Madagascar Adventure
Madagascar Adventure
Madagascar Adventure
14 Days Starting and ending in Antananarivo
Visiting: Antananarivo, Ifaty, Isalo National Park, Fianarantsoa, Ranomafana, Ambositra, Antsirabe, Andasibe National Park
Tour operator:
Tour code:
YBSN
Guide Type:
Fully Guided
Group size:
1 - 12
Age range:
15-99 years
Tour operated in:
EnglishInterests:
Tour Overview
Take to the wilds of Madagascar on a mission to spot rare and unique wildlife on this 14-day adventure to the island’s hotspots. You’ll be lazing on white-sand beaches, exploring tropical rainforests and spending time with a huge variety of local wildlife, including the lemur – the island's most popular animal inhabitants! Dig a little deeper into the local culture and interact with communities, getting an insight into the day-to-day life of the Malagasy peoples. Discover the French influences in Antananarivo and Antsirabe as you wander the twisting alleys and chill out in your free time, where you can go whale watching, walking or wildlife-spotting.
Highlights
Itinerary
Day 1: Antananarivo
Location: Antananarivo
Accommodation: Hotel
Tonga Soa! Welcome to Madagascar. You'll start your journey in the country's capital – the bustling Antananarivo, surrounded by rolling hills. If you arrive early, maybe head to Analakey to visit the street markets or seek out a cafe to soak up the local atmosphere. You might also like to check out the Musee de la Photographie – a small museum showcasing the history of Madagascar between 1850 and 1870 through a series of old photographs assembled into short videos. Your adventure officially begins with a welcome meeting at 5 pm tonight. After, why not keep the introductions going with an optional dinner with your group at a local restaurant.
Optional Activities:
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Day 2: Ifaty
Location: Ifaty
Accommodation: Bungalow
Meals Included: breaksfast
Start your day with an early morning flight to Tulear, where you'll head straight to Reniala Private Park for a memorable breakfast beneath the majestic baobab trees. Afterward, a local guide will lead you on a walk through the Spiny Forest, one of the last remaining areas of primary forest in southern Madagascar. Along the botanical trail, you'll encounter fascinating trees, including the towering baobabs with varieties like the 'dwarf,' 'teapot,' and 'rhinoceros,' some reaching over 13 meters in circumference. Birdwatchers can look forward to spotting rare species such as the Long-tailed Roller and Red-headed Coua among the 65 bird species in the reserve. During your walk, you'll also learn about Madagascar's unique flora, their traditional uses, and the vital importance of preserving this fragile ecosystem. The reserve further contributes to the local community by creating employment opportunities, particularly for women.
Included Activities:
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Day 3: Ifaty
Location: Ifaty
Accommodation: Bungalow
Meals Included: breaksfast
Today is yours to enjoy at your leisure. You might choose to relax by the pool or beach or take a stroll through the hotel’s stunning gardens. Looking for something more active? Why not visit the Recycling Museum in Tulear, an institution dedicated to environmental protection and raising awareness among locals and visitors alike.
Optional Activities:
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Day 4: Isalo National Park
Location: Isalo National Park
Accommodation: Bungalow
Meals Included: breaksfast
Depart from Ifaty in the morning and make your way to Tulear. Here, your leader will show you the sites and sounds of Tulear with its charming buildings, wide lanes, and vibrant rickshaws (pousse-pousse) zipping through the streets. Locals prefer rickshaws over cars, keeping the air refreshingly clean for a city of its size. Explore tree-lined avenues with tamarind and flamboyant trees, and enjoy the lively atmosphere created by its diverse community. Afterward, pick up some food for lunch and continue to Isalo National Park.
Included Activities:
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Day 5: Isalo National Park
Location: Isalo National Park
Accommodation: Bungalow
Meals Included: breaksfast
After breakfast today, you’ll make tracks to Isalo National Park for a full day of exploration with your leader. Isalo is known for its variety of landscapes, from rainforests and rolling plains teeming with life to strange geological formations and deep-cut canyons. The park is home to over 80 species of birds, 30 species of reptiles and 14 species of mammals, including three lemur species – ring-tailed, red-fronted and the dancing sifakas lemur!
Included Activities:
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Day 6: Fianarantsoa
Location: Fianarantsoa
Accommodation: Hotel
Meals Included: breaksfast
Today, you’ll say goodbye to Isalo National Park and hit the road for Fianarantsoa – a colourful town known for its heritage site. Along the way, you’ll stop at the Anja Community Reserve. The forest in Anja was designated a protected area by the Government of Madagascar in 1999. The reserve extends over 30 hectares and is enriched with all kinds of flora and fauna, most notable for its dense population of semi-tame ring-tailed lemurs. Anja has become a vital example of how community management of natural resources can effectively protect the area and benefit the community. Based on their individual skill sets, some locals work as guides and spotters or they perform administrative tasks for the reserve. The villagers will be your guides as you explore the reserve this afternoon. Tonight, you’ll stay at Ecole Hoteliere La Riziere at the foot of Fianarantsoa’s Old Town. This hotel sits above the town on a hill, providing views of the community and the rice fields below. It also doubles as a school, providing basic hospitality training to young people in the community, 65% of whom are female. Their education includes learning the challenges of sustainable development and the income from the establishment finances this training, making it possible to reduce the tuition fees for disadvantaged students.
