Having obtained some very useful information from Thorn Tree prior to our recent trip to Madagascar, I thought I would give a recap of our trip/impressions as it may of assistance to those planning a trip. We were 2 couples, in our early 60s, one from Australia one from France, who enjoy travel in out of the way places. We spent 2 weeks in the north of Madagascar which we organised ourselves, and 32 days doing a loop around SW Madagascar following our itinerary, but with a local driver/guide Dyna from Madagascar Rental Tour (http://www.madagascar-rental-tour.com/). We were there in Sep/Oct 2014.
We flew in to Nosy Be and had 4 days at Gite Guyan in Lokobe. This was a great choice. Accessible only by boat, in a small fishing village, right on the beach. Guy and Anita were amazing hosts (best if you can speak French), the food was amazing, we walked to the reserve proper and saw lots of wildilfe, had a great day on Nosy Tanikiley with them snorkelling (this was the best snorkelling we found in Madagascar), and went to Hellville markets with them. We then went to Casa Flops at Andilana, another great choice. Chloe looked after us incredibly well, organising diving and driving us to restaurants or getting take in meals for us if we wanted. We then arranged our own transfers to Ankify where we were met by a car and driver arranged through Hotel Le Petit Paradis in Diego Suarez. They offered a 2 day road transfer from Ankify to Diego including an overnight stop at Ankarana to visit the park and see the tsingy. We also included an en route side trip to the Red Tsingy. Dont miss this. The main canyon is spectacular. We stayed at Le Petit Paradis and did trips to Joffreville and Mt Ambre (don't bother unless you want to pay for an armed military escort to permit you to do anything but the most basic of trails in the park), The Emerald Sea, which was a great day. We had also planned to walk the Tree Bays but it was incredibly windy and we decided it wasn't worth it.
We flew to Tana where we were met by Dyna from Madagascar Rental Tour. This was a bit of a risk for us as we had found Dyna from one reference on LP Thorn Tree. It turned out to be an excellent choice. Dyna is a thoroughly trustworthy and knowledgeable guide. He speaks good English and French, and will work with you on standard or customised itineraries and modes of transport. The only problem is that Dyna is a one man show. You either need to book him early to assure his availablity, or be very lucky to get him. We arranged what Dyna described as an adventure trip and opted for a 4WD for the whole trip, both for comfort and convenience. Dyna also proved to be an excellent mechanic, which was needed on our trip. We went from Tana to Antsirabe (we stayed at Le Trianon and loved it), then on to the Tsiribihina River trip. We were very grateful to Dyna for changing us from dugouts to a motor launch for this trip. While the pirogue trip sounds wonderful, it is extremely hot on the river and you are sitting for hours cramped in the canoe. We had a two deck motor launch with decks chairs, amazing meals, and cold beers. Plus we travelled much further on the river, all the way to Belo sur Tsiribihina. Please note that security is an issue on this trip. Dyna always stops the first night at the Cascades, where the local community provides security guards, and on the second night we stayed near two other motor launches), In Belo sur Tsiribihina DON'T miss The Wild Zebu restaurant. This place has incredibly good meals at ridiculously low prices. Then it was on to Bekopaka and the Tsingy de Bemaraha. We then did the coastal route to Tulear. This trip is not for the faint hearted. The roads are terrible and accommodation is places very basic. But if you want an adventure and want to see some real Madagascar then go for it. We stopped at Morondava (not much), Belo sur Mer (a fascinating place we could have had more time at, and great accommodation at Ecolodge de Menabe). Then Manja (nothing), Morombe (not much), Andavadoaka (a beautiful spot), Mangily (don't miss the Spiney Forest guided walk), and Tulear. Then we came up the RN7 and Madagascar changed. Good bitumen roads, tour groups, touristy places. We felt like we were in a different country and it took time to adjust. We were used to shocking roads, very few other travellers, and remoteness. Anyway, we did Isalso NP(combining the two 3 hour walks into a full day walk, Andringitra (camping was fun, we didn't do Pic Boby but enjoyed the Diavolana circuit once we got above the prairie), the FCE railway trip (arguably worth doing, but believe me you will only do it once - it took us 17 hours and that seems not too bad), Manakara and the pirogue trip (quite good), Ranomafana (a bit disappointing as the animals were difficult to see in the tall and dense forest), Andasibe (saw the Indri) and back to Tana.
This was a great adventure but very trying at times, even for experienced remote area travellers. If you want any further information you can send me a personal message. WE also did is also a day by day bog of the trip that I can provide a link to for those who are interested.
