Madagascar – Points to consider when planning your Madagascar Safari
We’ve been having many Madagascar safari requests lately and we’ve noticed that there are some common misconceptions about Madagascar which I’d like to address.
Madagscar is not for everyone… if you really like good quality accommodation, expect a holiday to unfold exactly as the brochure says and have difficulty coping with change, then perhaps Madagascar is not for you. However if you have a spirit of adventure, welcome the unexpected, and are willing to accept some irritations and rustic conditions, then Madagascar, with its pristine flora and extra-ordinary wildlife, could be the perfect destination for you. We recommend that you visit at least two, and preferably three or four, of its distinct climatic and floral zones.
Type of accommodation
Unlike many countries in Southern Africa, there really isn’t that much choice in terms of accommodation in Madagascar except in the beach resorts of Nosy Be and Ile Sainte Marie. The accommodation is reasonable but usually not of a very high standard and so if you are someone who only enjoys the finer hotels and lodges then you need to appreciate that this is not on offer in Madagascar. We try to tell it as it is in our proposals so that there should be no surprises when you are on holiday so read our comments thoroughly.
Having said that, Nosy Be and Ile Sainte Marie do offer a higher standard of hotel and so this is where you can upgrade your accommodation to offset the more modest lodges elsewhere.
Cost
Some clients are under the impression that because the hotel standard is not high, the cost of a Madagascar holiday will be moderate. Unfortunately this is not really the case. Though it is not one of the most expensive safari destinations in Africa, it is not cheap. There are a variety of reasons for this:
The international flight to Madagascar is expensive (due to lack of competition). However this should be changing as SA Airlink introduces a new direct flight from Johannesburg to Nosy Be. This will stimulate South African interest in Madagascar and lead to lower air prices.
Madagascar is a huge country and therefore the domestic flights between Tana and Fort Dauphin (for Berenty) and Tana and Morondava are also expensive. Given that most people want to experience the diversity of Madagascar’s flora and fauna, you usually will visit 3 or 4 different regions.
The hotels and lodges are priced in Euros and charge European-style prices.
English-speaking guide or not?
One factor which has a big influence on the cost of your safari is whether you take a private English-speaking guide. We usually give you the price with and without this guide.
If you choose the basic tour, your hotel transfers (from the airports to your hotels and from Tana to Perinet) are with a local driver who will not speak much, if any, English. This is fine if you speak French (which is a common language in Madagascar) or if you are really looking for the cheapest possible cost, but could be frustrating if you want to ask your driver about something you’ve seen en route, or ask a general information question. However when you get to the National Park just as Perinet or Berenty, you join the scheduled tours and excursions with the English-speaking park rangers. However as these are scheduled, you will be joining other people who may or may not have the same interests and requirements as you.
The alternative is to take a English-speaking private guide. We include this as standard if you are a party of four people as the cost is not so much more however we offer it as a supplement if you are just 2 or 3 people. It is quite a bit more than the basic tour as you have to pay the guide’s daily fees and also his accommodation and meals but in exchange you have much more flexibility and will gain so much more knowledge about the wildlife and sights of Madagascar so we strongly recommend it.
Note that if you fly from one area to another, you will have different English-speaking guides in each region. The guide does not accompany you on the flight. So you’ll have one guide for your visit to Perinet and another one who meets you at Fort Dauphin for your visit to Berenty.
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March 16th, 2007 at 9:08 am
I made enquiries about visiting Madagascar with you at the end of last year but you didn’t have trips for the period available to us (January February). Since we were already in Mozambique for 2 months we decided to go ahead and book with a tour operator in Tana. Everything you say in your comments is true and useful. We thoroughly enjoyed our 11 day trip with a guide/driver for the 2 of us. There were no enormous experiences but every day was a pleasure - wonderful scenery, visits to farmers, helping with rice-threshing, visiting a school, a fascinating 12 hour rail journey, amazing markets and charming people. We are quite elderly (65 and 72), adventurous but not intrepid travellers, and we found the relative flexibility of our own vehicle took away any strains. There were plenty of unscheduled events but nothing upsetting.