Hello All,
I am planning to go to Madagascar for two weeks towards the end of May. I have been researching quite a bit on this forum and reading up on the Bradt guide, but I feel like the more I read, the more dizzy I am with all the options!
I have narrowed it down a little bit, but understanding the challenges of transport in Madagascar, I am not sure if I am overambitious here. I am thinking of spending the first half of the trip seeing Morondava-Kirindy-Tsingy de Bemaraha, the second half of the trip I would like to do the Ifaty-Tulear-Ranomafana-Tana route, and see the things along the way.
I have quite a number of questions...
- Am I being overly ambitious? I want to see as much as I can, but also don't want to be running from one place to another.
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I am not going to be counting pennies, but I would like to keep the costs down. I was thinking of flying from Tana to Morondava, and fly from Morondava to Tulear, if the prices are not outrageous. Does this make sense? For the other parts (Morondava-Kirindy-Tsingy & Tulear-Tana) where it would be by road, it seems like public transport is the cheapest but very slow. Since I am just one person, is it going to be very expensive to hire a driver & car? I know that the package tour option is probably out as I am one person and the cost must be pretty high...
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In terms of logistics, does it matter which part I do first? Which one would make more sense:
(i) Tana fly to Morondava. Visit Av. des Baobabs, Tsingy de Bemaraha & Kirindy. Fly to Tulear, visit Ifaty, go along RN7(?) and see the highlights along the way, back to Tana by road.
(ii) Tana by road to Tulear and visit sights along the way. Fly from Tulear to Morondava. Visit Av. des Baobabs, Tsingy de Bemaraha & Kirindy.
- I hear a lot about river boat trips in Tsingy, but can't seem to find more information. Anyone could tell me more about it?
Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for the help!
J