The Perfect Travel Itinerary For Madagascar

70 Comments

1. Magnificent goods from you, man. I have keep in mind your stuff previous to and you are simply too wonderful.
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2. Hi,

   How long did it take you from TSINGY STONE FOREST to Morondava? Is the only way back to the capital or is there a shortcut maybe?

   • Hi it is a full days drive from morondava to the tsingy. The roads are quite terrible and you’ll need to Take it slow. No other way around unfortunately!

3. Hi Johnny, I have 5 days 4 nights to spend in Madagascar, where I will arrive in December by flight at Antananarivo in the morning at 10.40 and leave at 14.45 on the fifth day. I wonder if it is possible to visit and see my 3 main objectives: Boabab trees in Boabab Avenue, the lemurs and Tsingi rock forest? Thanks 🙂

   • Hi arifin, I think it can be done but may feel very rushed and you won’t see as much. You can fly to morondava as soon as you land, and stay the night there while visiting the baobabs at sunset. The following day you will drive the whole day to the tsingy (and see the baobabs again as you must pass through them to get to Tsingy). The 3rd day you can make a hike through the big tsingy, the 4th day you would then drive back to morondava, and the 5th day you can fly to tana in the morning.

4. Hi
   My husband and I are traveling to Madagascar next month for 2.5 weeks. Can you pls suggest what shall we prioritise to visit in such a short time. We would like to spend a few days on the beach to relax
   Thank you,
   Monika

   • hi Monika, i would visit the western part of Madagascar per my itinerary, and then maybe a few days in Andasibe and then off the beach. But that is jus tmy preference. You can see my other post and pick what most makes you excited!

5. Hi Jonny,

   Thanks for putting together a great blog post about madagascar. It is really helpful to see an itinerary to see what is possible to do in madagascar. It looks like you had an amazing trip. I am going to madgascar for two weeks in August and I am trying to figure out one last piece of my itinerary. I see you travelled in one day from Isalo National Park to Andasibe. How long did this take you? We want to fit a visit into Isalo National park and it would be great to have an extra day by being able to drive from Isalo National Park to antananarivo in a single day.

   • Hey Chris! We actually stopped in Ambositra for the night. I don’t thjink it’s possible to drive from Isalo to Andasibe in a day. Alternativelly you could probably reach Tana in one day from Isalo as well!

6. Hi Johnny, I will go in Madagascar from 05 September to 21 September. We are a couple, and we are sportive and very very adaptable. Can you suggest an itinerary? (I would spend one day to play windsurf if it’s possible 🙂 )

   tks
   best regards

7. Hi Johnny

   Thanks for an amazing overview.

   We plan on going to Madagascar this summer for 4 weeks. Here we have used your itinerary as the main inspiration. This include:
   – Nosy be (1-3)
   – Diego Suarez (4-6)
   – Morondova and Tsingy (7-13)
   – Isalo (14-16)
   – Ranomafana (17-18)
   – Andasibe (19-20)
   – Ile Nattes (21-26)
   – Tana (27-28)

   However, when reading your itinerary one thing would be nice to know for all of it to add up. How did you get from Isola to Andasibe and how long did it take? 🙂

   Thanks again!
   Marc

   • Hey Marc, that sounds like a great trip! One thing to note, from the tsingy and morondava to isalo will take you 2 days of driving so you’ll want to account for that. we took a driver with a car throughout our Madagascar trip. Hope that helps!

8. Hi Johnny,
   Thank you for your insights on madagscar, they have been helpfil. I have just started to plan a trip to Madagscar, from the 21st june to the 15th – my plane arrives at 21st June 22:00 pm and leaves at 15th 00:30 am.

   I would like to visit more or less the places you did, but I think I might be short on time. I would like to visit Tana – Andasibe-Mantadia Parl – Ranomafama park – Isalo Park – Tsingy Baobas – St marie Island/Ille aux Nattes and possibly Kirindy. I wanted to end my trip with 5 nights in St Marie to relax and do some whale watching.

   Do you think I could fit all this in such a shhort timeframe? What would you recommend?

9. Hi thank you so much for your blog post it was really informative and made it all sounds so exciting. I am going to Madagascar from March to April and will be staying in Andasibe, with food provided by a family. It is my first time travelling abroad by myself and was wondering whether you had any general tips; e.g. what things to avoid, what foods to steer away from and whether anything is an absolute must to bring etc… any tips will be super helpful. Thank you so much

   • Hi Poppy, that is quite the first place to travel alone to!! No matter, you will absolutely love it! I would say that the local food in madagascar can be quite tasty but if you’ve not traveled to very undevelope dplaces before, i would take it easy on the food until you know you can handle it. I hope you planned some trips afterwards however because Madagascar is such an amazing country that you’ll want to see more than just the Andasibe area!

10. I don\’t have a website so not sure how to respond to your blog posts. Sorry. But, I love the blog on Madagascar. I am planning a trip in May to see my niece in the peace corp. I’m nervous because she wants to plan it all, but I want us to use tour company such as GMT +3 TOURS. I keep hearing about the “malagasy stomach” and have been advised to be careful of what we eat. What would you recommend for food? Stick to hotels? They say “if you can’t peel it, don’t eat it”.

    We are only there 10 days and she has us covering a lot of ground: Tana – Andasibe – Tamatave – Mahambo – St. Marie, then a boat to Ill Au Natte for 2 nights, then a regional flight to Tana to head back to US. Sounds aggressive. Your thoughts?

    • Hi Kim! Thanks for the kind words. I think like most places, you watch what you eat depending on your travel and stomach threshhold. What may rough up one’s stomach won’t for others. But generally, I avoid “salads” and fruits without an outer layer. I think if your niece is in the peace corp, she’ll have a good understanding of the country and know someone that can help her book her accoms. For the most part, you will be staying at modest hotels and guesthouses where the food will be good quality.

      As for your itinerary, I think it should be enough time although I’d spend less time in Tamatave/Mahambo and more time on Ile Aux Nattes. Something like 2 days Tana, 3 days Andasibe, 1 day Mahambo, and 4 days in Ile Aux Nattes. Enjoy!

11. Hi Jonny,
    Thank you for your info. This is really helpful! We are planning a trip to Madagascar and are curious when the best time to go is. Do you have any advice?

    Much Gratitude
    Aimee

    • Hi Aimee! I’d always recommend to travel in the dry season in Madagascar. This is May to November for the best times. The wet season can be very beautiful too of course but the weather is just very variable and some sights are out of reach like the Tsingy. Make sure to read my Madagascar Travel Guide for more info!

12. I’m looking to go with my 8 year old who is obsessed with the animals and nature in Madagascar. Did you see a lot of animals? That is his main goal, so trying to make sure we fit in plenty of forest/jungle time. He wants to see everything from giraffe bugs to lemurs.

    • Hi Karilyn, I defintely saw many many animals as you can see in all my detailed posts of the country. Lemurs were of course a daily sighting and other native animals as well. It was a great experience and would definitely recommend it, even with your 8 year old!

13. Hello Johnny, great itinerary! My friend and I are planning to go to Madagascar for 3 weeks-1 month, but the problem is, none of us drive. Will it be a problem? will public transport be a problem there?

    Thank you:D

    • Hi Chandra, I would hire a car with a driver. This is the standard way to travel around Madagascar. Between 2 people, the cost will be very reasonable imo and you can see so much more in that time vs taking public transport.

14. Hey Johnny,

    We are group of 3 planning to travel in Madagascar from 3 – 18 Nov. Reading your blog post, we understand that having a driver is a necessity. Just would like to ask you if you might have some contacts on EN speaking drivers and would be willing to share? Thanks a lot. Zuzana

    • Hi Zuzana, definitelyi would recommend a driver for your trip!

