Travel Answers

Recommended one-month itinerary?

Millie

hallo my virtual friends...

could you please share information about the places to visit in Madagascar ...

i have 3 weeks vacation from end of may . i saw a documentary last evening and i just planned it a while ago :)
any suggestions about travel , stay is much appreciated ..

one life live it
Srini

Anyone have any suggestions for places to go where you can walk about without a guide in Madagascar? My husband & I intend to spend a few days in the Andisibe/Mantadia area but not sure yet where else. We have no objection to going into the parks with a guide but we would also like some time on our own. We are happy walking for miles at our own pace with cameras & binoculars & think finding & identifying stuff on your own is half the fun on a wildlife holiday, besides which we like our own company.

We are going to Madagascar in a few days and consider buying airticket from Tana to Tulear. I have heard there was a cyclon with a serious floods in the end of february in souhtwest region. So I am wondering how is the current situation and if there are some functional (cheaper) hotels in Tulear and how is a chance to do some snorkelling around. I would appreciate an actual information.
Thanks
Ivana

Just wondering if anyone can put me straight on transport from the capital, Tana to Andasibe? I know you have to walk from a junction about 4or 5km to Andasibe village but there's a good hotel near the parc national which is only a 2 km walk from the junction. The bus that takes you to the junction - is that the one that goes to Moramanga? About how long would it take and cost? Any other comments about travel in that immediate area most welcome! Cheers,

Hi everybody, 2 guys from Slovakia are going to rent a car to go back from Morondava to Antananarivo with Morondava departure on 7th may around 3:00 in the morning. In case of interest we can share 2 sits in the car. The price is (50 EUR/person and return trip as the car either will come from Tana or goes back to Morondava..)). We need to be in Tana to reach our departure home and the air transport could be unreliable ... in case of interest contact Gejza (gdlegen@gmail.com) or through Skype : dobrodruh407

We are docking here for a short time, from 8-3pm on Jan. 17, 2014. Please suggest a reputable guide/local touring company that we can book with to see the high lights of the location. Thank you.

Dear all!
First of all big thanks to all of you for contributing to this website- it's really kind and helpful of you!
I'm coming to Madagascar in 6 days and I have two major concerns. Firstly, I don't have the yellow fever vaccination. Secondly, I don't have the outbound ticket as I was hoping to catch a hitch-hike ride on a boat from Madagascar to Mozambique. So you think I'll be allowed to enter the country without those two?
Also, do you think it's possible to buy a guide to Madagascar in Tana?
Many thanks in advance!
Monika.

Hi, My fiance & I are trying to arrange our honeymoon & are really keen on Madagascar, however we cannot seem to find any websites or information on how much the internal (domestic) flights in madagascar will be so that we can budget! Can anyone shed some light on this? Alternatively we wouldn't mind using a different form of transport but again have no idea how much this would be & which would be suitable & safe for us. Any useful information & help would be greatly appreciated. Kind Regards Benzoni

Hi, Me again - sorry!! I need more help! I've been told that some roads may be closed due to heavy rains up to the end of March/beg April. In view of that and the fact that this holiday is working out to be very expensive, we want to do everything possible to get the best experiences. Which months can we expect WARM DRY weather in Andasibe area, Nosey Be area and possibly Masoala and Ranomafana? Thanks Amm

Thanks again for your help Ken and Catherine. We have decided to do Andasibe fr 5 nights, back to Tana for a flight to Diego Suarez - Nosy Be/Komba for 6 nights and posibly visit Amber Mountain/Ankarana reserve on a trip, (can you get day trips here or is it too far in a day?) From the details about Nosy Be it states that we will see lots of leumeurs and wildlife there as well as get to relax. I'm on my way back from Africa just now and realised that there's no point trying to do too much and ending up just travelling and that we'll be better of doing 2 areas in detail. Regards Ann ps again about the first week in April, should the weather be hot/mainly dry in these 2 areas?

