Family holiday to Madagascar
| country: | Madagascar |
| departures: | 2009: 3 Aug, 17 Aug |
| price: | From £2349 - £2419 (15 days) per adult and £2169 - £2239 per child including flights from UK, from £1429 - £1499 excluding flights. |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Madagascar is unique. Isolated for tens of millions of years, the animals, plants and landscapes of this ancient island are like nowhere else on earth. Concentrating on some of its most well-known reserves, this journey combines the excitement of searching for wildlife on foot with relaxation on the beaches of the north and the wonder of discovery in this unique environment.
strongholds of the Malagasy
We start in the capital, Antananarivo, known as 'Tana' for short. The name means “The City of the Thousand” after the thousand warriors that supposedly protected it.
In times gone by, Tana and the nearby hill fortress of Ambohimanga have been the centres of control for the Merina dynasties that stretch back to the 14th century. Tana was home to Queen Ranavalona I, whose palace dominates the sky-line, built on a rock cliff over-looking the city. While we are in Tana, we visit Tsimbazaza botanical gardens and zoo and make an excursion to the Royal Hill of Ambohimanga where Madagascars' first effective administration was created under King Andrianampoinmerina.
Calls in the RainForest
Turning East, we drive to our forest lodge in the tropical reserves at Andasibe. Here we search for the largest living lemur, the Indri Indri. Living in family units of up to five individuals, Indri look more like teddy bears than lemurs and their eerie, wailing call can be heard far across the forest. We should also see brightly-coloured chameleons and many bird species during our time here and maybe tree frogs and the elusive mouse lemur during a nocturnal walk.
Northern Reserves & Beaches
From Tana we fly north to Diego Suarez and visit Amber Mountain with a view back down over the town and huge bay. Here we visit the National Park, a forest full of ferns and epiphytes and hope to find the crowned lemur. We then continue west to the beach at Ankify with a stop en route to visit the caves and limestone pinnacles known as 'tsingy' in the Ankarana Reserve. Taking a boat from Ankify, we arrive at the largest of Madagascar's offshore islands - Nosy Be. With golden sandy beaches, a warm climate and calm seas, Nosy Be is justifiably Madagascar's most popular beach destination. You may like to visit Nosy Tanikely, where there is easy snorkelling over a protected coral garden, or Nosy Komba where curious black lemur come out to greet any visitors.
strongholds of the Malagasy
We start in the capital, Antananarivo, known as 'Tana' for short. The name means “The City of the Thousand” after the thousand warriors that supposedly protected it.
In times gone by, Tana and the nearby hill fortress of Ambohimanga have been the centres of control for the Merina dynasties that stretch back to the 14th century. Tana was home to Queen Ranavalona I, whose palace dominates the sky-line, built on a rock cliff over-looking the city. While we are in Tana, we visit Tsimbazaza botanical gardens and zoo and make an excursion to the Royal Hill of Ambohimanga where Madagascars' first effective administration was created under King Andrianampoinmerina.
Calls in the RainForest
Turning East, we drive to our forest lodge in the tropical reserves at Andasibe. Here we search for the largest living lemur, the Indri Indri. Living in family units of up to five individuals, Indri look more like teddy bears than lemurs and their eerie, wailing call can be heard far across the forest. We should also see brightly-coloured chameleons and many bird species during our time here and maybe tree frogs and the elusive mouse lemur during a nocturnal walk.
Northern Reserves & Beaches
From Tana we fly north to Diego Suarez and visit Amber Mountain with a view back down over the town and huge bay. Here we visit the National Park, a forest full of ferns and epiphytes and hope to find the crowned lemur. We then continue west to the beach at Ankify with a stop en route to visit the caves and limestone pinnacles known as 'tsingy' in the Ankarana Reserve. Taking a boat from Ankify, we arrive at the largest of Madagascar's offshore islands - Nosy Be. With golden sandy beaches, a warm climate and calm seas, Nosy Be is justifiably Madagascar's most popular beach destination. You may like to visit Nosy Tanikely, where there is easy snorkelling over a protected coral garden, or Nosy Komba where curious black lemur come out to greet any visitors.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Fly London/Madagascar |
| Day 2: | Arrive Antananarivo; sightseeing |
| Day 3: | Drive to Andasibe; nocturnal walks. |
| Day 4-5: | In Andasibe; birdwatching and lemur walks. |
| Day 6: | Drive to Antananarivo; visit Ambohimanga. |
| Day 7: | Fly to Diego Suarez; visit Ramena Beach. |
| Day 8: | Visit Amber Mountain National Park. |
| Day 9: | Drive Ankify via Ankarana Reserve. |
| Day 10: | Transfer via ferry to Nosy Be. |
| Day 11-13: | In Nosy Be; optional activities. |
| Day 14: | Morning in Nosy Be; fly London via Antananarivo. |
| Day 15: | Arrive London |
award winner
This tourism business won an Award in our 2008 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Daily Telegraph, World Travel Market, Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society and BBC World News.Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
how this holiday makes a difference
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Madagascar, the poorest country on earth, benefits greatly from the revenue that tourism generates. We try and spread this revenue across the country, by using local drivers, local agents, local guides in the reserves, locally owned accommodation and local foods.
We stay within the reserves that we visit, whose profits go into the preservation and running of the national parks. As this trip is the only family trip to Madagascar currently offered, it really does offer a unique experience. The people in Madagascar are friendly and having children in our groups helps to bridge the gap between the two different cultures. The most rewarding thing about this trip is the amount that people are able to learn about each other's cultures and countries. Our Tour Leaders are all trained by us in the importance of responsible tourism with guidance given on how they can make a difference. This then percolates down through those they deal with. As well as the above, we support a variety of charities and projects worldwide which support vulnerable communities and habitats including Friends of Conservation, Hope Worldwide and Send A Cow. We are also actively engaged with UK travel industry bodies which promote best practice in responsible tourism, such as Tourism Concern, The Travel Foundation and AITO. Our commitment to responsible tourism is not limited to our overseas operation and we have measures to ensure our UK office operates according to our responsible tourism policy. Carbon offsets for all flights booked with us are included in the tour cost. |
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. |