      I would email my friend Serge who drove us around. He spoke decent English but as with everyone in Mada, English is their 3rd language so it was hard to find people that spoke very good English.

15. Hey Johnny, great post! I’m spending 8 nights in Madagascar in November and really want to see ISM, but was also hoping to see some Baobabs. Is that a reasonable goal for such a short stay? Or do you recommend choosing one direction or the other? I’m assuming the Baobabs are only in Morondava . . . is that true?

    Thanks!

    • Hey Evan, I think with 8 nights you could squeeze that in. If you’re not going to tsingy, then it is just in and out of morondava to see the baobabs. You could either fly to morondava from tana, stay the night while visiting the baobabs, or take 3 days by driving (one day to Morondava, one day baobabs, one day back). From tana, fly to ile sainte marie and relax for 4 nights.

      You won’t get to see any of the national parks or lemurs this way but it will check off those two things in your post. Hope that helps!

      • Ok, cool! That’s helpful. Thanks for the ideas.

16. Hi Johnny,
    I am currently considering a 2 month trip to Madagascar with a group of friends as part of a work placement. This would mean that we would be busy during the weekdays and able to travel on the weekends to see the rest of the country. I have read on your article here and on other websites that travel between sites can take up to a full days worth of travelling at some points. I was wondering if it would be possible to travel between say, Antananarivo and Ile Sainte Marie (or Tsingy stone forest or avenue of the baobabs, etc.) and back within a weekend (friday afternoon-saturday) whilst still being able to spend time at these sites and fully appreciate them. Or if we would need to dedicate more time to each venture out.
    Cheers

    • Hi Dan, unless the roads have significantly been improved in the last few years (which I can’t imagine is the case), it’s impossible to see the Tsingy within a weekend. You’d need to fly to Morondava, and then it takes a full day just to reach Tsingy on backroads and “ferries”. Ile Sainte Marie I think is posisble. You could fly from Tana to ISM and relax for a day or so but I think that is a bit much for a short weekend. I think the most feasible if you are only doing weekend trips are to the Andasibe and to fly to Morondava. Otherwise, would just save all the godo stuff for when you’re done with your work placement and have some proper time to explore!

17. Hi Johnny! Your itinerary has inspired us even if we have only 12 days so we need to speed up! We would like to ask you how much was to take a taxi brousse all for yourself?

    • Thanks Giovanni! I only took the Taxi Brousse from Toamasina to Tana. If I were to have used a taxi brousse for my entire trip, it would take me twice as long to complete this itinerary! However, you will save an incredible amount of money if you’re okay roughing it as a taxi brousse from Tana to Tulear for example is only 40000-50000 ariary. I would definitely not recommend taxi brousses if you only have 12 days!

      • Can you give me some ideas on costs for renting an ENTIRE taxi-brousse from Point A to B (say Andasibe to Il St Marie island area) and are the drivers reluctant to do this? Does it make the locals angry? I want to get a car and driver to do most of the trip, but then ditch him once we get to Andasibes since we will be there for 3 nights. I am wondering if we should hire another car and driver from Andasibe to take us to the islands or what…. Or maybe our guest house will have options for us? Ugh. Thank you for this blog. Still, Madagascar is a tough nut to crack at first with the planning! But thanks for helping!!!

        • Hi Emily, there is no taxi brousse to Ile Sainte Marie as it is an island. You’ll need to get to Toamasina where there is a shuttle to the ferry station in Soanierana-Ivongo. From Andasiba, you should be able to get a pickup with the Cotisse bus company that goes from Tana to Toamasina and stops in Andasibe to pick up tourists. I would talk to your guesthouse/hotel in Andasibe to see if they can arrange it for you. Should be pretty straight simple!

