Madagascar dhow sailing holiday
| country: | Madagascar |
| departures: | Departures every Saturday from May to December |
| price: | From US $725 (8 days) excluding flights |
the amazing things you'll be doing
An Island-hopping dhow camping trip around Nosy Be.
Nosy Be, Whale Sharks (in season), Nosy Iranja, Russian Bay, Nosy Tanikely, Nosy Komba.
Enjoy the island-hopping lifestyle in our own exclusive-use Dhow. Camp out on a peaceful island where you won't find a soul, snorkel with whale sharks, fish for game fish and relax on unspoilt beaches - this is the ultimate paradise.
Includes: Use of full camping equipment, all sea transport in a fully kitted motorized Dhow, transfer from airport to B&B.
Excludes: All Optional excursions mentioned in the program all personal expenses, insurance for luggage, tips, drinks, and laundry. Snorkelling, diving and fishing equipment. Meals not mentioned in the itinerary.
Nosy Be, Whale Sharks (in season), Nosy Iranja, Russian Bay, Nosy Tanikely, Nosy Komba.
Enjoy the island-hopping lifestyle in our own exclusive-use Dhow. Camp out on a peaceful island where you won't find a soul, snorkel with whale sharks, fish for game fish and relax on unspoilt beaches - this is the ultimate paradise.
Includes: Use of full camping equipment, all sea transport in a fully kitted motorized Dhow, transfer from airport to B&B.
Excludes: All Optional excursions mentioned in the program all personal expenses, insurance for luggage, tips, drinks, and laundry. Snorkelling, diving and fishing equipment. Meals not mentioned in the itinerary.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive Nosy Be. You will be met by the Skipper, tour guide and captain of the dhow, and transferred to the Bed & Breakfast in the tiny fishing village of Ambatoloaka, set on a long beach with spectacular views, overlooking the sea. Restaurants and nightlife for you to explore at your own leisure. |
| Day 2: | Ankazoberevina and Camp at Russian Bay. An early start prepares us for the crossing to Russian Bay (also known as Ambavatory Bay). We leave the port of Hell-Ville stopping off for lunch on the island of Ankazoberevina. Snorkeling over the soft corals with their vivid colours, proves to be an awe-inspiring experience around this little island. With a bit of luck, we may be able to spot the ring-tailed Lemurs while stepping on to Terre Firma. Moving on to Russian Bay, a fine shelter for boats in the cyclone season, we set up camp on some vast and desolate beach. |
| Day 3-4: | Nosy Iranja. Sail 14 miles to Nosy Iranja (Island of Turtles) which lies south west of Nosy Be consisting of two islands, the larger and inhabited Nosy Iranja Be and the smaller Nosy Iranja Kely. The islands are connected by a 1.5 km long sand bar, negotiable on foot at low tide. We set up camp and enjoy the last of dusk from pristine white sands for the next two evenings after 2 enjoyable days of sailing, snorkeling and fishing. |
| Day 5: | Russian Bay - Nosy Tanikely. We head for Tanikely (The Small Island). Depending upon the prevailing winds and tide, our aim is to camp on this tiny island, alternatively anchoring off Russian Bay, should conditions not allow. Nature's call. |
| Day 6: | Nosy Tanikely, Lokobe. We set sail to Nosy Tanikely (located only a few miles south of Nosy Be), a marine reserve teeming with underwater flora and fauna, allowing us the chance for some superb snorkeling in warm waters with great visibility. After lunch, we leisurely make our way to a deserted beach encompassed by the Lokobe reserve where we set camp for the next 2 nights. |
| Day 7: | Lokobe, Nosy Komba. After an easy morning and a hearty breakfast, we set sail for a day excursion to Nosy Komba. Boots on, laces up, it's time to explore some of the numerous tracks connecting the villages in the interior of the island in the pursuit of the semi-tame black Lemurs. The afternoon is spent snorkeling around the islets off Nosy Komba such as Nosy Verona where you may encounter turtles, pipefish, angelfish, grouper or parrotfish amongst others. We return to our camp on Lokobe. |
| Day 8: | Hell-Ville and end of Dhow experience. Sail back to Hell-Ville port where our dhow adventure comes to an end Catch your return flight home or we suggest spending a few days leisure on the island. Hire a motorbike or bicycle and explore the intoxicating island of Nosy Be with its exotic spices, sunny cafes and quaint boutiques, before heading back home a few days later. |
small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places.how this holiday makes a difference
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On arrival in Madagascar, the clients are picked up and transferred to the boat making use of local taxi drivers. 100% of the employees on the dhow are from Madagascar/Nosy Be, thereby supporting local business. In off season, from January to March when the cyclones make it impossible to arrange a dhow trip, all the staff are sent to a school to learn English and French. We are also encouraging the skipper, Mohammed, to build a second boat and to expand his business. This means more employees are needed for the 2nd boat, providing employment opportunities for local people.
 100% of the products to prepare meals for our clients are purchased locally and all recipes are Malagasy. All the furniture used on both dhows is also sourced from local craftspeople. We ensure our clients visit local villages, restaurants and local markets, especially the markets of Nosy Komba and Nosy Be. We treat the cultural heritage with respect and inform our clients about local customs, fady (taboos) and traditions as well as appropriate behaviour before and while travelling. We also ensure that tourists ask permission to take photographs or to videotape people. To minimize impact on the environment, we make sure that any rubbish produced comes back onto the dhow and is not left behind on the islands. For cooking purposes we make use of gas instead of wood. We don’t put up harsh lights on the campsite as it may impact on local people and wildlife. We also minimise the use of water and energy, making sure to stay in accommodation making use of solar power. |
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 lead 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. |