Included Activities:
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Day 7: Ranomafana
Location: Ranomafana
Accommodation: Hotel
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch
Today you’ll explore the long, paved roads, twisting alleys and old houses of Fianarantsoa. Wander past tiled roofs and flower-studded balconies, then visit a typical Malagasy village for an insight into how most of the island's population live. Explore the surrounding countryside, dotted with rice paddies and vineyards that produce Fianarantsoa's famous wine. You'll get a chance to sample the local cuisine with a lunch stop in the village. In the afternoon, travel to Ranomafana National Park. This area is a haven for small mammals, birds, reptiles and insects, as well as palms, bamboo, orchids and carnivorous plants. This park is also home to 13 species of lemur, including the famous golden bamboo lemur, which was first reported in the area in 1985. Its presence is one of the main reasons why the government decided to protect this forest. With your free time later this afternoon, maybe visit the thermal springs the town is named after – located across the Namorona River. The outdoor swimming pool fed by the springs is a popular spot to take a dip.
Included Activities:
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Optional Activities:
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Day 8: Ranomafana
Location: Ranomafana
Accommodation: Hotel
Meals Included: breaksfast
Today, you’ll explore Ranomafana National Park on a four-hour guided walk. Keep your eyes peeled for lemurs, striped civets, mongooses, goshawks, geckos, frogs, and butterflies. You may even spot an incredible net-casting spider or the world's smallest chameleon.
Today, you’ll explore Ranomafana National Park on a 4-hour guided walk. Keep your eyes peeled for lemurs, striped civets, mongooses, goshawks, geckos, frogs and butterflies. You may even spot the incredible net-casting spider or the world's smallest chameleon! Then, transfer to ValBio Research Centre, which sits just outside the beautifully lush national park – under the direction of renowned primatologist Patricia C. Wright, the centre works to protect Madagascar’s unique and biologically diverse ecosystems through conservation projects that directly benefit local communities. You’ll get a chance to tour the centre with a researcher and sit down for an informal session to learn about the work they do. Have some lunch here, then if you have the energy, maybe head out on another included walk through the national park to spot more wildlife.
Included Activities:
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Day 9: Ambositra
Location: Ambositra
Accommodation: Hotel
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch
Today, you’ll make the journey to Ambositra – home to the third-largest ethnic group in Madagascar, the Betsileo people. Ambositra is known as the arts, crafts and wood carving capital of Madagascar. You’ll stop by the Id’om Art workshop and learn more about marquetry – the practise of cutting and assembling small pieces of coloured wood, using a hand-operated jigsaw. The jigsaw is created from old car tyres’ wire and it can take up to 2 months to make a 1-m-wide artwork. You’ll see how these craftsmen create their amazingly detailed marquetry with sheets of naturally coloured wood and you’ll have the opportunity to browse the impressive artworks on display.
Included Activities:
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Day 10: Antsirabe
Location: Antsirabe
Accommodation: Gite
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch, dinner
This morning, you'll visit the nearby Sandrandahy association to learn about the process of silk production, which is an important part of Malagasy culture. When a Malagasy is buried, their body is wrapped in a large silk sheet known as a 'lambamena' and after a few years, the family traditionally returns to the tomb to exchange the sheet for a new one. The association supports over 40 women from neighbouring villages – a holistic approach to community development, with traditional silk weaving as its hub. After learning more about this initiative, you’ll drive to Antsirabe, located in the Malagasy highlands. This evening, sit down for a group dinner in the gazebo within the grounds of the guest house.
Included Activities:
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Day 11: Andasibe National Park
Location: Andasibe National Park
Accommodation: Hotel
Meals Included: breaksfast
Today is a long travel day as you make your way to Andasibe. The most visited park in Madagascar, Andasibe National Park is famous for the 11 species of lemur that call this place home. This afternoon, relax at your accommodation and get ready for tomorrow’s adventures.
Day 12: Andasibe National Park
Location: Andasibe National Park
Accommodation: Hotel
Meals Included: breaksfast
This morning, you’ll set out to discover all the unique wildlife in Andasibe National Park on a guided walk. Look out for lemurs, endemic birds, frogs and insects. Later, you'll take a night walk through the forest of Analamazaotra Special Reserve. This forest was formed in 1999 by residents of the village of Andasibe in east-central Madagascar. Today, the organisation is composed of more than 50 members from the local community who focus on conservation, research and sustainable development initiatives. In total, the reserve positively impacts more than 400 households in the Andasibe area. Experience the rainforest after dark, where nocturnal mouse lemurs, chameleons, geckos, frogs and fireflies come alive.