18. Hi Johnny thanks for this itinerary. I am going with a friend in Madagascar too in October, we stay 2 weeks, and we plan to follow more or less your itinerary. I have a few questions though: as far as I understand, you rented the car with the driver until Ile Sainte Marie and then you arranged the trip back to Tana yourself? About the driver, as we also plan to contact GMT+3, is the food and accommodation included in the price? When it comes to Morondava instead, is there anything special to see there or you used it as a starting point for the Tsingy National Park? Thanks a lot!

    • Hi again, morondava had a really nice beach which was seemingly devoid of tourists. Morondava js also where the baobabs are which are kf course amazing. You will see the avenue of the baobabs twice if you go to the tsingy since you have to pass through it to get to the Tsingy. Enjoy!

      • Thank you! 🙂 another question, How did you go from Soanierana Ivongo back to Tana? Does the taxi brousse take one day or it stops overnight somewhere else? How did you arrange it? Giuseppe

        • Hi again! So with the ferry from Ile Sainte Marie to Soanierana Ivongo, it includes a taxi brousse style transfer to Toamasina. From Toamasina, you can either take taxi brousse to Tana, or they now have the Cotisse shuttles which are a much more luxurious and comfortable van style transport. It is more expensive obviously, but worth it imo.

      • Thanks Johnny for the answer! So for what I understand it seems like you took a normal taxi brousse and not a cotisse? After you arrive to Toamasina, is it easy to find a taxi brousse (or Cotisse, whatever) that take us to Tana on the same day without driving overnight? Because you made it, but I read about many people who slept in Toamasina and then took a taxi brousse the next day. Last, could you please tell us what company for ferry/transport to Toamasina you took? Thanks 🙂

        • Hi Again, yes plenty of people sleep in Toamasina before taking the bus the next day. We had a flight the next day so this wasn’t an option. So from where we were dropped off as part of the ferry shuttle, across the street was a taxi brousse station where I negotiated renting out the entire van to take my friend and I back to Tana. This was like 250k MGA at the time but this was before they had the cotisse. Nowadays, I would just reserve a cotisse beforehand and they run multiple times a day between the two cities. As for ferry companies, you can read about all that on my Ile Sainte Marie post!

19. Dear Johnny, thanks for this itinerary! I am going to Madagascar in October with a friend and planning to rent a car with driver. I also bumped into GMT+3 online and I just now realized that you also booked through them. My question is, the price you paid (40eur/day) includes also accommodations and food for the driver? Only the gas isn’t included? Also, as far as I understood you had your driver until Ile Sainte Marie? Then from Ile Sainte Marie back to Tana you arranged it yourself with public transports? We’re actually planning to follow your same itinerary, just a bit shorter as we stay only two weeks. Thanks for your help!

    • Hi Giuseppe, I can pretty much answer yes to all your questions! Nowadays, they have the cotisse bus which is a more high end bus service from Tana to Toamasina so you can arrange that eawsily on the way back from ISM. Enjoy hte trip!

20. Hi Johnny,
    Great reading through all your stuff on here. Me and a couple of mates are heading to Madagascar for 1 month also in September. Out of interest is there anything on your trip you felt you missed out on speaking to other travelers and locals, anything you would skip if you had to do it again?
    Let me know cheers matey!

    • Hey Tristan, that’s a tough question! I thought my itinerary was pretty solid all throughout. obviously if I had more time I would add things to the itinerary like a visit to the very north (Diego Suarez). If I had like 4 or 5 more days, I would probably do the drive from Morondava to Tulear along the coast. Then make my way up the RN7 back to Tana stopping at the national parks. My driver said the drive along the western coast is very beautiful but the roads are very bad and takes a lot of time. Also, I would consider doing the hike up the Andrigintra mountains if I had few more days (instead of just passing it by).

      If I HAD to skip something, I would probably skip Ranomafana National Park as I’ve seen cooler rainforests and I think Andasibe was enough for me to get the gist of it. Hope that helps!

