Safari in Madagascar

country:	Madagascar
departures:	This trip can can operate daily with a mimum of 2 people. Maximum group size 10
price:	From US $2240 (10 days) excluding flights based on 2 travelling. Internal Flight from US$ 160. Please note that internal flights should be booked in conjunction with international flights and the rates are subject to class, availability & change.

Madagascar holidays

Safari holidays

the amazing things you'll be doing

On this hotel accommodated tour you have the opportunity to explore the highlights of the world's 4th largest island - Madagascar.

This 10-day safari, starting and ending in Tana, shows you the incredible sights of Madagascar where you get the chance to experience the culture as well as the wildlife.

Highlights include Tana, Andasibe, Ansirabe, Ifaty, Isalo National Park, Fianarantsoa and Tulear.

day-by-day itinerary

Day 1:	Antananarivo - Tana - Andasibe. Arrival in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. Welcome and assistance at the airport. After a short briefing, drive to Andasibe through the green and luxuriant vegetation of the east. This first step brings us to the humid part of the country with many primary forests and lakes. Along the way we will see Merina villages in the rocky mountains. Later this evening we have a night safari in the Reserve of Andasibe to observe night active lemurs and other nocturnal animals.
Day 2:	Natural Reserve of Andasibe. A morning visit to the Special Reserve of Andasibe, to see the Indri Indri, the largest lemurs on the island. This reserve is unique with its endemic fauna and flora. It contains a wide variety of orchids, canopy, and endemic animals like chameleons, tenrecs, and many birds. In the afternoon, we visit Andasibe village, a typical Betsimisaraka (The-Many-inseparable) village, and the second largest tribe on the island. They cultivate rice and live mainly off the forest. This small visit helps us to have close contact with the local people, to see how they live and what they eat.
Day 3:	Andasibe - Antsirabe. We drive back to Tana, and head south to Antsirabe, across the highland landscape with its beautiful rice fields on stage. The spectacular eroded hills called 'lavaka' remind us of the Far East with its rice fields and green landscape with vegetables and fruit trees. A stop in Ambatolampy for a short visit of this huge agricultural city, which is also known as a source of aluminium. Arrival in Antsirabe, or 'the place of salt', an elegant city well known as the centre of the beer industry and we can smell the Star Brewery as we enter the town.
Day 4:	Antsirabe to Ranomafana National Park. After breakfast we drive to Ambositra, the centre of Madagascar's wood carving industry. We are still in the highland, which is characterized by its architecture: The houses are made with ornately carved wooden balconies and shutters with bright colours. Further on we pass the 'le col de tapia', a type of tree, which resists to the bush fires of the area. The landscape is still dominated by rice fields on stage, pine forests and eucalyptus trees and rocky mountains. Our destination for the day: Ranomafana National Park
Day 5:	Ranomafana National Park. Parc National de Ranomafana with its rain forested hills and abundant wildlife, has long been considered one of Madagascar's highlights, and is one of the most heavily visited of the country's national parks. In addition to its densely forested hills, Ranomafana's terrain is characterised by numerous small streams, which plummet down to the beautiful Namorona River. You will go for walks in the National Park for several hours spotting some of the lemurs, chameleons and other animals.
Day 6:	Fianarantsoa - Isalo. We leave Ranomafana and pass Fianarantsoa 'the city where one learns good things'. It is the gate to the South and the capital of the Betsileo tribes. Then we head southwards, our first stop is in Ambalavao for wine tasting, as Ambalavao is the centre of wine industry. Still in Ambalavao, we visit the 'Anteimoro Paper Factory' a vestige of the Arabian civilisation in the island. We continue to Ihosy the capital of the Bara tribes, who are the shepherds of Zebu, and pass through the mountain chain of Andringitra, which serves as a transition between the dry south and green highlands with its famous '3 hillocks' and its huge 'archbishop's cape'. We then pass through the huge 'Plateaux de Horombe' where with its very deep red soil, reminds us of 'the no man's land'. Arrive in Isalo.
Day 7:	Isalo. Visit to Isalo National Park. The Isalo massif is very spectacular with its eroded sandstone mountain. Today we will walk to the 'Natural swimming pool'. We walk through the eroded mountains, which are also where Bara placed their dead before they can bring them into their real tombs. We start our climb and reach the massif, (after 20 minutes walk) where we will have a spectacular view of the huge sandstone mountains with its beautiful colours and its strange and eroded forms giving many different images like 'the tortoise', 'the masks' and 'the crocodiles'. Along the way, for lemur lovers, there may be sifakas, brown lemurs and ringtaild lemurs, as well as fifty-five species of birds, lizards and snakes. We finally reach the swimming pool, with its crystal clear water, which is a great reward after a long and very hot walk.
Day 8:	Isalo to Ifaty. After breakfast, we continue to Tulear, the terminal of the National Road No. 7. This step brings us new scenery, among the dry forests of the west and the spiny desert of the south. After a short visit of Tulear we drive to Ifaty, which lies about 27 km from Tulear. Due to the bad condition of the road, it will take us about 2.5 hours to reach Ifaty, and this step brings us to the driest part of the country. Situated in the deep south, the landscape is dominated by the spiny forest like the cactus, different euphorbiacea and didieracea. Mangrove trees line the coast alternated by Vezo villages, which earn their living from fishing. We will see many small pirogues and men who go out fishing twice a day. The children and women wait on the coast to fetch the fish and take them to Tulear for sale.
Day 9:	Ifaty. Day at leisure. Ifaty lies in the beach; it is an ideal place for diving and snorkelling and a popular place for birdwatchers. Many excursions are possible. Visit the 'Reserve Domergue', a communal reserve where one will see two kinds of baobabs, spiny bush, reptiles like 'boa madagascariensis', 'geckos' and 'chameleon parsoni' (the largest one). Take a boat trip to see the whales. From July to mid September, whales come to the cool seas off Madagascar to give birth to their young. Situated in the largest lagoon of the country, Ifaty is also protected by a large coral reef, which makes it an ideal place for diving and snorkelling. In the afternoon we can walk to the village of Mangily where we can visit a local school and also experience the Vezo Fishermen's way of life, especially after coming back from fishing.
Day 10:	Ifaty - Tulear - Tana. Early in the morning we transfer to the airport for the flight back to Tana. Afternoon free. Tana also called the 'City of Thousands' is the city where the first King started to unify the different kingdoms of the island. Your walk can start from the high city to see the Rova, the queen's palace, the house of the first minister during these days, which is now a museum; all built by Frenchman Jean Laborde during the royal period.

how this holiday makes a difference

Only local guides are used in Madagascar, for their interpretation of local culture and traditions so as to maximise information and understanding, especially in a country rife with traditions. We treat the cultural heritage with respect and inform our clients about local customs, fady (taboos) and traditions as well as appropriate behaviour before and while travelling. It is therefore that we use guides with an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the surrounding areas as well as with the local cultures and customs. This on its own creates opportunity, growth and sustainability for the community.

100% of the products to prepare meals for our clients are purchased locally and all recipes are Malagasy. We make sure our clients visit local villages, restaurants and local markets, especially the huge market of Zoma in Antananarivo where clients have virtually unlimited choice of exotic fruits, vegetables, meat, flowers, hardware, toys, furniture, handicrafts, potteries, carved stones and traditional clothes. We strongly encourage our clients to bargain fairly, and with respect to the seller.

We also ensure that clients ask permission to take photographs or to videotape people, whether in local villages or lemur reserves. With visits to the National Parks and reserves being a highlight for many, the fees paid help improve the standards of the locals employed by the National Parks, providing education and training. Up to 50% of all fees paid by us, is given back to the communities in the surrounding areas. These fees also help with the upgrade of facilities and research into endemic wildlife, one of the key factors for most travellers to Madagascar.

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