Madagascar Vacation Review
Marina Bird of Canada's Madagascar vacation of October 2006 lasted approximately 15 days. She shares her review with us here ...
We were on a guided bus tour with Adventures Abroad. They were the assigned tour operator as we won the vacation.
The itinerary was pre-set by the company. We went to Antananarivo, Perinet, Antsirabe, Ranomafana, Fianarantsoa, Ranohira, Tulear, Fort Dauphin. We went on many different hikes, visited a number of reserves and villages.
The whole Madagascar vacation was very well organized from start to finish. We had one tour guide hired through Adventures Abroad and one guide that was local to Madagascar.
While both tour guides did an excellent job the local tour guide "Kenny" was outstanding. As it was his own country he was able to share many different stories about their culture, myths and was very knowledgeable about plant, bird and wildlife.
On one occasion we also had two others when we were in Ranohira. They escorted us on a hike through a reserve in Isalo.
There were 19 tourists in total on our Madagascar vacation and then our tour guides. We primarily travelled by bus however we also had 3 in country flights. We flew from Tulear to Antananarivo, and then from Antananarivo to Fort Dauphin and then back to Antananarivo.
While travelling that long and that far on a bus may sound like it would be tiresome it was anything but. The country side is so beautiful and I found that there was always something to look at or to take a picture of. The island is so diverse and as you drove from place to place the landscape would take on a new face.
Hotel Du Louvre: This was the first hotel we stayed at and it is in the capital city. It was surprisingly modern with a nice breakfast spot. Very clean and had all the amenities we would expect in a hotel at home.
Vakona Forest Lodge: Very nice hotel. You are driving along a dirt road in the forest and then all of a sudden the road opens up to this beautiful lodge in the middle of no-where. The rooms were very nice, a lot of wood and were built up into the side of the hill overlooking a man-made lagoon and a round building which served as the reception and restaurant. It was our first hotel where the beds had mosquito nets. Rooms were very clean and comfortable.
Hotel Des Thermes: This hotel was quite old but also quite grand. We reached it after a very long day of driving so were thankful for a clean and comfortable place to stay. It was located more in a city centre.
Setam Lodge: Again this lodge just seemed to pop up in the middle of nowhere after a long and windy drive down a dirt road. The rooms were bungalow style built in the side of the hill with beautiful pine ceilings. Our room and the resort overlooked a lovely mountain surrounded by the rain forest.
Zomatel Hotel: This hotel was in the middle of Fianarantosa, a very busy city. I liked this hotel the least as it was a bit old and tired, but it was clean and served the purpose for us to get a good nights sleep. We only stayed here one night.
Reilais De La Reine: This by far was my favourite hotel. The whole resort was fashioned out of stone. From the restaurant, to the lobby, to the walkways to our rooms there was stone everywhere. The hotel was quite modern, had a pool, a nice patio and lounge area and the rooms were very nice. There were beautiful flowers everywhere and it have amazing views from the top of the rock formations.
Hotel Du Louvre: Same as first night stay.
Berenty Lodge: It took us the longest to reach this hotel. We had to fly to the southern end of the island and then we had a seven hour bus ride to get to this resort. It was in the most remote location of all of the places that we stayed. It was set up with individual cabins, an outdoor breakfast area and then a main building for dinner. It was very rustic and basic, but was clean and suited the environment we were in. A big modern style hotel would have seemed out of place in this part of the country.
The food was very good. We were not sure what to expect at first but we were pleasantly surprised.
They had several dishes that were similar to what we would find at home here in Canada and most of the meals were cooked with both a Madagascar and French influence. We ate at a couple of restaurants that served primarily French style cooked food and we were very impressed.
Breakfast at most locations consisted of bread, cheeses, sometimes eggs or croissants.
We did try the zebu and it is very similar to the beef here at home. They had excellent fish, and many of the meals were served with rice which I am sure is one of the staples.
The weather overall was very good. We had a few rainy times which is to be expected when you are travelling for that many days.
The climate however in Madagascar changes quite dramatically from one location to the next and we were surprised at the temperature difference from Tana to Fort Dauphin. It was quite cool in Tana and you needed a sweater or jacket but the further south shorts and T-shirt were all that you needed.
We had the opportunity to see a lot of different wildlife and of course the highlight was the lemurs.
 There are 71 different known species of lemurs in Madagascar and we were able to see 15 of them. This is quite a good ratio as some of them are very rare and have only been seen once or twice. Our favourite lemur is the Sifaka as they are known as the dancing lemur and that it what it resembles when they run.
I think the most amazing part of seeing the Lemurs was being able to see them in their natural habitat in the rain forest and to know that they are creatures that are indigenous to Madagascar.
We also saw the zebus (cow), the Mira which is the largest meat eating animal on the island and it is not any bigger than a bobcat.
We also saw snakes, crocodiles, many different reptiles, birds that are indigenous to Madagascar.
Article: Madagascar animals »
Pack light. You are able to get your clothes washed overnight for very reasonable prices at most resorts and as you are changing hotels so frequently it is good to have light weight luggage.
I think it's useful ensuring that you have personal hygiene products as we only once during our entire holiday were we in a supermarket type of store where you could buy any items that you may have forgotten.
I would rate the trip at a 10 out of 10. I think the experience of hiking in the rain forest, visiting the villages and the cities does not compare to any other trips we have experienced in the past.
I have no regrets. It was a great trip, a once in a lifetime experience and we had the most amazing time.
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When is the best time to go on a Madagascar vacation?
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