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Madagascar holidays, The lost continent

COUNTRY:
Madagascar
DEPARTURES:
2012: 29 Mar, 5 Apr, 12 Apr, 26 Apr, 31 May, 28 Jun, 19 Jul, 26 Jul, 2 Aug, 9 Aug, 16 Aug, 30 Aug, 6 Sep, 20 Sep, 27 Sep, 11 Oct, 18 Oct, 1 Nov, 8 Nov, 22 Nov, 29 Nov, 20 Dec
PRICE:
From £2215 - £2935 (17 days) including UK flights
MORE INFO:
From £1499 - £1799 excluding flights.
VOUCHERS:
Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday
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Madagascar holidays, The lost continent
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Madagascar holidays, The lost continent

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

During our journey through Madagascar we stay predominantly locally-owned accommodation and employ the services of local guides within the parks as well as private areas we visit. In addition, park fees we pay are used by the Malagasy authorities to fund and benefit the protected areas we visit. On one night of the tour we stay at a development centre close to the town of Ambositra in the highlands. The centre is part of the FJKM (Fiangonariny Jesosy Kristy eto Madagascar) church, established in 1973, and aims to educate the local population in practical topics from sex education to farming skills. As well as financial support from our stay, there is the opportunity during our time at the centre to interact and learn more about the everyday lives of the local people.

We limit the group size on this tour to 16 to assist in reducing both the potential negative cultural and environmental impact of our visit.

As well as the above, we support a variety of charities and projects worldwide, which support vulnerable communities and habitats including Friends of Conservation and Send a Cow. We are also actively engaged with UK travel industry bodies, which promote best practice in responsible tourism such as 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.

We offset the emissions of all our customer and staff flights through Climate Care.

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Story of the holiday provider

This small group operator is just celebrating its 30th year and was originally set up to enrich people’s lives through adventure travel. The directors have roots in overland trucking and are determined to keep a pioneering spirit alive. They believe what sets them apart is the strong relationships they’ve developed with local suppliers and tour guides over the years. A tour leader who thinks creatively can turn a good experience into a fantastic one and open up a place so that travellers gain insight into a completely different way of life. They operate in many different countries and try to avoid a blanket approach – their aim is to get customers involved in the projects they visit and to forge lifelong friendships.

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Holiday provider no: 276

Madagascar holidays, The lost continent
Madagascar holidays, The lost continent
Madagascar holidays, The lost continent
Madagascar holidays, The lost continent

Madagascar holidays, The lost continent

Reviewed 02 Dec 2011 by Gill Ash4 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?


Seeing the lemurs and all the other wildlife and swimming in the natural rock pool. The speedboat ride to Anakao. Having a rescued lemur jump on my shoulder and lick my nose-such beautiful gentle creatures and so many more. The Malagasy guide Claude and Fi Fi and Damar the drivers couldn't have been more friendly, knowledgeable and hard working.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?


Take plenty of suncream and deet. Some of the terrain was bit tricky in the heat and some of the older members of the group struggled at times-perhaps the activity level should be moved up one star.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


I hope so. Our tips kitty was a good idea as the tips were allocate by Claude, so the porters, local guides and hotel staff all received a reasonable amount. I believe the tour operator supports the local community where we had our homestay.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?


I had a great time. The guide and drivers were fantastic and the group great. The accommodation was superb, much better than I expected.

Reviewed 14 Nov 2011 by Roslina Rahim4 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?


Crossing the High Atlas, walking in the valley of the Todra Gorge, the souqs of Fes Medina, the Djemma-El-Fna in Marrakesh's Medina, dawn camel ride in Erg Chebbi and watching the sun set on the ramparts of Essaouria.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?


Arrive a day early in Casablanca to visit the Hassan II Mosque.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


Both our tour leader Ali and driver Ahmed were locals (they were both excellent) and we visited various local cooperatives/workshops and ate in local restaurants, so yes, I would say that the holiday benefited the Maghrebians. Our impact on the environment was possibly the least possible, considering that it wasn't possible to use public transport due to the distances we covered and the amount of time we did it in.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?


The holiday was excellent. Maghreb is a beautiful country and there were some magnificent views on our travels. I had glimpses of the local culture as we walked in the various medinas and towns; and our tour leader was a fount of information on everything Maghrebi.

Reviewed 05 Sep 2010 by Toby Mailman1 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?


Sighting lemurs.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?


Do not go with this operator, and make sure the itinerary does not have too much "leisure" time. At least five days of this tour were a waste of time. Make sure you are really prepared to deal with rainy, and alternately chilly and warm rain forests with lots of mud, and steep climbs and steep descents. Don't expect to see much if you go on a night walk in the rain forest.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


Minimum impact on the environment. However, on this tour, there were too many "optional" (additional cost) activities tied to hotels rather than offering the opportunity for local businesses to benefit from tourism.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?


On a scale of 10, I'd say 8.5. The tour leader and driver was good. It was exciting to see the lemurs and other animals in their actual habitat. However, way too much "leisure" time and "optional" activities, including the walk in a baobab forest, one of the highlights of Madagascar, as an "optional" activity that involved addition expensive beyond the original tour price.

Read the operator's response here:

Thank you for your feedback regarding the above holiday. We were sorry to read that you felt there was too much leisure time on this trip. We always factor in some free time on all our holidays so that customers can have the chance to follow up their own particular interests – or just have a bit of time off just to relax. We also offer some optional activities, at extra cost, for activities which experience has shown us will be enjoyed by some but not necessarily all of our customers.

On this particular 14 day trip, we feel we have the balance about right: a free afternoon on Day 4 to visit a local village, at no cost for those who like cultural visits; a free afternoon on Day 6 to stroll round a local market at no cost: this does not need a guide, as everyone will have different choices of places to linger. On Day 10 there is an optional afternoon walk, as we have often had feedback requesting some rest time by that stage; Day 13 is free for beach optionals, and there is a cost for these, as there are quite a few on offer, and we do not want to make a selection for our customers when they might prefer other choices. The walk around Baobabs/Siny forest on the last day is optional, because it is not always possible – the flight schedules can change from time to time, and we do not want to add the cost to the holiday when we may not be able to offer the walk.
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Holiday Reviews

We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same holiday can have different views!

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Madagascar holidays, The lost continent
Madagascar holidays, The lost continent
Madagascar holidays, The lost continent
Madagascar holidays, The lost continent
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