Mahdia itself is somewhat off-the-beaten-path as far as standard travel destinations go, so most of the day trips visitors will want to take will likely to be to areas of Tunisia which are more well-known than Mahdia is.  For example, many travelers take the time to explore Sousse ( http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g29... ), Sfax ( http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g3... ) and / or Monastir ( http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g2... ).  This is the area where the local airport servicing Mahdia is located, so visitors generally make this day trip exploration part of their first or last days in the area.

What many travelers spending time in Mahdia do not realize is the area’s proximity to Italy .   Travelers will find that, if they plan accordingly, they can fit exploration of that beautiful country in to their travels.   This is frequently more of a weekend getaway than a day trip merely because of the difficulties of transportation in to and out of Mahdia (see http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g29... for more information about travel in the area) but it is worth taking the time to visit, especially if staying in Mahdia for an extended period of time.   Most commonly, the Italian city visited by Mahdia visitors is Palermo .   (See http://www.google.com/maphp?hl=en&tab... for a map of the area’s proximity to Palermo , see http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g1... for additional information about Palermo travel.)