Madagascar adventure holiday
| country: | Madagascar |
| trip type: | A small group adventure |
| departures: | 2009: 13 Dec 2010: 21 Mar, 11 Apr, 16 May, 13 Jun, 11 Jul, 15 Aug, 12 Sep, 17 Oct, 14 Nov, 19 Dec |
| price: | From £1789 (17 days) excluding flights. Local payment €300 |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Antananarivo, Lemurs, Tulear, Isalo, Andringitra, Fianarantsoa, Antsirabe, Sainte Marie.
The island of Madagascar is truly a lost world, an experiment in evolution that occurred in isolation from the rest of the natural world for 165 million years. Discover this beguiling island, experience the island's unique culture, visit a number of Madagascar's best wildlife reserves and search for the unusual and intriguing plants, birds, reptiles and of course...lemurs.
Highlights include reserve of Analamazaotra, Peyreyra's cameleon farm, reserve of Mantadia, visit to Ambohimanga Palace, visit to Queen's palace, Antsirabe city tour, visit to Antemoro paper factory and reserve of Isalo.
The island of Madagascar is truly a lost world, an experiment in evolution that occurred in isolation from the rest of the natural world for 165 million years. Discover this beguiling island, experience the island's unique culture, visit a number of Madagascar's best wildlife reserves and search for the unusual and intriguing plants, birds, reptiles and of course...lemurs.
Highlights include reserve of Analamazaotra, Peyreyra's cameleon farm, reserve of Mantadia, visit to Ambohimanga Palace, visit to Queen's palace, Antsirabe city tour, visit to Antemoro paper factory and reserve of Isalo.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrive Antananarivo (Tana). Arrive in Antananarivo at any time. |
| Day 2-3: | Andasibe-Mantadia National Park. Depart the capital and continue to this world-renowned upland rainforest, also known as Perinet Reserve, home of the unique Indri, the world's largest lemur. |
| Day 4: | Antsirabe. Travel to Antsirabe, "Vichy Malgache", a French colonial town. Along the road discover Merina tombs, and locals cultivating rice paddies. |
| Day 5: | Ambositra. Visit Lake Andraikiba or take some free time to explore the quaint town of Antsirabe on your own, by foot, bicycle, or in a famous "pousse-pousse". Ambositra is home to some of Madagascar's best wood carvings. |
| Day 6: | Ranomafana. Explore the magical Ranomafana National Park, home to 12 species of lemur. Discover the bewildering diversity of endemic plant and animal life including the golden bamboo lemur and red-bellied lemur. |
| Day 7: | Ambalavao. Head south through Madagascar's wine-producing region and enjoy the wonderful changes of landscape along the way. In Ambalavao, we visit with locals as they share with us their traditional methods of producing a unique, hand-made paper. |
| Day 8-9: | Ranohira - Isalo. Before departing southbound, we stop at the beautiful Anja Reserve to take a short guided walk in search of the resident ring-tailed lemur. We continue travelling through south-central Madagascar to Ranohira on the edge of Isalo National Park. Enjoy the fascinating countryside, with the day's drive culminating in impressive views of the Isalo Mountains. Explore the semi-arid Isalo National Park, with its rocky cliffs, archaeological relics and funeral sanctuaries that create a magical atmosphere of strong contrasts. This park is home to a plethora of endemic flora and fauna, including the ring-tailed lemur. |
| Day 10: | Antananarivo. Journey across fascinating open landscapes of the south-western desert, from Ranohira to Tulear, where we fly back to the capital Antananarivo. En route, visit Mahafaly's tomb and see the remarkable fire-resistant Baobab trees. |
| Day 11: | Diego. From the capital, fly to the beautiful northern tip of island to Diego (Antsiranana). This traditional and lively port town is known for its fishing, and is located on a picturesque bay surrounded by coconut trees, traditional huts, pirogues (dug out canoes), and of course white sand beaches. |
| Day 12: | Montagne d'Ambre National Park. En route to Montagne d'Ambre, a wide expanse of lush tropical montane fores, we stop to explore the truly fascinating geologic oddity known as Red Tsingy. In the afternoon, enjoy a guided walk in this ecologically rich region, notable for its tree ferns, lianas, and orchids. |
| Day 13: | Ankarana Special Reserve. Continue south to this reserve, where you'll spend the afternoon on a guided forest walk. Marvel at the grand limestone karst pinnacles called "tsingy", and spot many varieties of the renowned lemur, including Sanford's brown lemur, Perrier's black lemur and dwarf lemurs. |
| Day 14: | Ankify. Enjoy a drive past pepper, vanilla, cacao, and ylang ylang plantations as we make our way to the western coastal town of Ankify. Options for your free time in the afternoon include a bike tour of the surrounding villages, enjoying the sunset view from your hotel, or relaxing on the beautiful beach. |
| Day 15-16: | Nosy Be. Take a short ferry ride over to Nosy Be, the most well known of the Malagasy Islands. Relax, snorkel or take an optional boat tour through some of the best waters and beaches of Madagascar. |
| Day 17: | Depart Antananarivo (Tana). |
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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In order to keep the environmental and negative social impact of travel to a minimum, we operate this tour with a maximum of 15 passengers. The majority of our hotels are small, locally owned and family operated establishments. This tour also includes two nights of participation camping.
By working with local guides and operators, we provide economic benefits directly to the local people and businesses. Our local guides are experts in flora, fauna, history and culture, and provide our travellers with insight into local knowledge. Our tour leaders receive special training in low-impact travel and regional conservation issues and projects. They are also provided with a Sustainable Travel Manual. Tour leaders are selected based on their knowledge of, and commitment to sustainable travel. All our tour leaders speak English and have first aid and CPR certification. |
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. |