Adventure holidays in Madagascar
| country: | Madagascar |
| trip type: | Introductory walking holidays |
| departures: | 2008: 20 Dec 2009: 17 Jan, 21 Feb, 21 Mar, 18 Apr, 16 May, 20 Jun, 25 Jul, 22 Aug, 12 Sep, 26 Sep, 31 Oct, 14 Nov, 26 Dec 2010: 16 Jan, 24 Apr, 8 May, 22 May, 12 Jun, 26 Jun |
| price: | From £700 (9 days) ex flights. Local payment of €300. We can arrange flights from UK. |
read 1 travellers review
the amazing things you'll be doing
This 9 day journey of discovery will give you an excellent insight into the unique culture and wildlife of Madagascar.
Madagascar has an incredible mix of culture, fauna, flora, mountains, rainforests, idyllic beaches and deserts. Visiting the renowned Berenty, Perinet and Ranomafana Reserves which are home to the incredible, yet endangered lemurs we can listen to the unforgettable morning call of the Indri and watch the acrobatics and cheeky behaviour of the Sifakas and ring tailed lemurs.
Combined with the opportunity to take a 2 day trek in Isalo National Park with its famous rock formations and rare endemic plants, and our visit to the beautiful crescent-shaped beaches under high forest-clad mountains, this trip will be a unique adventure.
Highlights included in the price.
Madagascar has an incredible mix of culture, fauna, flora, mountains, rainforests, idyllic beaches and deserts. Visiting the renowned Berenty, Perinet and Ranomafana Reserves which are home to the incredible, yet endangered lemurs we can listen to the unforgettable morning call of the Indri and watch the acrobatics and cheeky behaviour of the Sifakas and ring tailed lemurs.
Combined with the opportunity to take a 2 day trek in Isalo National Park with its famous rock formations and rare endemic plants, and our visit to the beautiful crescent-shaped beaches under high forest-clad mountains, this trip will be a unique adventure.
Highlights included in the price.
- Ranomafana National Park with day and night walks to see lemurs
- Visit the Tea Plantations at Sahambavy
- 2 days walking in Isalo National Park with its famous rock formations and lemurs Antsokay arboretum
- Indian Ocean beaches
- Visit the private reserve of Berenty, home of the sifakas and ring tailed lemurs
- Visit to the butterfly & chameleon centre at Mandraka
- Visit Perinet Park, home of the largest lemur
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Antananarivo. Affectionately known as Tana, this European-inspired city has a distinctly romantic air about it. Cobbled streets wend up rocky hills, narrow wooden houses have painted shutters and church spires abound. Charmingly crowded and noisy, it's a fun place to explore. Head to the street markets at Analakey or seek out lively restaurants and bars. |
| Day 2: | Antsirabe. Take in breathtaking mountain scenery on the way to Antsirabe, famed for its healing thermal springs, gemstone merchants and elegant French architecture. Ride a pousse-pousse (rickshaw) to explore, before heading to the village of Manandona for an insight into local culture on a homestay. This is a great opportunity to get to know the locals, sleep in a traditional house and try Madagascan home cooking. |
| Day 3: | Ranomafana. Travel to the arts and crafts capital of Madagascar, the village of Ambositra, renowned for its fine woodcarvings. Drive through magnificent montane rainforest to the Ranomafana Lemur Reserve for a guided night time trek. Look sharp to see some of this island's most famous creatures, including rare golden bamboo lemurs. The furry little faces of lemurs are totally cute and seeing them in the wild is an unforgettable experience. |
| Day 4: | Fianarantsoa. Listen out for a lemur's screeching call on an early morning hike through the jungle. Afterwards, journey south to the plantations of Sahambavy to see how tea leaves are turned into a humble cuppa. |
| Day 5-6: | Ranohira/Isalo National Park. Learn the traditional method of making paper in Ambalavao before continuing on to the rural south. Pass the impressive rocks that make up the 'door to the south' before entering the Isalo National Park, home to ring-tail lemurs and chameleons as well as a series of whimsical, weather-worn sandstone formations. There's a natural pool here where you can cool off after a hike through the canyons. |
| Day 7-8: | Ifaty. Inspect the intricate tombs of the Mahafaly tribe on the way to the idyllic beaches of Ifaty. There's time today to kick back on the white sands, snorkel or wander the surreal spiny forests nearby. |
| Day 9: | Antananarivo. The trip ends with a flight back to Tana. Stay longer to fully appreciate this amazing capital city. |
travellers' tales
I really enjoyed the holiday. I suggest that you use Nivu (freelance tour guide, sub-contracted by the operator) as regularly as possible. The most memorable bit was seeing lemurs. (more)
this tourism business won an award
in our 2005 First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine.how this holiday makes a difference
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This tour has been operated in a way that minimises our impact on the habitats and ecosystems we visit, whilst improving the lives of the people we interact with.
For every passenger trip week that we operate in Africa, we plant a tree in Kenya through our support of the Woodlands 2000 trust, a local NGO. We also offer you a chance to climate balance your international flights by making a payment to C-Level, who in turn finance certified reforestation projects in Uganda. We already carbon compensate our office activities through C-Level, working with them to audit, then minimise waste, and finally to carbon compensate for the energy we do use. We always aim to spend money as locally as possible, and to work with local people in preference to outsiders. This includes choosing locally owned hotels, shopping in local village markets, and employing specialist guides local to the areas we visit. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |