Day 1. Fly London to Antananarivo
Day 2. Arrive Antananarivo and transfer to hotel
Upon arrival in Madagascar, you will be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel. From the Airport to Antananarivo city centre (12km), it can sometimes take over an hour - Antananarivo is a bustling city full of life! On your way you will see rice paddies, houses
that are all different from each other, and the daily life in this city of about 2 million inhabitants. Tananarivians mostly make a living from day to day jobs, known as “Ady Gasy”: repairing tyres, selling Chinese-made products in the streets, selling scrap… Antananarivo is full of life and colour! Once you get to your hotel, the rest of the day will be free.
Les 3 metis
Meals included: Breakfast and dinner
Day 3. Antananarivo to Andasibe
After breakfast, drive to Andasibe. You will quickly see how difficult it is to drive on Malagasy national roads and appreciate the talent of your highly experienced driver. Stop on the way to visit Peyrieras park, a small privately run reserve on National Road 2, where you can see your first lemurs, chameleons and butterflies! After the visit, drive to Andasibe and check-in at your hotel.
Sahatandra river hotel
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 4. Andasibe - Visit the National Park
Andasibe National Park, also known as Andasibe-Mantadia NP, is a 12,810 hectare area and has two parts: the small special reserve of Analamazaotra (“Perinet”) and the large National Park of Mantadia. During your walk, you will see a variety of flora and fauna such as orchids growing in the forest or the Indri Indri (biggest existing lemur, size of a koala). You will also enjoy small and beautiful waterfalls and learn more about cultural rituals of the surrounding inhabitants. In the afternoon, you will be taken on a visit in Vakona private reserve. At the end of the afternoon, you will have an evening visit near the national park to spot nocturnal animals. After your visit, you will return to your hotel for dinner.
Sahatandra river hotel
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 5. Andasibe to Antsirabe
This morning we will leave early to go to Antsirabe. We will stop enroute in Ambatolampy to see where recycled aluminum cooking pots are made. The countryside is full of plantations and fields, and you can buy fresh fruit from the farmers on the roadside. Antsirabe is a beautiful city in the highlands of Madagascar, surrounded by rice fields and extinct volcanoes. Most of the fruit & vegetables feeding Antananarivo’s population are grown here. The city is also famous for handicrafts: zebu horn cutlery and straw hats. Whilst here, you can organise a city tour in a rickshaw.
Vatolahy hotel
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 6. Antsirabe to Ranomafana
Drive to Ranomafana, with a stop in Ambositra to visit the handicrafts markets. Ambositra is a small town famous for Zafimaniry woodcarvings. The Zafimaniry people build entire houses using their own wooden architecture, and you can buy handicrafts from them. Their art is listed as UNESCO World Heritage. Late arrival in Ranomafana, meaning “where there are warm waters” because of the hot springs.
Centrest sejour
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 7. Ranomafana - Visit the National Park
Today will be dedicated to exploring Ranomafana National Park. We recommend waking up early for a morning walk inside the park, as it is the best time for lemur observation. You will be fascinated by botany, ornithology, herpetology in this tropical rainforest. Flora and fauna variety is huge here, and most species are unique. At the end of the afternoon, you will have an evening visit near the National Park to spot nocturnal animals. After your visit, you will return to your hotel for dinner.
Centrest sejour
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 8. Ranomafana to Tsaranoro
Drive to Tsaranoro valley, stopping in Ambalavao to visit Anja private reserve. In this reserve you can meet the most famous lemur: the ring tailed lemur. You will also see Betsileo traditional tombs. The Betsileo have strong traditions with lots of rites which you will learn about from the guide. After the visit, back on the road to Tsaranoro valley. Tsara Camp lies in the middle of Tsaranoro Valley. In the morning you will be able to fully enjoy the spectacular view all around the camp. The valley is surrounded by the Tsaranoro Mount (Granite cliff, 800m high) on one side and the giant mountain chain of Andringitra National Park on the other. Memories of Ranomafana tropical forest a couple of days ago will seem far away when looking at this mountainous landscape.
Tsara camp
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 9. Tsaranoro Valley
Today you will walk inside Tsaranoro valley. Tsara Camp organises several guided walks in the beautiful red mountains. The easy walks will lead you to the sacred forest, home of Catta lemurs. Inside the forest, you will also see a waterfall and a natural swimming pool. Go through the Barabory village, home to the local ethnic group who you can get to know, and learn about the daily lives of these isolated people. Indeed, the only way of accessing this valley is via the hilly dirt road you used yesterday to come. Here, people live according to the seasons, the weather, and the rice harvest. More challenging walks will bring you up to Mount Chameleon or even to the top of Mount Tsaranoro.
Tsara camp
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 10. Tsaranoro to Ranohira
Drive ahead to Ranohira, a sandstone landscape. This is the starting point for visiting Isalo National Park.
Isalo ranch
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 11. Ranohira - Visit Isalo national park
You will spend the full day visiting the huge Isalo NP, otherwise known as the “Malagasy Colorado”. It is the 3rd most visited National Park in Madagascar, with hills made of eroded sandstone rock and cut through by deep canyons. It is so big (81,540 hectares) that tours inside the park can last up to 5 days! Today you will enjoy two half-day hikes: inside the “Canyon of Lemurs” in the morning and to a swimming pool in the afternoon, passing by an outstanding viewpoint. During your tours, you will see Bara tombs, made by the local ethnic group. The tombs are impressively squeezed dozens of metres high in holes in the cliffs! As for lemurs, you will have a chance to see sifaka, brown lemurs and ring-tailed lemurs.
Isalo ranch
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 12. Ranohira to Ifaty
After breakfast, drive to Tulear. Southern capital of Madagascar, known as "the white city" or "sun city", Tulear is a mosaic of ethnicities and cultures under the banner of the smile and the sun. The colourful city is a concert of rhythmic ambience made by the Tsapiky music which, surging through the streets, add to the sensuality and the gentleness of its inhabitants. Before reaching Tulear, visit the private reserve “Arboretum d’Antsokay”. After lunch, drive ahead to Ifaty, a fishing village about 30km north of Tulear.
Hotel de la plage
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 13. Ifaty - Day at leisure
Day at leisure in Ifaty. The Ifaty area is made up of several Vezo fishing villages. Fishing is a dominant activity and you will have the opportunity to get to know the fishing villages scattered around the lagoon that stretches along the coast. Several activities can be organised on the spot during your stay: visit the Reniala Private reserve with its Baobab forest, swimming, snorkelling, diving, canoe or boat expeditions.
Hotel de la plage
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 14. Ifaty to Antananarivo via Tulear
After breakfast, transfer to Tulear airport for your flight back to Antananarivo. Meet & greet at the airport and transfer to your hotel.
Les 3 metis
Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 15. Antananarivo - International flight
Depending on your flight schedule, you will be transferred to the airport for your flight back. If time allows, you can do some last minute shopping for Malagasy handicrafts.
Meals included: Breakfast
Day 16. Arrive UK