If you are planning to visit Madagascar, here you’ll find the best tips on things to do in the island, with a sightseeing map on the most relevant points of interest to enjoy, so you can easily imagine and organize your trip: WHAT to see, HOW to plan your visit, and WHY to discover Madagascar!
Video Chapters:
2:25 The West
2:37 Baobabs
3:10 Tsingy
3:50 Manambolo River Gorges
4:43 Beaches (Belo-sur-Mer and Andravoho Island)
5:40 From the West to Tana
5:57 Morondava
6:39 Rice Terraces (Betafo)
7:00 Tritriva Lake
7:30 Antananarivo
9:48 Why visit Madagascar
11:20 Food
11:54 Help Others
In this video:
- WHAT are the major attractions that you can't go home without having seen, including the Allée des Baobas, the Parc National de Bemaraha with its Grand Tsingy and Petit Tsingy, beaches (Belo-sur-Mer and Andravoho Island), Betafo (rise terraces), Tritriva (a volcanic lake) and Antananarivo (Tana).
- Then, I’ll describe to you HOW to follow a tour to better visit the island, with a clear map of Madagascar’s attractions.
- Finally, we’ll discover WHY to visit Madagascar
The goal of this video is to present the best itinerary that, in my opinion, you can follow if you have 10 to 20 days to spend in Madagascar, on the road! And the best if you want to visit the most typical and less crowded tourist places.
WHAT:
The Allée des Baobas is the best natural setting to admire these fascinating trees, some of which are over 1000 years old and reach epic proportions: more than 21 meters in diameter! All the tourists will arrive at sunset: do something different, visit it at sunrise!
The Parc National de Bemaraha, a UNESCO site, is probably the most beautiful park in the country. Here you can see the Tsingy, limestone pinnacles that are a work of art of nature. There are lovely hiking trails to explore them, as well as via ferrata and rivers in a canoe.
To visit the Petit Tsingy I recommend that you take a pirogue and approach the park through the incredible gorges of the Manambolo River. During the navigation you’ll find traditional tombs with remains of human skulls.
Belo-sur-Mer is a village nestled between sand dunes, suspended in another time. Here you can rest, slow down, enjoy the ocean and watch the fishermen bring their nets back to shore. Between deserted islands, you can snorkel or dive to admire the coral reef.
In Andravoho Island the blue and yellow colors of the sand are very intense and the hemispherical shape of the small island makes it even more poetic.
The journey from Belo-sur-Mer to Antananarivo is an excellent opportunity to understand some aspect of this culture, outside tourist locations.
In Betafo you can see some splendid rice terraces and you can hike up to a sacred mountain with some tombs.
Antananarivo is a city of two levels: the historic Haute-Ville, above, and the flatter Basse-Ville, both of which can be explored on foot.
The itinerary I recommend for visiting Haute-Ville, goes from the viewpoint under the Rova, down to Lac Anosy (a heart-shaped lake).
WHY:
Why visit Madagascar?
Because three-quarters of its territory is between 1,000 and 1,500 meters above sea level, and this allows you to go on many excursions without fear of dangerous animals, unlike continental Africa.
Because Madagascar has had, for about 100 million years, a unique geological and evolutionary path in the world, still there to admire (the first men, coming from south-east Asia, set foot on the island only about 2,000 years ago!). You will find a lot of animals you can see only here. Here, our friend chameleon.
ACCOMMODATION TIPS:
- Baobab Café, 77 Noskely 619, Morondava, Madagascar
- OLYMPE DE BEMARAHA: tsingy de bemaraha, 613 Bekopaka, Madagascar
- Ecolodge du Menabe, Belo-sur-Mer
- Entremer, Amboaniotelo, BP47 Belo sur Mer, 619, Madagascar
- Soa Lia, Ampanasana, Miandrivazo 617, Madagascar
- Hôtel Restaurant La Ribaudière, 18 Rue Paul Dussac, 101 Antananarivo, Madagascar
- FLY INN Madagascar HOTEL, Lot 090, Bis MMAI Mamory Antoby, Ivato 105,, 105 Ivato, Madagascar
FOOD TIPS:
- Baobab Café, 77 Noskely 619,, Morondava, Madagascar
- MAD ZEBU RESTAURANT, En face du marché, Belo-sur-Tsiribihina 609, Madagascar
- Hôtel Colbert, Jardin Antaninarenina, 29 rue Prince Ratsimamanga, Antananarivo 101,
- Bread Mafan', Ampasamadinika, Antananarivo
- Le Buffet du Jardin, Place de l'Independance Basse-Ville, Antananarivo
- Grand Café de la Gare, Arabe Rainibertsimisaraka, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar
- La Petite Brasserie, Lalana Général Gabriel Ramanantsoa, Antananarivo
Contacts:
This is the agency that supported us in organizing the trip: www.madagascar-circuits.com/
And these are the contacts (WhatsApp) of our driver, Thierry: +261 032 02 497 48
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