Hi, I know its the rainy season then but will it make the trip not worthwhile? Does it rain all day or just heavy showers usually? I have backpacked to over 30 countries on my own so I am used to solo travel although most of it has been in Asia. If I don't hire a car will it be easy to use public transport? I still need to look at a proper itinerary but I like travel photography, adventure sports, scenery, culture and wildlife. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks

We're planning a trip to madagascar for a couple of weeks. 1. We are looking to travel around 24th march, do you think the weather will be mainly dry then? 2. We can't decide which of the following 3 or 4 places we should visit, we love wildlife and want opportunities to see as many leumeurs as possible in the wild: a Isalo Nat Park (also I believe Anja is nearby? and if so, is it a must?) b Ranomafana NP c Andasibe/Mantadia NP d Masoala NP e Nosey Be area ~ which would be the best option: Nosey Komba?Nosy Be? Eden Lodge Anjanojano? Or Anjajavy? I hope you can help me and thanks in advance for any help. Ann

Hello there, I'm considering visiting Madagascar for a couple of weeks during Feb 2013 as I recently moved to Mauritius from the US. Does anyone have any recommendations of absolute must-see national parks, beaches, sites, particular coast etc? Since it would just be myself and another female, my preference is to organize the trip through a tour operator so as to reduce the stress of logistics etc from one place to another. Any recommendations as far as tour operators and/or local guides? Also, any other advice regarding safety and/or useful items to bring along? Thanks!

Hello, My fiancee and I are trying to plan a last minute honeymoon to Madagascar. We will be traveling from around December 6th 2012 thru december 28th or even new years eve...... I know this is rainy season in some areas.... We are definitely active and adventurous but of course want some amazing beach resort time also. Can someone please help us with some recomendations. It all seems so confusing. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Oh, by the way, we are not looking to spend our life savings but are not on a shoestring budget. :)

hello, I will be traveling in Madagascar in October on a two week tour of reserves. We will be going on both day and night walks. I am VERY afraid of snakes. (I'm OK with spiders, lizards etc). Can anyone comment on the danger of snakes on walks or in our cabins? Also, are we likely to encounter leaches and do we need to wear leach socks? thank you

Hi all, my girlfriend and I would like to travel Madagascar in October this year. We´ve have not planned our trip yet but I´d like to ask some general questions. We went yesterday to two travel agencies that are experienced in worldwide trips. Both said that due to the political instability and crime rate (robbery of tourist) they can´t recommend madagascar. We are both experienced traveller and have seen a lot of poor countries. Can anyone answer us the question how the situation is at the moment in the cities and in the countryside? The second topic is transportation. Madagascar is quite large how does travelling work between the cities and different spots? Buses, rental cars, Taxi? What is recommended and what is your experience? Thanks Simon

Hi I plan to be in Madagascar from June 29th to August 8th. So far I do not have a definite plan except that as I am travelling alone I thought it might be a good idea to start of in camp catta / Tsaranoro and certainly I would like to see the north (climbing in Nosy Hara). I wanna see the tsingys and do some hiking/trekking and preferably a bit of kite surfing. I would love to see the different landscapes and meet some culture life. Thus question is - (1) any advise how to best achieve this - make it active but not sitting in a car 24/7 (2) any idea how to find some climbers I could join (climbing by yourself is a bit scary as no-one is holding the other end of the robe) (3) are there forums or local shops making it easy to find some compagnions to rent some 4x4? any tips and tricks appreciated - thx

We are looking for some people to share the costs of a car with us on a tour of Madagascar, we will be going from tana to morondava to tsingy then belo sul mare ,salary bay and then down to Toliara.Then to see the parks we went to madagascar last year so are familiar with the country, We hope to leave on the 14th of july from Tana

My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon to Madagascar and was looking at Princesse Bora Lodge. It is very important for me to see Lemurs and as I understand Ile St Marie is not really the place for it. Could anyone advice a day trip from the island to somewhere where you can see a large amount of lemurs? Any tour operators that you can book with on the island or any advice? Many thanks!

