Independent traveler

Generally, it isn't necessary to organise visits to national parks in advance, and in many cases it isn't even possible.

Just turn up at the park office, where you'll be assigned one of the (compulsory) guides who will then organise everything together with you.

Maroantsetra is a case in point. Just go along to the park office through the main (old) market by the radio masts and ask the secretary receptionist to put you in touch with a guide. On flight days there are usually one or two hanging around the office looking for clients anyway.

You'd need to be very unlucky indeed, even in the "high season" to find all the guides at a location booked. I've never experienced that.

If you engage a tour operator in Tana or Europe, they won't do things much differently, and they'll charge you a mark-up of 80 to 100%.

Hi. You can definitely "do" Madagascar independently and visit individual Parks without any pre-booking. That was what I did and it worked OK. The most important thing is to find a good guide as they are mandatory and it would not be easy to visit Parks on your own.

I have been to Madagascar in June/July 2010 and put a very detailed trip report on the internet where you may find description of my experince when trawelling independently around Madagascar including logistic tips - if interested check it out at.. my site .

Have a nice trip.

if you have specific interests or language needs then try to find a guide before turning up to the gate and getting whoever is available

Hi

I just left Madagascar a few days ago and I travelled alone / independently and it was great. PM me if you want more details.

I booked nothing in advance, and just turned up at parks, pay for the park fees, picked a guide and off we went. It was straight forward. But I don't know if things will be less fortunate for you in July & August as you will be there during peak season.

The problem with #3's suggestion is that in most cases you would need the name(s) and mobile numbers or e-mail addresses of the park guides to be able to do this, and that generally isn't practicable.

Some of the more tech-savvy guides in the parks are beginning to set up websites for themselves, so you could see what luck you have with a search engine by entering the name of the park you want to visit and "guide". As good as all guides in my experience now have cell phones, and an increasing number have got themselves e-mail addresses, but as yet only a minority are getting round to making these details accessible on the Net.

Whether the tech-savvy guides will be the ones with the specialist skills you need is a different question.

Another option would be to look up the phone number of the park on the MNP website and try your luck that way. A problem with that is that often the person on the other end of the phone (in contrast to the guides) often doesn't speak English, and getting to speak to the right person to handle your request can be a problem.

Given the way that the political situation is still affecting tourism, I think it is very unlikely that you'll have problems finding a guide, even in the "peak season" - I never found it a problem even before the political problems started.

I shall be travelling again around the same time as you and have no intention of trying to fix up guides in advance.