build up a tourism industry designed to bolster its economy and modernise its infrastructure.

Tunisia takes the package-holiday scene seriously and unless one has been unlucky in choice of hotel or restaurant there might be occasion to compare standards favourably with those of her Euro-Mediterranean neighbours.

Meanwhile there are attractions that only an Arab and desert culture can offer. A camel expedition into the Sahara beats Benidorm for bravura. A visit to a market in Tunisia offers a step back in time. A trip to a ninth-century medina is an opportunity to see how the real Tunisians have lived - and continue to live - their lives and to admire their skills with copper, leather, and fabrics - including, of course, carpets.

There are real bargains to be acquired for those who hold their nerve during the sometimes tiresome ritual of the haggling process.

It is salutary to remember that the Tunisians are poorly paid and insulting them with ridiculous offers does one no credit. Only a minority of hard-nosed types deserve such treatment. The others are delightful and diligent.

Prices in Tunisia are low, in any case. Soft drinks cost 40 to 50p in hotels and a meal with wine can be had for a fiver. Car hire is expensive but taxis are not.

The main Tunisian resorts are beginning to make their mark on the holiday scene. Sousse, Hammamet, Monastir and Djerba now trip off the seasoned traveller's tongue along with Torremolinos, Paphos and Las Palmas.

Hammamet offers high standards in a spread of three and four-star hotels and one readily forgives a hint of purpose-build. Monastir and Sousse are perhaps within easier reach of an airport and Sousse, Tunisia's third-biggest town, provides a fascinating opportunity to be in the middle of a bustling commercial and industrial centre which doubles as a holiday resort.

Its medina, a walled city dating back to the ninth century, still houses not only a variety of inhabitants but also the souk, or market. And if haggling is not one's game the nearby Soula Centre is a fixed price haven for the bewildered tourist, who soon finds that when the friendly and multi-lingual staff say ''No discount!'' they mean it.

The observant tourist is drawn into the day-to-day life of a city, learning to dodge rush hour if there is to be any chance of getting one of the army of little yellow cabs to whisk him back to the hotel, and never tiring of watching people take their children to school, bargain for fresh fish, meet friends in the street, and queue outside the cinema.

People-watching is a rewarding pursuit in a country where the culture is so different and Sousse has a couple of grand open-air cafes from which happenings on the beach, at sea, and on the one-way traffic system can be observed.

A visit to the Grand Mosque is recommended and if one strays into the squalor of the industrial port area it is an opportunity to contrast it with the luxurious environment of Port El Kantaoui, a few miles north. This is the Marbella of this part of Tunisia, with the original fishing village all but swallowed up by the tourist-trap cafes, restaurants and boutiques surrounding an impressive marina.

A nice contrast, indeed, with the traditional sights and sounds of North Africa. Tunisia has sensed that today's tourist values the chance to experience a change of culture as well as of scene, provided the three, four or five-star comforts are near at hand.

It is a seductive mix. Thanks to air-conditioning it can be enjoyed in style.

Transport: A passport is needed but no visa. Tunisia's public transport system consists of buses, trains, and taxis including the communal ''louages'' which take up to six passengers. Tunis has a Metro which is more like a tram than a tube.

Currency and costs: The currency is the dinar, which is divided into 1000 millimes. A dinar is worth just over 50p so if you tip someone 100 millimes you are giving them 5p. Credit cards are accepted in main restaurants and hotels, and even in some souks, especially when you are buying a carpet. Cash point machines don't take foreign credit cards. You are not permitted to take dinars out of the country. A low cost of living means Scottish

visitors get a pleasant surprise, but they should still participate in haggling.

Golf: Good courses are to be found in areas such as Hammamet, Tabarka, Monastir, and Port el Kantaoui

near Sousse.

Water sports: Yachting, parascending, fishing, water skiing, windsurfing, and scuba diving are the big attractions. There are diving schools at Monastir, Port El Kantaoui, and Tabarka. As for sailing, about 20 ports and harbours cater for today's hi-tech yachts. There are also a variety of marinas.

Food: Olive oil is used widely in cooking and main ingredients tend to be spices, tomatoes, seafood and lamb.

In a restaurant, look for briks (thin pancakes filled with spinach or mashed potato and soft-boiled egg), slata mechouia (tuna and hardboiled eggs with peppers and diced tomatoes, onion, and grilled garlic), and chick pea soup (lablabi). Couscous is traditionally eaten with lamb or vegetables but can also be made with chicken or fish, and desserts range from honey cakes to fresh figs.

Drink: Most Tunisian wines come from the northern vineyards. There is also palm wine, lagmi, and you may wish to try the traditional mint tea.