Description
Begin your Madagascan odyssey in one of the country’s most beautiful national parks, Parc National d’Isalo. Here you stay at the very comfortable, French-run Relais de la Reine from where you have very easy access to the park and excellent local guides. After a morning’s hike through stunning scenery, cool off in one of the shaded ’piscines naturelles’.
After three nights here you fly further south to Fort Dauphin, on the south coast. From the Madagascar Classic Camping camp at Mandrare River you will have great opportunities to interact with the local villagers including visits to their traditional wrestling matches and dance displays as well as hearing their songs from the camp as they fetch water from the river each morning. There are four species of lemur in the local area, impressive sand dunes overlooking the ocean, sisal plantations and ’spiny forests’.
After an overnight in Tana you’ll fly to the far north of Madagascar and the island of Nosy Be. From here, a two hour boat ride takes you to the remote island of Nosy Mitsio where you complete your holiday with a relaxing stay at Constance Lodge Tsarabanjina. The lodge has a very relaxed atmosphere (you can go barefoot in the bar) and has several white sand beaches. Guests can take a tour on foot right around the island with the resident marine biologist at low tide and enjoy the excellent snorkelling and diving nearby.
Please see our itinerary below. This is simply a suggested itinerary and can be tailor-made to suit your requirements.
Guide price
£4,995 per person
£4,995 prices are per person based on two sharing on a half board basis (full board at Tsarabanjina) including international and domestic flights and transfers.
Itinerary
When to travel
Any time of year is fine for a visit except from January to March, when heavy rainfall in many areas can make some roads all but impassable, and when there’s a high risk of cyclones in the east and northeast. In general, the best time to travel in most areas is April and October/November. The coolest time to travel anywhere is during the dry season (May to October).
Average maximum temperatures vary from about 30°C in coastal areas (higher in summer) to around 25°C on the hauts plateaux. In Antananarivo and other highland areas, temperatures during winter can drop to 10°C and even lower during the night.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Best time to visit
Good time to visit
Average time to visit
Not applicable
Location and directions
Madagascar
Relais de la Reine is cleverly hidden among amazing rocks on the southern boundary of Isalo National Park near the village of Ranohira, Madagascar. It is 240km from Tamatave in the south west of the island. Mandrare River Camp is located in the south of Madagascar near Fort Dauphin. Heading north, Pavillon de l'Emyrne is in the Isoraka area Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. Constance Lodge is situated in the north-western part of Madagascar, at about 40 miles from the island of Nosy Be, Tsarabanjina is one of the islets of the Mitsio Archipelago.
How to get there
13-hour international flight (one stop) to Antananarivo Airport, with Kenya Airways flight. From Antananarivo, it's a 1-hour 30-minute flight to Tulear. Relais de la Reine is a 3-hour drive from the airstrip.
