Madagascar travel advice
Trip planning
Madagascar trip planning advice
Laurenne Mansbridge is the director of our supplier Pioneer Expeditions:
"Don’t try and see it all. The logistics aren’t great – and it’s better to base yourself in one region. That way you get to see things properly, rather than just spending your time traveling."
Mark Huggins, from our supplier Undiscovered Destinations:
"If you fly internally with Air Madagascar, be prepared for delays. There are no other airlines, and while flights are rarely cancelled, they don’t always leave when they should. Be prepared that everything might not go to plan!"
Our Madagascar Vacations
Small group vacations to Madagascar
Experience the best of this enigmatic island continent
From
£2780 to £2975
18 days
ex flights
Madagascar family vacation, wild country & whales
Fantastic family explore adventure in South Madagascar
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US $2495 to US $2750
15 days
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Madagascar vacations, The lost continent
Experience the culture and wildlife of Madagascar
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US $2970 to US $3320
17 days
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Madagascar vacation, Lemurs, canals & mountains
Stunning adventure inc. Mada's rivers, forests & mountains
From
US $2850
14 days
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Private Madagascar tour
Explore Madagascar with private driver. Flights are included!
From
£2270
16 days
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Southern Madagascar vacations, Lemurs, baobabs & beaches
taking in its most diverse environments at comfortable pace
From
US $2985
11 days
ex flights
Laurenne Mansbridge, Pioneer Expeditions:
"It's better to base yourself in one region. That way you get to see things properly rather than just spending your time traveling."
Mark Jacobs, Azafady:
Travel around and have contact with local communities, rather than just staying in a resort - you will actually get a feel for Madagascar.
Hiking
Madagascar hiking advice
Mark Huggins, from our supplier Undiscovered Destinations, shares his Madagascar travel advice:
"The paths are generally good in the national parks, but you need appropriate footwear with a good grip, because if you are looking for wildlife in a forest you have to go off the main path to find it. This can mean walking a couple of hundred metres from the main track; trainers are not good enough, you will end up slipping around."
Choosing an operator
Advice on choosing an operator
Mark Jacobs, from our supplier Azafady:
"Tourism is incredibly important in Madagascar, but it must be sustainable tourism. That is absolutely essential. There are good tour companies and bad tour companies; in the better ones you travel around and have contact with local communities, rather than just staying in a resort, and you actually get a feel for Madagascar. A great tour gives a good and honest impression of the country, and takes it beyond being just another tourist resort in an exotic place."
"Tourism is incredibly important in Madagascar, but it must be sustainable tourism. That is absolutely essential. There are good tour companies and bad tour companies; in the better ones you travel around and have contact with local communities, rather than just staying in a resort, and you actually get a feel for Madagascar. A great tour gives a good and honest impression of the country, and takes it beyond being just another tourist resort in an exotic place."
Top tip: A local highlight
Top tip: a local highlight
Laurenne Mansbridge, Pioneer Expeditions:
"The Cafe de la Gare in Tana is a really amazing restaurant set in the old railway station. Architecturally it’s absolutely stunning; it’s got great food, a lovely ambience and it’s really good value. Most flights leave at 1am meaning you need to be at the airport for around 10pm – so this is a great way to spend your last night. You’ll feel like you’ve been transported back to the 1950s."
Our top Madagascar Vacation
Small group vacations to Madagascar
Experience the best of this enigmatic island continent
From
£2780 to £2975
18 days
ex flights
Small group travel:
2022: 5 Aug, 2 Sep, 16 Sep, 9 Oct, 14 Dec
2023: 16 Jun, 4 Aug, 1 Sep, 15 Sep, 6 Oct, 15 Dec
2022: 5 Aug, 2 Sep, 16 Sep, 9 Oct, 14 Dec
2023: 16 Jun, 4 Aug, 1 Sep, 15 Sep, 6 Oct, 15 Dec
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about Madagascar or need help finding a vacation to suit you we're very happy to help.
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Madagascar advice from travelers
At Responsible Travel, we think the best people to advise our travelers are often... other travelers. They always return from our tours with packing tips, weather reports, ideas about what to do - and opinions about what not to.
We have selected some of the most useful Madagascar travel tips that our guests have provided over the years to help you make the very most of your vacation - and the space inside your suitcase.
