Things to do in Madagascar
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Discover Madagascar Tours
In the Hôtel Baobab, this company has a good reputation. Guide Désiré speaks impeccable English and runs a variety of trips, including the popular Tsiribihina River and Tsingy de Bemaraha combo - which includes a transfer by zebu cart.
reviewed
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Experience Madagascar
16 days (ex Antananarivo)
by Intrepid
Cruise to the beautiful Ile Ste Marie, Admire dramatic sandstone formations in Andasibe NP, Visit the historical centre of Foulpointe, Take a refreshing dip in …Not LP reviewed
from USD$3,445 -
Mr Raherison Tours
Affiliated with Hôtel Hasina, this guide runs Tsiribihina River descents. The hotel can provide information, but contact Mr Raherison directly for booking and prices.
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Le Moulin Rouge
For dancing, try Le Moulin Rouge at the northeastern end of town, which plays everything from Malagasy to Euro-pop.
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Whale Watching
Every year between July and September, Baie d'Antongil, just south of Maroantsetra, is the site of the migration of hundreds of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). The whales make their way from the Antarctic northward to the warmer waters around Baie d'Antongil, where they spend the winter months breeding and birthing before the long journey back to Antarctica. En route the whales swim past Fort Dauphin and Île Sainte Marie, where they are often sighted offshore.
Humpbacks can measure up to 15m in length and weigh as much as 35,000kg. Despite their size, they are exceptionally agile, and capable of acrobatic moves such as breaching (launching themselves completel…
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Maroa Tours
Rakoto, an English-speaking Angap guide and 'fixer', does excursions by pirogue to villages upriver from Maroantsetra (for groups of two or more), along with visits to Nosy Mangabe and the Masoala Peninsula. The tours include visits to a vanilla and cinnamon farm and village weaving workshops. The best time to see vanilla is between October and June. Rakoto can also organised guided treks to Mananara.
The vanilla plant was introduced to Madagascar from Mexico by French plantation owners, who named it vanille (lavanila in Malagasy), from the Spanish vainilla or 'little pod'. It is a type of climbing orchid, Vanila planifolia, which attaches itself to trees. The vanilla see…
reviewed
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Parc National de L'Isalo
The flat, grassy plains of the hauts plateaux near Ranohira are abruptly broken by towering sandstone massifs sculpted by wind and water into gorges and craggy bluffs. It's one of the country's most spectacular regions, perfect for overnight hikes, rock-hopping along cool canyons and spotting lemurs.
It's best to visit during the cooler months (April to October), when the bizarre pachypodiums and periwinkles are in flower on the rock faces and walking is more comfortable. The Sakalava people used to bury their dead in caves high up on cliff faces and some areas are fady (taboo) even today.
Official guides are compulsory for visits to the park and fees depend on the length…
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Famadihana
Famadihana (literally, the 'turning of the bones') is the name given to the traditional exhumations of dead ancestors by the Betsileo and Merina people. Famadihana are joyous and intense occasions, which occur in each family roughly every seven years. Amid feasting, drinking, music and dancing, the bodies of the dead are disinterred from the family tomb, wrapped in bamboo mats, and carried and danced around the tomb. The bodies are then re-shrouded and reburied.
Famadihana ceremonies occur in the region around Antsirabe between July and September only. Local tour operators or pousse-pousse men can help you find one and arrange an invitation. If you receive an invite, it's…
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Parc National de Ranomafana
Parc National de Ranomafana is 41,500 hectares (102,549 acres) of lush rainforest, riddled with small streams that plummet into the Namorona River, and teeming with 12 lemur species, including red-bellied lemurs and broad-nosed gentle lemurs.
The park entrance and Angap office are at Ambodiamontana village. Permits are compulsory and are available at the Angap office.
Guided walks range from two to four hours, try a nocturnal walk for the chance to spot the fanaloka, or Malagasy civet, and the dainty brown mouse lemur.
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Azafady Volunteers
Azafady isn't a tour operator but a volunteer organisation working on community tourism projects around Fort Dauphin. It runs several well-equipped camping grounds in village, beach and forest sites in the region and can provide transport, camping equipment and guides to independent travellers who want to experience local life and nature while helping village communities. If you're interested in staying longer in Madagascar, ask the staff about volunteering opportunities.
reviewed
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Madagascar Adventure
21 days (Antananarivo)
A complete exploration of the enigmatic island 'continent' of Madagascar.
Not LP reviewed
from USD$3,990 -
Restaurant Razafimanjy
This locally recommended place (you see a lot of couples dining with their drivers) cooks Malagasy-seasoned Chinese food with excellent results. The menu is very long, with meat, chicken and seafood cooked dozens of different ways. There are also a number of vegetarian choices. The stir-fried Chinese noodles we ate here were the best we found in the country. There is cabaret at night, and the attached internet café stays open until midnight.
