Antananarivo Flights

Getting around Antananarivo is quite difficult by foot... so as by public transportation (overloaded buses). Instead, rent a car with a driver and a guide. Do not even think of driving by yourself otherwise you are getting mad with traffic jam and people (both pedestrians and drivers) who don't usually respect circulation code.
Alongside with International rental services (Hertz, Avis..), local companies, travel agencies provide same services as well (at lower price most of time).

While preparing your internal trip(s) to see other parts of the island, I find it interesting to have road trips rather than fly.
Enjoy ever changing landscapes (from highlands to plains and coasts, from forest to arid desert areas ). Be informed of the type of road you/ the driver will drive on as sometimes, a 4*4 is needed.
The island offers this possibility for motorbikers to escape from crowded Tana to empty areas. My warning though, don't travel as a sole biker, rather travel with a guide and other bikers. This applies for safety reasons: accident, sickness but local highwaymen as well. Efforts are made by authorities to tackle highwaymen problem but regions are too large to be entirely covered. If I am not wrong, even 4*4 often travel as part of a caravan.
As for taxi-brousse, they are quite secured as many passengers are in the car and they often travel in caravaning (3-4 cars of this type leave Tana together for same destination). I am used to private comfortable cars for both TO and AROUND Tana and other cities.
Still, I had once the chance to travel with taxi-brousse. 8 hours socializing, leaning on the shoulders of a guy I didn't even know. My neighbour saw I was tired so he said "You can lean on my shoulders if you are tired" and I did. Hmm... I was 14 at that time. I am pretty sure I would recognize this nice person if I see him now. I have to admit that trip like this was part of an adventure and I kind of appreciated it.

Taxi is a common transportation means in Tana area. The city abunds in taxi of all kinds. They would stop everywhere you want, sometimes, causing confusing situations towards other drivers. A kind of adventure that even locals experience here and there. They are, too often, old cars from the 70s, French brands, most of the time.

Though those brands are no longer released and that they were fashionable some 20-30 years ago, enjoy in Madagascar the ride of those oldies of your youth... Well, what I am talking about is appealing to the only French VTers and those who know those cars...

And don't overlook the longlasting "Deuch"... though the fleet is becoming more and more modern.

[Update on March 31 2004: There are changes coming. Government decided to regulate taxi exploitation in Antananarivo urban area (for safety and tax reasons, I guess). From now on, official and registered taxis are of beige colour. If it's not beige, it is likely to be a clandestine taxi. I would avoid clandestine taxis for them being, sometimes, tools for hijackers to harass and kidnap people. I would say that, so far, ONLY registered taxis, in beige, are reliable. Skip the others !
Also, stopping everywhere has been always forbidden but authorities seem to have enforced the rules. So, watch out !]

Cc taxi: the official ones have to be beige and bear this signal. Some may still have a red plastic plaque on them but they are smoothly harmonizing into a white plaque with black types that say:
TAXI
Antananarivo

Last tip: don't wait for pousse-pousse in Tana, they are only for carrying (pulling) goods and commodities (woodlumbers, iron, coal...)

Although I would think of travelling by bus (minivans, coaches) around the island (whenever weather and roads permit, that is), using busses in Tana is unthinkable for me. To be honest, I used it once in my life. Not ready to renew my experience: back in the 80s, i was crammed in the crowd, almost suffocating.

March 2005: I was waiting for my Mum in our car, watching people when I suddenly realized I could not figure out how to catch a bus in Tana. In less than a-30-min wait, I noticed there should have been 7 bus companies passing by. I saw yellow, light blue, dark blue, green, red, white+blue, all white, white+whatever, green-yellow busses, all belonging to different bus companies (not talking about lines, really talking about companies).

Well, those who are used to this Tana bus network know.. but poor me who am used to private cars, if not by foot and, at very less extent, to taxis, it's a no-no.

Now, what about you, I am ashamed to say I cannot even give any tip on where to find bus companies schedules. Though I saw some Europeans waiting for their bus in the morning, they were residents, not tourists :-)

One positive thing though: following past governments' lack of initiative to regulate public transportation, private companies have successfully filled in the gap, serving the population. Once again, it's all the private that could solve problems. And I tell you, those busses are always full... In the past, they were rarer but too packed, overloaded with drivers assistant and sometimes passengers (!) hanging from outside. Nowadays, authorities are regulating conditions (bus drivers and assistants have to wear uniforms, overloading is forbidden... ). It is a reform that locals have welcomed. That's Madagascar, thriving in efforts.

Well, something had to be done given the fact that public transportation makes half the bulk of traffic in Tana. I neatly noticed their importance after the taxi colour has been harmonized and that you could easily distinguish the different bus companies in the traffic jam.

An exellent way of getting around Antananarivo is by Taxi-be. This is basically a "taxi" van driving pre determined routes. You could almost say it is the same principle a european bus line. You pay a fixed priced (1000 FMG) no matter where you hop on or off. It is also a good way to mix with the locals, it can be literally "packed" though. I have never been with so many people in a mini van that's for sure.

It might be better to grap a normal taxi at some times. Taxi-be's only drive to about 19:30 and in the last hour of it's service everyone tries to get home so it is usually very busy then. Connections are not always very good to some parts in town and it is not very convinient to take a taxi-be with a large pack.

As in any big city, traffic was often horrendous. No traffic lights but there was reasonably orderly driving. However, when a traffic officer was regulating traffic, that was always cause for more traffic jams!

Our hosts would not let us travel without a chauffeur. In fact, chauffeurs were also bodyguards.

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If you remember my tried trusted rule “All Taxi Drivers are Thieves” you will do ok here. The local taxis at the airport wanted to charge me $20 to go less than a kilometre to my hotel when I first arrived. I walked! Then they wanted $25 to go the 25 kilometres to the airport form the centre of the city. I paid $10 after hard hard negotiations. Just assume that the real price is 50-60% of what they first tell you and you will be paying the correct fair. You can’t miss the taxis here – they are all cream coloured whether they say ‘Taxi’ on them or not. Don’t expect air conditioning.