21. Great write up and this is very helpful! I am trying to decide between Ile Sainte Marie and Nosy Be as a beach destination after doing the main RN7. Do you have any opinions for or against either option? THanks!

    • Hi Anthony! I never visited Nosy Be so can’t speak to it exactly. I chose Ile Sainte Marie mainly because it was a cheaper destination and had more of a rustic, chiled out vibe. Nosy Be is more for the resorts. You can’t go wrong as far as natural beauty in either place so it just depends on the vibe you’re seeking. Also from what i hear, the diving in Nosy Be is better, which I wouldn’t be surprised of as the diving i Did around ISM was not that great.

22. Hello Johnny,

    Your travel journeys are so amazing. I came across your blog while trying to decided between Mozambique and Madagascar for a short five day break next month.

    I think I am leaning more towards Madagascar.

    Having read your blog on Madagascar I can see that five days is not sufficient but I was wondering if you could suggest which place (favorite) I should go to in the short time frame I have.

    Secondly, is Madagascar an affordable destination.

    I would appreciate your feedback

    Thank you

    • Hi there! Yes Madagascar is a very affordable destination. It is probably one of the cheapest countries you can visit. With 5 days, you rea`lly won’t have much time to explore the island. I would dio either of the following:

      1. Fly to Morondava and do a 3 day 2 night tour of the Tsingy Stone Forest and stop by the Baobabs on the way back.
      2. Visit Andasibe National Park which is nearby to Antananarivo

      You can’t go wrong with either option!

23. Hey Johnny,

    Thanks for the great post. I will be traveling to Madagascar this August. I am staying for a few months, but my mother and grandmother are coming with me, and they will only be staying for a week (which I am now thinking isn’t an adequate amount of time). I think renting a driver will be the best way to get the most out of our time and I also like the suggestion about visiting the western region since our time is limited.

    I am curious about the transportation system. You had Serge for 3 weeks of the trip. Would he just get his own accommodations for the nights or did you cover the cost of the accommodations for him?

    • Hi Gaby! It’s funny, I asked myself the same question about that. “Where does the driver stay?? Does he sleep in the car??”. Turns out the answer is definitely no. He will stay in very modest hotels for locals and sometimes the places you stay in will accommodate the driver as well. It is all included in the per day price they quote you.

      In 2014, Serge said he normally pays 10000-15000 Ariary per night at these hotels. Local restaurants have food for 3000-5000 Ariary so he will be sorted. Have fun on your trip!

24. Hi Johnny,

    How much did you pay when using Serge? Is he affordable? Trying to get the best price!

    • Hi Amy! I paid gmt+3 €40/day for serge. They are a travel agency in Madagascar and contract out their drivers so I don’t know how much serge actually gets from that price. This was 3 years ago so keep that in mind it’s probably more now.

      Also gas isn’t included in the price but that is standard through the country.

      • Hi Johnny,

        Thanks for your reply! He is charging a little more, which I expect that is normal. What is the best itinerary you recommend for someone going for 1 week? Also, how much cash should one bring for 1 week? Thanks!

        • You could do a 1 week trip to the west which you can see the Baobabs and Tsingy National Park. This was my favorite part of the country. Unfortunately, one week isn’t much time since getting around is so tough. Alternatively, you could do Andasibe for a few nights, and then fly to Ile Sainte Marie for a few nights of beach if you’re into that. Almost all places in Madagascar don’t accept credit card, and I’d imagine that hasn’t changed in the last few years. I think a thousand euros per person should be good. Note that there are ATMs all over the island.

      • Johnny, thank you so much for all your replies! They are super helpful. A few more questions-

        – Do you have a page that talks about Andasibe? I asked about Tsingy and unfortunately, the roads are bad due to a cyclone that happened this year so we are unable to visit it 🙁

        – Did you fly in Madagascar? How were the flights? Reliable?

        – Would you recommend Serge? What was your experience with him like? How did you communicate with him besides email when getting there? Also, how much should one tip a private driver?

