American just returned from Nosy be and diego vacation.

Fate?

Did something bad happen?

I agree with what ghostwriter is implying - if there's something that people need to be warned about, it would be much more useful if you posted it here.

Same applies to the good things you can recommend.

How is anyone going to guess what questions you might be able to answer?

The Mad Air is horribly inefficient in Tana, allow yourself minimum 2-3 hrs for a connecting flight or you will miss it. I was stuck in Mauritisus when the Mad air flight was late for my connecting flight to Dubai.The airline would only pay for a hotel room, leaving three seperate individuals stranded.The one Malagasy individual they took care of, I ended up paying $1450 for a flight to Dubai.The third, a french men was trying to cough up some money somehow.
In Tana, the airport security people let Malagasy people cut in front of the line, further creating friction.
The mens bathroom in Tana airport though clean, was completly out of toilet paper, when I asked the attendent, he just shrugged.Fortunately I had a little bit left in my backpack.
The infastructure of Madagascar is not ready for mass tourism, as was explained to me by I French health care worker also having boarding issues.
This is not a rant by any means, for I do have a lot of good recommendations if you are interested in cocoa plantations on a bicycle tour with an excellent guide in the Ambanja area. This being the highlight of the entire trip.

Sounds about right from my experience. Air Mad is cheap for a reason.

'The infastructure of Madagascar is not ready for mass tourism' nor are many of the Malagasy. I happen to like this though it is at times a bit uncomfortable.

Nosy Be is supposed to be the place that is most developed for tourism. I haven't been there for that reason.

Where did you stay in Nosy Be and in Diego, how much and what was it like?

Is there anything around Diego that you would recommend? I have been there but my driver was unhelpful.

Ok. lets here the whole story!!

Air Mad are certainly having more punctuality problems than used to be the case, although whether or not that’s because they’re “cheap” is debatable. Unless you fly long-haul with them, their domestic flights are nowadays anything but cheap. Some of their problems almost certainly result from the political upheavals, in the course of which Lufthansa Consulting has been relieved of its influential management role.

However, in relation to the OP’s experience with his flight connection to Dubai in Mauritius, travellers should definitely be aware that Air Mad routinely holds the departure of international flights from Tana if there are connecting passengers coming in on a delayed domestic flight and should plan accordingly. This is perhaps less a matter of inefficiency than Air Mad’s interpretation of economic good sense, although it does raise the question of what does the greater damage to their reputation: keeping the majority of their passengers sitting around fuming in Ivato or having just a handful miss their outbound flight.

The OP and his partners in misfortune on Mauritius should also ask themselves whether it’s really sensible to allow only 2 to 3 hours or apparently even less for transit if they’re flying on a discounted non-rebookable, non-refundable ticket, which sounds to be the case. I would allow myself much, much more time, even as much as a full day, unless I’d booked both legs of my journey through the same airline, in which case the airline is obliged to ensure my onward journey, or unless the transit is taking place in an area such as the European Union where the law now forces airlines to sort out the consequences of their delays in a way that is favourable to the passengers.

In Mauritius I suspect there is no such legislation, so traditional rules apply and the passenger has no claim on either airline. That makes it not a specific problem of Air Mad, but of every airline, because none of them is immune to delay.

Like Rory, I find the fact that Madagascar is not “ready” for mass tourism one of the major charms of the place, and though I hope that they do manage to develop the infrastructure to the benefit of the population and to encourage responsible and sustainable tourism for the benefit of biodiversity, I hope it continues to be a country that is unattractive to mass tourism.

By the way, Rory, you might like to try Nosy Be – I was more or less dragged there against my will by Malagasy friends who insisted on seeing the place, and was pleasantly surprised by how little it actually fits the stereotypical image.

Finally, I was unable to suppress a feeling of mild amusement at the OP’s criticism of the men’s toilet at Ivato. The Malagasy in general, in common with the vast majority of people on the planet, do not use toilet paper but clean themselves with hand and water, which is actually much healthier for the sensitive bodily tissue involved. The attendant would therefore be unlikely to see the lack of paper as a problem to be taken too seriously – hence the shrug. Next time try the one in the domestic terminal – there’s usually a pleasant woman at the entrance who will sell you a few sheets for a couple of hundred ariary.

Anyway, bhorton, I’m glad your positive experiences seem to have outweighed the few negative ones you mention here.

Bhorton is this your first trip ever (out of the US ) ? You also said that you paid USD 1450 for a ticket ! Is it a one way tix from Mauritius to DXB ? If yes then the price au depart de Mauritius is USD 850 only ! And only Emirtes fly to DXB (from Mauritius).

LR

At the risk of tempting fate (flying to Diego Suarez tomorrow) our internal flights have been perfect so far. They are expensive if you buy online but we used Avia Reps in London and got the 50% discount having flown here with Air Mad.

I want to ask the OP about the taxi brousse ride from Diego to Ankify versus other forms of travel, feedback on Montagne d'Ambre and l'Ankarana and recommendations for beaches north of Diego as well as any tips for where to stay on Nosy Be.

Cheers!

I apologize to all for not responding quicker, but as I am working here in Afghanistan, I do not get online as often as I need to.I will post three seperate messages beginning with diego, then Ambanja (my favorite) and Nosy be. Diego -The only reason I went to Diego was so my female friend could catch a flight to Tanna and only have to spend one night there instead of two.And so I could see the country side and take some pictures. After arriving by boat from Nosy be, be extremely cautious of the taxi "touts" as you step off the boat at Ankify landing.They will distract you in the front while somebody will try and pick your pocket or unzip your backpack from the rear! I have found "cargo" pants with a button on the pocket to work pretty well.I was warned about them by the english speaking waiter at the Oasis cafe in Nosy be.
I made my way to Chez Patricia restaraunt (there is no hotel rooms there) to try and locate a car and driver to Diego. The owner/cook "Vanessa" tel # 0325897311 spoke enough english to call someone to take us.Be wary because the person who shows up in a nice car will probably not be the person who drives you in that car. He is a middleman that will take you to another person and car that will actually take you.I negotiated a fee of 300,000 AR with half paid up front and the rest on arrival. Once underway he will not stop except to use the restroom and drive straight to Diego.The road is decent except for many potholes causing slowdown and speed up again.I was very satisfied with what I paid for.
Upon arrival in Diego I look around at the hotels as far as price, view and settled on the three star Allamanda. The hotel was practically empty and we could have any room we wanted, seaside view being the most expensive.
Diego was somewhat boring I thought, as the whole town locks up for siesta then reopens later in the evening.We were so pleased with the hotel room view and the pool it made up for everything else.
The most excitement came when we decided to go the town market and look around one morning.Three individuals "thought" they were going to pick my pocket until I realized what they were up to and I being to chase down the one who actually tried to put his fingers in my pocket.
Needless to say the whole market came to a stop in that area with all the people speaking to me in french.I think they were trying to say go to the police, but the only thing I lost was my prescription glasses had fallen out of my shirt pocket onto the ground somewhere. My female friend immediately wanted to leave as she was shaken as it had happened so fast. I told here if we just retrace our steps I think I can find them.Remember there was about 60+ malagasy people all around in a crowd, when all of a sudden the crowd opened up and a young women holding a small child approached me with my folded glasses in her hand. I was deeply,deeply touched by this and of course gave her some money .Then we got the hell out of there. The return trip to Ambanja was arranged and negotiated the same way with this time the car was slightly in better condition.I hope this has been of use to some one, as I do not make hotel reservations anywhere I travel.I prefer to "browse around" before making a selection and take the road less traveled. Au revoir!