a few days in Madagascar just to see the Lemurs

If you try to find ''kelstrama'' here on TT and PM her, she can give you lots of information about Mada.
She has just come back from two weeks with friends there and loved the place. her name is Kelly.

Cheers.

Thanks i'll try and find her!

If you cant, I might be able to contact her to see if I can give you her hotmail direct.

Cheers.

Yeah I actually dont know how to locate someone on here....or she can PM me if you can send her the link to the thread I guess?

either way is great - thanks so much!

Hello trvl4lifegirl,
I did this tour 2 years ago with my family , the name of this park is Andasibe it's 3hrs driving from Tana follow the national road 2 where you can see the largest lemur named Indri Indri and others species of lemurs, chameleons and so on... we did it by hiring a car from Tana so i think it would be better for you to hire a car for your safety because you are solo female traveler. The name of this bungallow is Feon'ny Ala it's close the reserve and when you wake up in the morning you will be sure to hear the voice of Indri Indri .
Good luck!!!
Anne

Andasibe is about 3.5 hrs drive from Tana but a taxi brousse will take much longer than this due to all the stops. You'd also need to get to Tana itself from the airport which takes around an hour in the middle of the day due to the traffic so you'd probably need to plan to spend the night in Tana on the day you arrive and head out to Andasibe the next day. If you can communicate in French and keep your wits about you the taxi brousse shouldn't be too much of an issue, even as a single female. There are a number of lodges around the park, Feon'ny Ala is nice but one of the more expensive, it is also often booked up with tour groups and has no email address to book in advance. You can buy a SIM card at the airport which is well worth doing so you can call round places to see where is available to avoid trudging the few kilometers between them to find one with space when you arrive. Hotel l'Orchidee in Andasibe village is one of the cheaper options, 40,000 AR for a room with en suite, 35,000 without. It's fairly basic and a bit chaotic (order food in advance as otherwise it takes ages to come) and you need to walk the couple of kms to the park entrance but the other lodges are more like 70,000+ AR so it depends on how tight your budget is. The Bradt guide is well worth the money and has good info on the accomodation options.

Firstly have you checked the air fare from Kenya to Madagascar? If time is pressing I would certainly hire a car and driver. If you wish PM me as I can recommend one. Andisibe is well worth visiting. Don't go to Madagascar Exotic on the way! The early morning calls of the Indri are tape recorded and are played to attract the Indri.

Overall I suggest that Madagascar is not a place for a quick visit as it is expensive to get too, there is so much to see and transport is not good.

Madagascar Exotic is also known locally as the Reserve de Peireras (or similar spelling), it had been recommended to us and it wasn't until we actually got there that we saw the sign with both names on and realised it's the same place. Needless to say we didn't stop!

I know this is a bit delayed but may help others, I stayed at the same place as anneholiday and did spot Indri Indri, also had a great guided walk both at night and in the morning. We paid extra for a guide and a truck to go right into the park for a long treck inwhich we saw various other species of Lemurs. If you really want to see lemurs it is guarenteed at Vakona lodge (you can also stay here) where they have a lemur island you can visit with I think 9 species on it. You can really get up close. Taxi Brusse can take a longtime and often the buses are full at the pick up spot on the roadside and will not stop.