        Thanks again!

        • Ah bummer! Yes It is rainy season right now and roads don’t usually clear up until May or June. I didn’t fly in Madagascar and there is just Air Mada that does the domestic flights. It’s not the best from what I’ve heard (could be different now). Serge was great. He has been literally everywhere in teh country and knows everything. He didn’t speak much English when I had him 3 years ago but I can speak enoguh French to converse with him. I think we tipped him about 200k Ariary between two people for 3 weeks of driving.

          Also, be sure to read the Guide to Madagascar post I made, will probably be very helpful for you!

      • Hi Johnny,

        Did you pay in advance (full amount) with the company gmt*3 or did you pay them in person?

        • I paid Serge upfront. I don’t think GMT+3 had credit card processing systems when i went but perhaps they have that functionality now. Would be comfortable with either option actually.

25. Hey Johnny! I just found your site and it seems really helpful. I’m going to southern Africa for 6 weeks before heading up to Kilimanjaro this August/September. I’m starting in South Africa, but I’m interested in going to Madagascar for a little while. I’m primarily interested in Tsingy and the Northern Coast (which I saw wasn’t on your itinerary). I’m travelling alone and slightly intimidated by the difficulties of traveling in Madagascar. How did you set up your driver ahead of time? Do you think it’s safe for a solo female to travel this way in Madagascar? Any tips are greatly appreciated!!

    • Hi Emily, super jealous of your upcoming trip! I didn’t go to the north coast but my driver always raved about how the beaches in Diego Suarez were his favorite. I got my driver beforehand by emailing some tour operators. You can read about it Here.

      Also, I think being a solo female is no problem either. I saw a bunch of solo female travelers along the way. I wouldn’t recommend trying to get around with the taxi brousse system. You need a lot more time and patience for that!

      • Thanks so much for your response! I’ll send an email to the GMT+3 and see what I can get set up!

        • Awesome. Enjoy your trip!!

    • Hi Jonny,
      This has been so helpful. I am desperate to get to Madagascar but unfortunately I have only 2 weeks there.
      I really would like to dive, I have never done it before so wandered if there was a place to learn at Ile Sainte Marie as this is the place I have been more geared towards.
      Saying that I am trying very much so to do this trip on a budget! Any recommendations?
      Also did you travel and find places to stay along the way or did you book in advance to stay?
      Any help would be hugely appreciated seen as a few travel agents seem to have very limited knowledge of the country
      Cheers

      • Hi Louise, there are definitely places to learn how to dive. I did my diving at Princess Bora resort and they were fantastic. You can read all about it on my Ile Sainte Marie Post. There are also plenty of cheap accommodations and where I stayed on Ile Aux Nattes was simply paradise.

        As for booking everyhting in advance, you definitely don’t need to do it but since you’re only going for 2 weeks, I would recommend it as it’ll give you more time to enjoy things!

26. Dear Johnny, how was the weather in Ile Sainte Maire in september? I am planning to go there in the end of august -.september.

    • Hi Filip, I went during the end of September and the weather was as you’d expect from a tropical destination during the dry season. Mostly sunny, but sometimes there would be a short storm, and there was one day where it was mostly cloudy. August/Sep is firmly int he dry season so I don’t think you need to worry about any prolonged periods of storms (that’s more Dec-Mar)!

      • Thank you for your reply. Mostly, I am interested in temperatures. I have read that the temperatures that time in Ile Sainte Maire in the end of August – early september are around 24.

        • Ah OK, ya the temperatures are most certainly warmer than 24. Maybe that is in the middle of the night but I can assure the temperature is well into the 30s for the day. And it’s humid, so add few more degrees for real feel temperatures!

27. I’ve wanted to visit Madagaskar since I wantched the movie. I hope I’ll get a chance soon. Thank you for sharing this useful post.

    • Yes and you definitely should! It’s a wonderful country and you will see plenty of King Julien’s around 🙂