Hi friends,
I'am going to Mada next 25th. My travel's plan (by my own) includes the big recommended train trip (Manakara-Fiana) on Monday, january 3rd.
My questions are:
1.- Can I book in advance in Tana? (I will not arrive until Fiana, I'm going straight from Antsirabe to Ranomafana and Rano-Manakara by taxi-brousse)
2.- What about the bad wheather at Manakara around these days? Do you think any train trip would be canceled because of the rain? I wouldn't like to get stuck there.
Thanks in advance.
Cristine
tinocris
1
anneholiday
Hello,
I think it’s most better you book in advance if you want to travel by train from Manakara to Fianarantsoa. About the taxi-brousse I want not suggests you for the security reason.
January is the middle of rain season there but I think not the train trip will be cancelled.
How many days you will travel there and you travel alone?
Good luck!!!!
Anne
2
tinocris
Book in advance where? As I said I'm going from Antsirabe to Ranomafana and from there to Manakara.
Maybe it's better a round trip from Fiana?
I am travelling alone during 3 weeks. My schedule is: arrive at Manakara (saturday night), staying one day (sunday) and come back to visit Fiana (on Monday train), stay in Fiana for one day (tuesday) and next day going to Ambalavao for the Zebu market (wednesday).
May you suggest I must to reconsider anything?
Thanks anneholiday.
Cris
3
marogisa
Hi Cristine
If you want to try to book in advance in Tana, the only conceivable place is the railway station at the end of the Avenue de l'Indépendence.
This has now unfortunately been converted into an upmarket shopping mall, which means the beautiful old ticket counters have simply been destroyed, but there is a Madarail information and ticket office there.
When I visited in September, I was so taken with the fact that you can now travel by rail again from Tana to Andasibe (three times a month, Saturdays) and to Antsirabe (once a month, Saturdays), that I forgot to ask if they also sold tickets for the Manakara line. However, you can try to contact them and ask yourself. E-mail is tourisme@madarail.mg and the phone number is +261 20 22 345 99
If you can't book in advance in Tana, then go to the station in Manakara the day before your train leaves (or earlier, if you arrive in time) and buy yourself a ticket.
I don't think you need to worry about bad weather causing cancellation of the train, but in the unlikely event that it does, you won't be stuck in Manakara, because the road in is blacktop, so you can always get a taxi brousse back out again. It's faster than the train, though not as interesting.
Pro tip
Lonely Planet
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