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Ifaty
Most travellers visit the quiet coastal area of Ifaty, featuring the villages of Ifaty, Mangilly and Mandio Rano, or sit under a palm tree on a white sandy beach. With coral reefs just offshore, sea breezes whispering in the casuarina trees and a relaxed tropical ambience, who can blame them?
There's whale-watching in July and August, and the amazing spiny forest along the road just north of Mangilly is well worth a look.
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Mafana Club
For a bit of decadent nightlife, try the disco at Mafana Club. Get your party on at Fort Dauphin's recently pimped-out nightclub that's fast becoming known as the place to get your swerve on. You'll shake to a mix of Malagasy and Western music, especially on busier Friday and Saturday nights. The interior décor is swanky and the deck looks out over Baie Dauphine. Las Vegas features regular Malagasy music and reggae shows.
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Panda Restaurant
If your ultimate fantasy involves dining on sautéed bat while staring at murals of copulating pandas painted on a restaurant wall, fulfil it here. Definitely a top contender for Madagascar's strangest eating establishment, Panda serves an eclectic menu that includes bat, pigeon, frog and wild duck. It also does excellent Chinese. Ring ahead if you're absolutely craving bat or pigeon, as they are not always available.
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Sunshine Restaurant & Bar
Chez Maggie's thatched-roof restaurant, with fabulous sunset views of the Mozambique Channel, offers a rotating daily menu of fresh-caught fish and seafood, delicious cheese and lots of fresh fruits and veggies. Barbecue jumbo shrimp, and anything with crab, are the house specialities. The bar has a wide selection of scotch, whiskey and delicious homemade coco rum. It's a good place to settle in for a night of drinking.
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MS Mauritius Trochetia
The luxury cruise liner MS Mauritius Trochetia leaves Toamasina for Réunion and Mauritius approximately every two weeks. One-way fares to Réunion start at around €180 for a 2nd-class cabin (based on two people sharing), and €230 to Mauritius. More expensive deluxe cabins are also available. For tickets, go to Tropical Service, near the Hotel Joffre.
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L'Univers
Toamasina's nightlife tends towards the dodgier end of the scale, particularly when large groups of foreign sailors come through on shore leave. Most of the restaurants listed under Eating also function as respectable bars if you just want a few quiet drinks. If you're feeling brave you could try L'Univers, a 'gritty' all-hours locals' bar with its own pétanque pitch.
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La Véranda
If you've just returned from Île Sainte Marie, you may find yourself dining with most of your flying companions here - this is the terrace of choice for the vast majority of French expats and visitors thanks to its wide-ranging menu and very reasonable prices. The three-course set menu changes daily, and is usually far too tempting to let you settle for a light meal.
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Musée Regional de l'Université de Toamasina
The small Musée Regional de l'Université de Toamasina constitutes barely 2½ rooms of farming tools, fishing implements, archaeological finds and tribal charms, along with poster displays on deforestation and local conservation projects. Some of the captioning is in English, including translations of some typically cryptic Malagasy proverbs.
reviewed
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Pandora Station
Toamasina's nightlife tends towards the dodgier end of the scale, particularly when large groups of foreign sailors come through on shore leave. Most of the restaurants listed under Eating also function as respectable bars if you just want a few quiet drinks. Towards the airport, there's Pandora Station, which has pool tables and a snack bar.
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La Récréa
Toamasina waterfront's latest arrival is a fantastically conceived thatched edifice combining restaurant, cocktail bar and souvenir shop, with stylish all-bamboo furniture and fixtures, pool tables, seating spilling out towards the beach and even an old light aircraft outside. The menu covers Malagasy, Italian, French fusion and even fondue.
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Zoma
Fianar is a market town, with at least one small market open every day. Fianar's largest market is the weekly Zoma, where you'll find everything from beef sausages to party hats. It's held on Friday along Araben'ny Fahaleovantena, and is hugely popular with locals who come as much to catch up on the week's events as to purchase dinner.
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Jean le Rasta Tours
Charismatic Jean le Rasta, or Rasta Jean, speaks English, is reliable and owns a 4WD. He runs, or organises, a range of tours including to Parc National des Tsingy de Bemaraha and Réserve Forestière de Kirindy, and transfers to Belo-sur-Mer or further south down the coast. Look for him at the grungy backpacker dive, L'Oasis.
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Bar Code
Toamasina's nightlife tends towards the dodgier end of the scale, particularly when large groups of foreign sailors come through on shore leave. Most of the restaurants listed under Eating also function as respectable bars if you just want a few quiet drinks. Bar Code is a bar-club with food and karaoke near the airport.
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