Hi, We are 2 friends visiting Madagascar from the 20th of April to the 5th of May this year. I've always travelled without a full planning but from what a read and see in documentaries it seems like it is a bit difficult to move around the Island. We have been contacting some tour operators and online agencies asking for tours and budgets, but they all seem a bit expensive and not so flexible. We would like to know whether it is ok to just fly and book a tour on Spot. Would that be possible? or do you guys think we won't find anything? Could you pleas recommend any agency or guide contact? I would appreciate you help very much! Thanks a lot. Regards, Jose

Hi all, During our trip to Madagascar coming October/November, we are considering a visit to Beza Mahafaly Reserve (35 km from Betioky) and to Tsimanampetsotsa NP. I hope you can help me with some information regarding transport and lodging: 1. Is there accommodation in/near Beza Mahafaly? If so, is this in Bezaha, in Betioky, or in another place? We don't bring a tent ourselves, but camping would be fine if we could rent a tent + sleeping bag upon arrival in the village. 2. Is it easy to arrange transport and a guide to/from the Reserve? If so, where is the place to arrange this (Bezaha or Betioky, or somewhere else)? 3. After Beza Mahafaly we want to go to Tsimanampetsotsa NP. I can't figure out what would be the best way/transport to get there. Would it be possible to arrange transport from the park via Betioky to Beheloka or Ambola? If so, how long would that take (and what type of transport would it be)? Or should we first go to Toliara, and from there go by pirogue to Anakao/Ambola and arrange the visit to Tsimanampetsotsa from there? 4. If we visit both places, would it also still be worth it to also go to Reniala near Ifaty for the spiny forest or would this offer similar flora and fauna? I really hope somebody can help me out with these questions. Thanks a lot in advance!

Hello, Following my previous question, I hope anyone can advice me on this. During our 5-week trip, we will visit Andasibe-Mantadia, Ranomafana, Isalo, Masoala & Nosy Mangabe. We also want to go to the North to visit Parc National d'Ankarafantsika and/or Ankarana Reserve. My questions are: 1. If we had to choose, would Parc National d'Ankarafantsika be worth to go to as well (compared to the parks we'll already visit), or if it would be better to add Ankarana Reserve (with the Tsingy)? 2. Is it possible to reach Ankaranantsika with public transport from Tana? Could we do that in one day? 3. Is it possible to travel from Ankarafantsika further to Ankarana and then to Nosy Be with public transport? If so, how long would that take? 4. Or: would you advice to skip Ankarafantsika, and fly to Diego Suarez/Antsirana and travel downwards via Ankarana to Nosy Be? I hope anyone can help me. Thanks in advance!

Hi, We're planning to go to Madagascar mid-October till mid-November. During our visit, we definitely want to visit the Masoala peninsula and Nosy Mangabe. I hope somebody can help me out with the following questions: 1) How many days should we spend on both locations? If we have 5 days in total, would you advice 3 days Masoala-2 days Nosy Mangabe, or 4 days Masoala and 1 day Nosy Mangabe? 2) Would it be better to arrange the trip upfront, or could we easily arrange it ourselves when we arrive in Maroantsetra (taking into account the period: beginning of November)? Would that cost a lot of time and would there be a risk that no guide/lodging/boat is available? 3)Would it be much cheaper if we arrange it ourselves upon arrival? I hope anyone can advice on this. Thanks a lot in advance!

the best save city for a single man that does not speak franch to stay 1 month with good night life thanks for any informtion

hi how is the wether in diego in april may , is it alot of wind in this time

hi i will travel on middle of april to end of may to diego , is it wind in this time of the year , is diego a save place for a single man that only speak english thanks

Has anyone used Desire Travel Tours and had problems just before arriving? I'm 12 days from departure to Madagascar from Kenya and I'm just now being asked to have an additional 165 euros to cover price increases with reservations and fuel. He has had my money for 2 months and did not lock in the prices at that time? He was listed in Lonely Planet so I went with him, but I'm about to cause a stink and put a negative post about him to Lonely PLanet.

My friend and I are taking a trip to Madagascar 19 Dec. - 2 Jan. We have already paid for the tour complete with driver and all related fees for parks and hotels. What we want to know is how much money we can expect to pay for meals and and other extras.

Hi I'm flying out to Mad (Tana) in three weeks and need a driver to take me to Morondava. There's no sightseeing needed, just to drive straight there. I'll be in Morondava for about five days and will then need to get back to Tana. I know I can fly but I'd rather go by road and don't want to pay Air Mad's prices! Can anyone recommend a reliable driver (English speaking would be a real bonus!)? Thanks Nick