Madagascar had long been a bucket list item for me. We had begun researching Madagascar the year before Covid…but of course had to put it on the back burner. I’ve been anxious to get it back in our travel itinerary, and well, let me tell you, it was worth the wait. You may know how much my husband and I love a wildlife and birding adventure. Madagascar really delivered on that front…but in many other ways as well. I am now totally Mad About Madagascar and hope I can impress upon you what an incredible destination it is.
Touring Madagascar
You can do independent travel in Madagascar, but frankly I wouldn’t recommend it. Infrastructure in Madagascar is poor. Roads are long, bumpy and poorly maintained. Having a driver who can expertly and safely maneuver the roads is important. Secondly, the wildlife. Throughout our ten day visit to Madagascar we had two different regional driver/guides and an additional five other site specific guides. The site specific guides played a very important role in the success of our tour. Their expertise in finding wildlife, birds and plants as well as teaching us about the local history, culture and people was immeasurable. Do a tour. You won’t regret it.
There are dozens of tour companies…probably hundreds. We used a company called Fosa and booked a private ten day tour and upgraded our hotels. We also upgraded to add a flight between the long distance of Antananarivo and Morondava…saving us from a full 10 hour day of treacherous driving. Do your research to find the best fit for you.
Mad About Madagascar
Madagascar was so much better than I expected. After our first two days I thought – well we can go home now, it can’t get any better. And yet…it did. It was unexpected at every turn. So let me tell you the highlights of the things we saw, did and experienced. Let me tell you why I am now Mad About Madagascar.
Baobabs
It’s these amazing trees that I wanted to see in Madagascar. I really wasn’t prepared for all the other astonishing things…so that was a bonus. But these amazing Baobab trees were everything I had hoped for. Avenue of the Baobabs, also called Alley of the Baobabs, is not the only place you can enjoy the Baobabs. They are scattered all over the region between Morondava and Kirindy in the south. We first sighted them from the airplane.
Adansonia is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs(/ˈbaʊbæb/ or /ˈbeɪoʊbæb/) or adansonias. They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.[2] The trees have also been introduced to other regions such as Asia.[3] A genomic and ecological analysis has suggested that the genus is Madagascan in origin. (Wikipedia)
Baobab trees can grow to enormous sizes and carbon dating indicates that they may live to be 3,000 years old. Baobab trees grow as solitary individuals, and are large and distinctive elements of savanna or scrubland vegetation. They grow from 5–25 meters (16–82 feet) tall. An amazing site to see. I think every tour will take you to The Avenue of the Baobabs.
Other Flora
Throughout our tour we enjoyed many other species of plant life. From the giant Baobab to the tiniest of fungus. Because we showed a lot of interest in plants and birds as well as wildlife, all of our guides went to great lengths to point out the beauty of Madagascar underfoot and overhead.
Chameleons
I wasn’t very familiar with chameleons before arriving in Madagascar, and I have to say, I think they are my new favorite creature. These handsome docile bug eaters just hang out and mind their business in the jungles of Madagascar, all while sporting a beautiful and showy suit. I love them. Madagascar is home to over 150 kinds of chameleons and we saw many of them, both in the wild and at a reserve that is working to conserve the reptiles who are threatened from deforestation. Our wonderful guides with their eagle eyes spotted sleeping chameleons during our night-walks and camouflaged chameleons in the bright day. Additional reptiles we found were frogs, snakes and geckos. What a show they all gave us.
Birds
As loyal followers of this blog well know, travel has turned my husband and I into birders. I used to be pretty ambivalent about birds…but once you travel around the world the presence of birds becomes such an important part of each day. We love birding and our guides were incredible at helping us find more than 20 new-to-us species during our ten day tour. And one beautiful giant moth.
One thing I want to point out is, for the first time ever, we saw sleeping birds. I never have given much thought to where birds sleep. But on our night walk in Kirindy National Park, with our guide, we saw beautiful birds, sound asleep on low branches. A brand new experience for me.
Lemurs
Lemurs are probably the biggest attraction for visitors who come to Madagascar. The island is home to more than 50 kinds of Lemurs, a tree dwelling primate. And despite its close proximity to mainland Africa, the lemurs are found only on the island.
We did not see all of the species of lemurs, but we were pretty impressed with how many we did see. I was hoping we would just see one or two but we saw dozens. From the smallest mouse lemur, about 11 inches and nocturnal, to the largest – the Indri. The Indri can weigh up to 9.5 kg (21 lb) and perhaps up to 15 kg (33 lb). We encountered many families of indri in the Analamazoatra national park, and were astonished by the screaming noise they make to mark their familiar territory. Absolutely fascinating.
Most of the lemurs we saw, both during the day on night walk, were regional to the two areas we visited; Kirindy National Park and Analamazoatra National Park. But we also visited a private reserve near Andasibe where we saw many lemurs from other parts of the island, including the ring-tailed lemur the one most people are familiar with.
Culture and History
We had several opportunities during our ten day tour to engage with the local Malagasy people. Everyone we met was kind and welcoming. Tourism makes up 5% of the island economy, and most people work in farming and fishing and live a sustenance life. Everywhere we went people were toiling in some fashion. We particularly enjoyed a canoe ride in Morondava to see the fishing boats. We also waded across a shallow estuary at low tide to visit a small fishing village. Here about 1000 people live with no running water or electricity growing vegetables, fishing and boat building.
We also had the opportunity on our final day to do a walking tour of Antananarivo, called Tana by the locals. Antananarivo is the capital and largest city in Madagascar, home to nearly 4 million people. We visited some historic sites and walked through the very busy daily market swarming with people. This was the only place in our entire visit we were warned to be diligent about pickpockets.
Things to Know
Logistics
There are two official languages in Madagascar; French and Malagasy. Malagasy is just one of 18 tribal languages in the country. Most people in the tourism industry speak a bit of English. All of our guides spoke excellent English.
Don’t expect to use your credit card. We paid cash for all but one transaction over our ten day tour. Even hotels and restaurants operate in the local currency of Ariary. As of this writing the exchange rate is one Ariary = .23 US cents
Safety
I felt safe everywhere I went, and I was always with a guide. The only time we were warned to be aware of pickpockets was in the city of Antananarivo – a city of 4 million people. Crime is a problem in the city so be aware. But very little of our time was spent in the city.
Though not all areas of Madagascar are prone to malaria, we did take malaria medicine while in the country. Discuss it with you doctor.
Lodging
We stayed in five different hotels during our tour. All were excellent, clean, had delicious restaurants and friendly English speaking staff. Only one did not have Aircon or wifi due to it’s remoteness.
Costs
Our tour for two people with the upgrades I mentioned above cost $5076 for ten days. Our tour included breakfast but not lunch or dinner. We ate all our dinners at the hotels and and few lunches elsewhere. Over the ten days we spent about $400 on food and drinks. We tipped our drivers and guides generously…a total for tips over the ten days was about $250. Our round trip flight from Vienna via Addis Ababa cost $910 per person.
Mad About Madagascar
My bucket list of destinations got significantly shorter after this long awaited trip to Madagascar. It was the final destination of an 8 month long journey that started in remarkable Papua New Guinea and ended in magnificent Madagascar. What a life. My Fab Fifties Life.
I highly recommend Madagascar. If you have considered it, ask me questions. I am Mad About Madagascar and am so grateful it turned out even better than I had always imagined.
Thank you for reading my post Mad About Madagascar and for your continued interest and support of our travels. Be sure and see last week’s post Visit Vienna Austria. And come back next week for even more of our grand travel adventures.
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