We have selected some of the most useful Madagascar travel tips that our guests have provided over the years to help you make the very most of your vacation - and the space inside your suitcase.
Be prepared for anything! We had a ferry crossing that grounded us on a sandbank, put us on a tiny passenger boat and involved a hot dusty walk through a rubbish dump before arriving at a restaurant serving haute cuisine at local prices.![]()
Gill Berry
"Be prepared for things to be unpredictable and not to expect standards in hotels and lodges to be as in the UK". - Jean Maclean
"We found most things to be much better than we expected and enjoyed extremely comfortable accommodation in most of the places we stayed. We would happily recommend our trip to friends, but with the proviso that "Madagascar is not for sissies!" - Amanda Haley
"Tipping (guides, translators, taxi drivers, porters) may form the greater part of the typical day's expenditure. Such is the local economy that the most modest tip will be well received – meaning that the stress, if any, is not the cost but simply having local currency in appropriate small denominations. The advice is therefore to keep tipping amounts separately in your back pocket, for use as required." - Maggie Wood
"We found most things to be much better than we expected and enjoyed extremely comfortable accommodation in most of the places we stayed. We would happily recommend our trip to friends, but with the proviso that "Madagascar is not for sissies!" - Amanda Haley
"Tipping (guides, translators, taxi drivers, porters) may form the greater part of the typical day's expenditure. Such is the local economy that the most modest tip will be well received – meaning that the stress, if any, is not the cost but simply having local currency in appropriate small denominations. The advice is therefore to keep tipping amounts separately in your back pocket, for use as required." - Maggie Wood
Do some homework first. We hadn't really done any at all, and didn't quite realise how much trekking was involved to see some of the elusive wildlife and that the rainforest is not misnamed.![]()
"Volunteer tip: Get in touch with the other volunteers in your group before you go and see if there are things you need to take that you can share within the group. Have fun! It's a working vacation, but it's an amazing experience and actually being in such a different environment to day to day life in the UK made it the most relaxing vacation I'd ever had". - Alexis Liming
"Take waterproof bags to put all your clothes and equipment into for canoe trips. Make sure you have a good torch as electricity supplies in hotels are unpredictable. No need for water purifying tablets as bottled water is available everywhere even in the back of beyond!" - Rosemary Llewellin
"Be tolerant of those begging, but don't give to them. Contributing to the local economy by buying local goods, even if you later give them away – they are very, very cheap by our standards – helps far more". - Linda Brightwell
"Take waterproof bags to put all your clothes and equipment into for canoe trips. Make sure you have a good torch as electricity supplies in hotels are unpredictable. No need for water purifying tablets as bottled water is available everywhere even in the back of beyond!" - Rosemary Llewellin
"Be tolerant of those begging, but don't give to them. Contributing to the local economy by buying local goods, even if you later give them away – they are very, very cheap by our standards – helps far more". - Linda Brightwell
More about Madagascar
The best time to visit Madagascar is between July and October for the wildlife and weather.
Every country is unique, but Madagascar is more unique than most with flora, fauna and culture unlike anywhere else in the world...
Which reserve is best for ring tailed lemurs? Where can I trek? And can I kayak inland or around the coast? Our interactive map reveals all...
Meet lemurs, hike through Tsingy pinnacles, paddle down rivers or give something back by volunteering. There's an activity for everyone in Madagascar...
We've picked out key lemur species - from dancing sifakas to gremlin-like aye-ayes - and explored which forests, reserves and parks they inhabit...
Any trip to Madagascar will include a selection of its national parks, introducing the incredible scenery and unique wildlife that it is famous for...
The island is rightly famed for its unique flora and fauna, but the culture and traditions of Madagascar always add plenty of local colour to your trip plans.
Madagascar has wildlife like nowhere else on this planet, and if you want to really appreciate its vibrant diversity, then the best way is definitely on foot.
Traveling in Madagascar with kids is extremely rewarding, but best wait til they are a bit older to make the most of this life changing experience...
From potholed roads to a lack of tourism infrastructure and the language barrier, the difficulties of traveling around Madagascar are something that no operator can avoid talking about.
Traveling responsibly is better for the lemurs, better for the Malagasy, and - we believe - a much more memorable vacation for you...
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