The last stop on our 3 month tour of East Africa was to visit the small island off its East coast - Madagascar. When you say Madagascar most people automatically think of the popular animated movie featuring zoo animals on the loose. Surprisingly, not many people talk about how un-African it looks and feels. We were caught off guard by the Asian influences that have uniquely fused with the French colonial roots and African location. Having spent over 2 months visiting East African countries Mozambique, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia; our first impressions of Madagascar were incomparable, it was quite opposite to all the African experiences we had had to date. The people on this island have a genetic mix of African and Asian, so the look, community approach and even food felt so much more like we were in Asia than we'd expected.
3 week itinerary:
• Antananarivo ➡ Morondava
• TOUR: Avenue of Baobabs + Tsingy experience + Kirindy Reserve
• Morondava ➡ Antananarivo
• Antananarivo ➡ Andasibe
• TOUR: Analamazaotra National Park
• Andasibe ➡ Tomatave
• Tomatave ➡ Īle aux Nattes
The above may not seem like a jam-packed itinerary, however, the roads in Madagascar are bendy, narrow and largely unpaved. It can take 8+ hours to go as little as 250km, so unfortunately a lot of our time on this beautiful island was spent in transport. There are many taxi-brousse companies in Madagascar but the standout company that 99% of tourists go with is called Cotisse. We recommend booking all your tickets in advance (they accepted card) as they get booked up quickly.
What is there to do in Madagascar?
1. Live like a pirate
Īle aux Nattes is a 3 square kilometre island just off Īle Saint Marie, which once was a haven for pirates. We can see why the rum-loving visionaries loved it so much. The colour of the water is hypnotic and mesmorising, the food is fresh and cheap (the quality of the seafood combined with the quality of the French cooking is a match made in heaven) and the vibe of the island is surreal - at times it felt like we were the only people on the island.
Additionally, it feels extremely local with little to no English being spoken and/or understood - thank you 👩🏼's French GCSE.
There isn't a great deal to do but there is a bit of exploration to be had. Maybe you will be as lucky as we were and also find some buried treasure ☠️.
2. Live like a lemur
Getting to Andasibe is much more simple than leaving. Arriving in Andasibe we were dropped off on a main road that was no more than 3km away from Analamazaotra National Park. Unfortunately, the cheap accommodation that is only 2km away from the park was fully booked. However, they allowed us to stay in the drivers quarters, that was even cheaper, but as basic as you get.
Once checked-in we booked a night walk that evening and a morning walk for the next day. It was extremely simple to book a guide and we received a pitch from two locals.
We were so happy with the lady we ended up booking with, she was attentive and very passionate about the wildlife in Andasibe. Without her we wouldn't have been able to see as much as we did. She spotted tiny animals in the pitch black and knew the rainforest like the back of her hands.
If you ever wanted to see lemurs (and hear their magnificent cry) in their natural habitat and/or dreamed of seeing a chameleon up close and personal, make sure you include Analamazaotra National Park in your itinerary.
3. Live like Tarzan or Jane
Tsingy de Bemaraha national park has been UNESCO world heritage listed since 1990. Located in the northwest of the island in the remote Melaky region. It is extremely hard to get to and only possible in dry season because the dirt tracks you have to travel on for 10+ hours aren't passable the rest of the year.
We booked our package with the tour office in The Batelage hotel in Morondava - they gave us a good deal and were warm and professional throughout the three day trip, we definitely recommend them.
Our round-trip package included a sunrise visit to baobab avenue, an afternoon visit at Kirindy Reserve (the Fossa is coming!), a day trip to Tsingy de Bemaraha national park (grand and petite tsingy), a visit to the baobab love tree and finished with sunset at baobab avenue.
Food and accommodation aren't included in independent packages, so we weren't sure about the quality of either. We were pleasantly surprised when our driver dropped us off at the hotel Orchidée. It looked like it was way out of our budget - it has a pool! We were even more surprised when they showed us their different packages - they have something for every budget.
Our experience of Madagascar:
We'd been a little apprehensive about visiting what's listed as one of the poorest countries in the world but in all honesty the infrastructure (roads excepted) and spirit has felt richer across the country than anywhere else we'd been in our African adventure.
This is definitely a place you should visit in order to see amazing wildlife, secluded islands, warm people and impressive landscapes - whilst not spending too much or feeling as though you're roughing it. We loved it.
And we felt like we lived! Delicious, French-inspired food - even including desserts and drinks, accommodation with pools or by the beach for about half our stay, friendly encounters with everyone from shop owners to waiters or hotel staff to tuk tuk drivers, a variety of activities including rock-climbing, mopeding, massages & rainforest walks, and all our journeys (but one) came with their own seat and leg room, luxury.
Top tips: • Learn some French • Take snacks and toilet paper with you on your Cotisse bus journeys. We tried the lunch at one of the lunch stops and almost 🤮 • Avoid Bamboo Lodge and Spa in the capital. It was the only negative experience we had here due to the owner trying to overcharge us for our room, then getting very aggressive and threatening.
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