Madagascar in December...

Hello,
For December in Madagascar is rain season so that's means it's difficult to have travel there but i would to suggest you go to the south not east because the east coast is rain area so hard to explore so can start in Tana to Antsirabe and then continue to Fianrantsoa then take train to Manakara rise up by car to Ranomafana where you 'll find more wildlife like as lemur , fosa , chameleon ,.... after here you drive to Ambalavao then continue to Ranohira where you'll find the ring tailled lemur after here extend your tour to Ifaty for relaxing in the beautifull beach . For the christmas and new years i think it's not good to stay in big town like Tana so move to Majunga for example .
For the guide book you can't find in Tana so maybe there are bookshop on the street like second hand , if you are lucky. For the culture time it's not season in December so you can try anyway.I would to recommand you as freelance guide who can organise your tour if you like this is his adress:fihlusko07@hotmail.com
Good luck !
Ken

Hello

We were in Mad from late Nov 07 til early Jan 08. Here's our experience and what we were told:

We had almost no rain for the first few weeks during which we did the Tsribinha River trip, Tsingy de Bemarha and then flew down Toliara and came back along the RN7 (basically this part of the trip was from late Nov til mid Dec). Apparently for the Tsingy it was unusual for it to still be dry at that time (we went in the last week that the road was passable). But for the RN7 trip (the route which F3008 describes), the guides said that normally at that time of year the weather doesn't cause problems for trips along the Rn7. So perhaps Tsingy will be touch and go, but RN7 and all the stops along there (beach near Toliara, Isalo, Ambositra etc that F3008 mentions) should be fine.

In Tana we had some rain showers.

Then we headed East and again we had showers, but it was only showers. Not enough to spoil a couple of days exploring Perinet and then we definitely had plenty of sun on Ile Sainte Marie over Christmas.

We spent New Years in the North (Diego Suarez and explored Ankarana NP) without much rain at all.

Maybe it was a freak year? But even so I would say that RN7 and also the route out East past Perinet and on to Ille Sainte Marie will be fine in Dec.

Have fun!

The added time you'll have by travelling now will definately outweigh any rain-related issues. The more time the better, it can take some time to get around in Mada- and that of course is part of the adventure! Some good things about Madagascar in December- there will be very few tourists, and New Years in Madagascar can be a ton of fun. Be prepared for everything to shut down for a few days after new years though. As for rain, last year was dry, but the rain is in no way a complete road block. Just find a good raincoat if you'll be spending a lot of time in the N.E. :) And I highly reccommend flying when traveling between places in Mada. The airlines are great and will save you a TON of time and hassle- definately worth the extra $ even if on a low budget. Have a fantastic time!!