Madagascar
Travel Guide, climate:
Best:
May-Oct [winter, dry season]
Worst: Dec-March [rains, hurricanes]
This is a large country with 6 different climatic zones, ranging
from an extremely dry sw zone to often wet east zone so a lot depends
on your target activities and areas.
Tour
operators offering tours to Madagascar can be found in our listings
here: Madagascar
Tours
'You
can't catch a louse with one finger' Malagasy proverb
Length
of stay:
Minimum worthwhile stay, not incl. flights : 10 days - since domestic
transport is unreliable and disances are great.
Recommended: 3 weeks +
Madagascar's
Main Festivals:
May or June, Donia music festival, Nosy Be
June - Nov, Famadihana 'turning the bones' reburying the dead ceremonies.
Nov - Dec, Gasyfara music festival, Tana
For
some precise dates, more suggestions and information see:
Exotic Festivals
Activities
Guide:
Bird and animal watching, see right.
Hiking around the parks and reserves.
Mountain biking: Many locations will
hire them, including Tana, Nosy Be, and Fort Dauphin.
Diving and snorkelling: places like
Ile Ste Marie, around Nosy Be and near Tulear.
Whale watching: off Ile Ste Marie.
In Tana try to attend a 'hira gasy' local folk music/dance on Sundays.
Madagascar
Star Guide:
| Wildlife |
***** |
| Walkability
[in parks] |
**** |
| Landscape |
**** |
| Local
People |
*** |
| Beaches |
*** |
| Hotel
Prices and Value |
*** |
| Food
Quality and Variety |
*** |
| Shopping
and souvenirs |
*** |
| Safety |
*** |
| Value
for Money |
*** |
| Architecture |
** |
| Health
Problems |
** |
| Nightlife
and Clubbing |
* |
| Monuments |
|
| Museums |
|
|
|
Why
Travel to Madagascar?
The
fourth largest island in the world, tropical Madagascar has an astounding
selection of fascinating plant and wildlife species, 80% of which
are unique to the country.
It also has weird burial sites and customs, off-planet rock formations
and good beaches with diving and snorkelling locations.
What the place doesn't have is too many travellers! Yet.
Downsides:
- Public transport is unreliable and some grasp of French is vital
for individual travellers, so horrible as it may seem, consider
a package tour if you have special interests and/or limited time
in Madagascar.
- Appalling deforestation [85% gone up in smoke].
- Crime is on the up, especially in Antananarivo [Tana], so observe
Safety suggestions.
- It can get extremely hot [I recorded 61C/142F there once, in the
shade].
- Malaria, see Bugbog Travel
Health page.
- Just about every park/reserve requires a permit.
Beware
of buying water bottles that have been refilled with tap water!
Where
to go in Madagascar:
South for:
Berenty Nature Reserve [lemurs, chameleons
++] Near Fort Dauphin, it's about 500 miles from Tana. Pictures
Mahafaly tribe [and others to a lesser
extent] elaborate carved and painted graves. Pictures
Isalo National Park [extraordinary
wind cut sandstone, lemurs, wacky plants, pools] - you may need
a guide. About 250 miles south from Tana. Pictures.
West for:
Tsingy Nature Reserve, weird limestone
formations, birdlife by the ton, lemurs etc etc. 370mi west of Tana.
North for:
Montagne d'Ambre National Park, rain
forest stuffed with the usual unusual species including the blue
nose chameleon. No shortage of leeches either. Lots of hiking trails
and two lovely waterfalls. 500mi north of Tana. Cooler than the
coast so you don't need shorts.
Nosy Be island for expensive beach
package hotels and Lokobe Nature Reserve.
Ile Ste Marie island [Nosy Boraha]
for beach bungalow places and coral. If
you are going to Madagascar then other African wildlife places are
not so far away!
South
Africa Travel Guide | Namibia
Travel Guide
Kenya
Travel Guide | Wildlife Safari Tours
Or
for more distant wildlife experiences, check
Costa
Rica Guide | Galapagos
Guide |
