Hi Liesbeth,
I would strongly advise you to organise your own travel and visits if that’s what you’d like to do. You have plenty of time, and although travel by taxi brousse will be slower (and much more uncomfortable, it must be said) than hiring your own vehicle, it will not hold you back too much, as in areas “on the beaten track” there are usually frequent vehicles, several per day.
The main problems are that long- and medium-distance taxis brousse don’t leave until they’re full, and the waiting around can be tiresome. The best thing to do is to find a cafe close to where your vehicle is and eat or drink something while you people-watch.
A corollary of that is that it is often difficult to pick up a long distance brousse after breaking your journey to visit a park, as they’re already full (although as one person travelling alone, you may be squeezed in, especially if the conductor knows they’ll be dropping someone off shortly). Even in this case, though, you won’t be stuck for ages – the solution is to get a local vehicle to the nearest major centre which is a starting point for long distance vehicles. Examples would be from Andasibe to get a local brousse to Moramanga, or from Ranohira (Isalo NP) to Ihosy.
On most routes, especially south and east of Tana, you should avoid night-time travel as there is a risk of banditry, but that would apply to a private car as well.
To travel down the Tsiribihina you have various options. For example you can make your way by taxi brousse to Miandrivazo and make contact with piroguiers there. Or you can contact a local operator at Antsirabe – this might be particularly useful if you want to combine the river trip with a visit to the Tsingy de Bemaraha, as they can arrange for a 4x4 to meet you at the end of your river trip. If you PM me, I can give you the e-mails of a couple of guys who did a good job for me years and years ago, and who are still operating out of Antsirabe. The problem with the Tsiribihina nowadays is that it tends to get overcrowded, and it does make a difference if your tent is the only one on the sandbank or is one of twenty...!
If the train from Fianarantsoa to Manakara is still not operational, you could consider the less known trip from Moramanga and Andasibe to Tamatave, especially as you’re considering going to the Pangalanes. Also, Madarail runs (fairly expensive) weekend specials from Tana to Andasibe and Antsirabe, which you can book at the station in Tana, although there’s no regular passenger service on these two routes.
For whale watching, you’ll need to go to either Sainte Marie or Maroantsetra for the Bay of Antongil. I’ve described in detail the various ways off getting to Maroantsetra in earlier posts.
You can book most domestic flights at pretty short notice – 48 or even 24 hours. The main exceptions are routes operated with the small Twin Otter aircraft, and destinations such as Maroantsetra which are difficult to reach by other means. Also, the very few domestic flights that link important towns without going through Tana tend to get booked up well in advance.
As far as parks are concerned, there are relatively few that can’t be reached by taxi brousse, and these are off what most people might call “the beaten track”. If you’re staying on the “beaten track”, you’ll have no access problems. In the national parks, you’re required by law to engage a guide who is accredited to the particular park you’re visiting. Community run parks outside the NP system also usually require you to take a guide – not least because this brings money to a member of the community. Other private parks and reserves have a variety of policies.
The problems reported by #1, at least as far as the national parks are concerned, are due to her tour operator promising something he was never going to be able to keep. Some NPs won’t allow booking, as they give clients to the guides in turn, so that everybody gets a chance. If a client decides to stay an extra couple of days, s/he will almost invariably keep the same guide. “Bookings” don’t have priority. Many guides don’t trust Tana-based operators to keep their bookings and will take a client who is there and ready to go (I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been told stories by guides of tour operators who have let them down in some way). Also, if there is a conflict between the client’s requirements and the skills of the various guides – for example if the best bird experts have ropey English, the park will often make its own decision on priorities. As in NPs groups are limited to 7 per guide (above that, they’re split, with additional guides), the idea of guides waiting for or opting for larger groups is not such a problem. Outside the NP and community reserve system it may well be.
To be accredited, the guides have to go through an evaluation process, and with very few exceptions (there are always some who spoil things) they’re very knowledgeable about their parks and where best to find the animals and birds the clients want to see.
And by the way, not everybody expects a tip, though of course no one will refuse one if you offer it. You should in any case apply the same principles you apply at home. If someone has done you a service and you’re satisfied with it, give a tip, if not, don’t.
Taxi drivers don’t expect tips, staff in the small restaurants that taxis brousse stop at don’t, taxi brousse drivers and conductors don’t, rickshaw drivers don’t, in fact most people you come into contact with don’t expect a tip. I tip park guides and porters if they’ve done a good job, porters at Ivato and in hotels if I let them carry my baggage, chambermaids in city hotels, and restaurant waiters if they’ve been friendly and pleasant, and that’s about it. In fact even then I’ve been criticised by Malagasy companions for tipping people they believe shouldn’t be tipped. There’s also no “10% culture” – if you tip a waiter 1000 or 2000 ariary, that will equate to a substantial percentage of his/her monthly wage.
I’ve been travelling the country for years now without the benefit of a tour operator and wouldn’t do it any other way. Go ahead and enjoy it.