Included Activities:
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Optional Activities:
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Day 13: Antananarivo
Location: Antananarivo
Accommodation: Hotel
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch
After breakfast this morning you’ll head off for your final stop in Antananarivo. When you arrive back in Antananarivo, you’ll take part in a hands-on Madagascan chocolate workshop led by a local chocolate maker. Learn about the ingredients used in chocolate-making, the refinement process and some of the secrets as to why Malagasy chocolate is so unique and delicious. After preparing your own take-home chocolate creations, Malagasy pastries will be served with a selection of local teas, coffees and for the courageous, rhum arranges (flavoured rum). Tonight, why not keep the celebrations going with a final dinner with your group and toast your Madagascar adventure with a local beer or two.
Included Activities:
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Day 14: Antananarivo - Departure Day
Location: Antananarivo - Departure Day
Meals Included: breaksfast
With no activities planned for today, your adventure ends after breakfast and you’re free to leave at any time after check-out. Departure transfers are available, just speak to your booking agent or local leader. If you’d like to extend your time in Antananarivo, just speak to your booking agent ahead of time.
What's Included
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Accommodation
Hotel (8 nights) Bungalow (4 Nights) Gite (1 Night) -
Antananarivo / Tulear - Leader-Led City Tour
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Tulear - Antsokay Arboretum
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Isalo National Park - guided walk
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Ambalavao - Antemoro Paper Factory visit
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Ambalavao - Anja Community Reserve
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Ranomafana - Station Thermale - MGA5000
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Ranomafana NP - Night Walk
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Ranomafana National Park - Rainforest walk
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Ranomafana - Valbio Research & Conservation Centre
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Ambositra – Woodcarving workshop visit
What's Not Included
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Tipping and Gratuities
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International Travel
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Airport Transfers at Destination
Included Activities
- Andasibe National Park - Mitsinjo night walk
- Andasibe Nationa Park - Pereyras Private Reserve
- Andasibe National Park - guided walk
- Ambositra - Village Visit
- Ambositra -Manandriana Village Lunch
- Ranomafana National Park - Rainforest walk
- Fianarantsoa - Betsileo: village visit and walk
- Ambalavao - Anja Community Reserve
- Ambalavao - Antemoro Paper Factory visit
- Isalo National Park - guided walk
Transport
- Private Vehicles , Plane
Accommodation
- The style of accommodation indicated in the day-to-day itinerary is a guideline only and may change. On some occasions, alternative arrangements may need to be made due to the lack of availability of rooms in our preferred accommodation. In these cases, we will use a similar standard of accommodation.
- Throughout the trip, we request that our properties prepare rooms in time for our arrival, especially if we're arriving prior to normal check-in time. However, this isn't always possible which means we won't be able to check-in immediately on arrival at some hotels. Instead, we can store our luggage and explore our new destination or on some trips, have use of shared day rooms until all rooms are available.
Important Information
- 1. A single supplement is available if you’d prefer not to share a room on this trip. The single supplement applies to all nights on your trip and is subject to availability. Please speak to your booking agent for further information.
- 2. An internal flight is included on this trip. Baggage allowance is as follows:
- - Checked: 1 Bag, max 20kg
- - Carry-on: 1 bag, max 5kg.
- 3. Internal flights in Madagascar are often delayed and or cancelled at short notice.
- 4. A copy of your passport is required at least one month before departure to book flights.
- 5. To protect against cholera, travellers who have spent time in Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa before arriving in Madagascar are required to take 100 mg of Doxycycline upon arrival. Tablets will be provided by Malagasy health authorities, after clearing passport control. Currently, short layovers are exempt from this requirement. People with diabetes and pregnant women are also exempt. This measure remains in effect until further notice.
Mode of Transport
- Private Vehicles , Boat , Plane
Check out our Q&As
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Is this trip right for you
Although anyone with a good level of fitness should be able to partake in this trip, there are several challenging guided day walks through the many national parks, which can be hot and humid. Please ensure you bring sturdy hiking or trail shoes and comfortable clothes.
Road conditions in Madagascar are notoriously very poor and unmaintained. Due to government inaction and yearly monsoons, conditions can be terrible and a level of patience is required. Most of the driving days on this trip will be long and bumpy.
Sometimes, you’ve got to rough it to get among it! Some accommodation is basic and may not have the creature comforts of hotels in bigger towns and cities. Be prepared for no wi-fi or air conditioning. -
What policies are in place for Covid-19?
Please contact us for latest COVID-19 policies
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How long has the tour company been trading?
Intrepid Travel has been taking travellers around the world for over 30 years
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Will the accommodation included meet local health and safety regulations?
Yes
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What Ethical Travel credentials does the tour company have?
Since 2002, The Intrepid Foundation has supported over 130 organisations across the world. We’re creating positive impact through the joy of travel, community and connection.
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Do you operate a “single share” option and how does it work?
Over 50% of traveller travel solo with Intrepid. You can choose to share a room with another solo travelle of the same sex for no additional charge, or choose to pay a single supplement if you’d like your own room. Please request this when booking, and we will secure you a single supplement wherever possible. Please note, if you are booking a last-minute trip, it may be harder for us to secure a single room
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Cancellation Policy
We don't charge a cancellation fee, here is a summary of intrepid travel charges.
Up to 56 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of deposit.
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At 14 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of booking price.
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