Madagascar Things to Do

  Inside the market.
by rosequartzlover1
 
  • Inside the market.
      Inside the market.
    by rosequartzlover1
  • Atmosphere around the market.
      Atmosphere around the market.
    by rosequartzlover1
  • That's my 4WD and people who helped us
      That's my 4WD and people who helped us
    by rosequartzlover1
  • very simple class room in the middle of the field
      very simple class room in the middle of...
    by rosequartzlover1
  • black board
      black board
    by rosequartzlover1
 
Great Prices, Great Rooms
hotels.com We Know Hotels Inside And Out. Click or call now: 1-800-914-6835
Save up to 50% off Hotels Everyday
Expedia.com Photos, Reviews and the Guaranteed Lowest Prices

Sponsored Links

Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Tana- Antsirabe

by Norali

What's the point?- to escape from crowded capital city Tana and drive through isolated areas with noone around.- to enjoy Highlands' landscape made of ricefields, plains; to marvel at impressive rocky mountains (esp. in Ankaratra massif that culminates at some 2700m) with huge stone blocks in hillsides and tiny villages at hillbottoms... . - to relax in Antsirabe and visit this quiet and elegant city by pousse-pousse, walking or horse riding.- to visit thermal springs in Antsirabe area- for a culinary trip in Antsirabe since the region produces vegetables, fruits, poultry.. and other more sophisticated meal such as foie gras, trout, duck products (filet, confit de canard...), crayfish à la Malagasy. To stock up on foie gras & duck products, have a halt in Behenjy. - to admire those gemstones that are sold in several houses in Antsirabe.- to play golf since Antsirabe, Tana and Toamasina...

Tip Photo
Sunset watching, cheapest activity

by Norali

It didn't appear to me as a "must-see activity" unless I noticed that I've never seen such a spectacular beauty in Europe. Though, quite everywhere in Madagascar you could see this firelight sunset. Yellow, orange, red, blue and black...In Tana Ville Haute (go up there, to the Belvédère for the panoramic view), at seafronts in coastal cities.. Everywhere in Tana countryside, admire sunset light on carmin-coloured houses... It can be seen everywhere, flamboyant and romantic. Ah! the last picture still reminds me of that May party around the lake. My usual sunset is however this one... I use to watch it by far while accomplishing my second daily walking on the dam that runs Southward… to get this remote sight of the dust hoisted up from the soil by the vigorous march of zebus hordes at sunset. I know also that very soon, when the sun has gone & the moon is not there yet, it will be my...

Tip Photo
Play The National Game of Fanorona with the Locals

by moppys

Fanorona is the National game of Madagascar. I recommend you to learn the Rules of the game and play as equel against the locals.You can see Malagasy People playing it on the street or sand. I saw near Aveno de Independante,Tana a board created on the sidewalk stone - each hole and line was curved probobly using some kind of stone/craft. somebody put a lot of work in it. They didn't use proper tools, but stones and orange fruit shells. yes... the simplicity of things.if you like to buy you can find it in the stores:Aveno de Independante,Tana - very heave Stone Version.Ambositra - a wood version.yet heavy as well.You can print and create one your self if you want.They play the game switching from the regulat rules to the Vela. this is very confusing for someone who is watching and trying to figure out the logics behind it. I came aware of the game while on a visit to the Rova in Tana. The...

Tip Photo
See and Hear the Indri at Andasible Indri Reserve

by no1birdlady

Andasible Indri Reserve is near Perinet which is in CE Madagascar east of the capital of Antananarivo. The Indri is a type of lemur. There are 62 groups of Indri who live in the preserve. We found one group of them with 5 Indri up in the trees calling an eerie call that reminded me of whale songs. There are also interesting birds and plants found here such as Madagascar Manakin, Tylas Vanga and the Blue Coua. There was a very large "bug" here called the Giant Pill Millipede. He was quite prehistoric looking. I made a sketch of him as well as some of the flowers. There was also a very large Madagascar Boa here, one of the few snakes we saw on this tour. Our guides also took us our on a night walk here to see nocturnal chameleons and lemurs. Walking around in the woods in the dark, I was glad to know that there are no poisonous snakes on Madagascar.

Tip Photo
Birding Ranomafana National Park

by no1birdlady

Ranomafana National Park is in the lush rain forest on the eastern central mountain slopes in Madagascar. This forest has a low density of birds but what you see here are very good birds. Also, you have to work very hard to see the birds in this dense lush vegetation. We had a lot who skulked under cover of ferns and cane such as the Brown Emutail. The Short-legged Ground Rolled was on the ground calling "hoop, hoop, hoop" a bit like someone hitting a hollow log with a pipe. We also saw the Madagascar Forest Rail, Yellow-browed Oxalabes, and Nelicouri Weaver. In addition to our tour guide, we had 3 young local guides Brian had hired to help us find the birds. They were good at skirting around and driving the skulking birds back toward us. I also might mention that many of the trails here were steep up and down trails. But the birds we did see were great.

Tip Photo
Birding in Isalo National Park

by no1birdlady

This national park in south-central Madagascar along the Isalo Massif formation is dry with rocky mesas. We hiked and looked for birds here. Pied Crows and Black Kites are the main scavengers. We also saw Chabert's Vanga, Madagascar Bee Eater and Madagascar Buzzard. There are oasis of Pandana Trees and the plains are full of palms with Alpine Swifts soaring about. Thousands of termite mounds dots the grasslands. There are trees out on the plains looking like skeletons but they are alive, just dormant in this season. It's a unique area.

Tip Photo
Stay at Isalo National Park

by no1birdlady

From Tulear on the SW coast, we drove inland and northeast into an area of mesas and plains. They do get some rain here. The mesas are rock so the water collects into oasis. The lodge we stayed in is new (opened in 1993) and was fit into the mesas so that you couldn't even really see it until you were there. It's called Relais de la Reine. It was the nicest place we stayed in Madagascar. Our room looked a bit like a cave with rock walls but was comfortable. There were a lot of Black Kites here, lured in by people at the lodge who feed them meat strips from a cliff just outside the dining room for the entertainment of the lodge visitors. It was fascinating to watch these birds slide and swoop about. One even took a strip off the the young man's head. Lunch was salad brochette de zebu with mashed potatoes. Brouchette is "on a skewer". Zebu is what they call the type of cows here. There are...

Tip Photo
Bird in the Ifaty Dry Forest on the SW coast.

by no1birdlady

Ifaty Dry Forest is another of the unique habitats to be found in Madagascar. This is located apx. 35 km north of the city of Tulear (where we flew into) on the sw coast. It's very hot here so we birded early in the morning. Our guides took 4 wheel drive vehicles because it's very sandy and it's easy to get stuck. The forest is spiny with a lot of Baobabs and tall spike-like diedreara plants. Some of the unusual birds were saw were : Thamnornis Warbler, Red-tailed Vanga, and Sub-desert Mesite. Our guide used the term "Death March" to describe our hike here and it fit. As I said in the introduction, you have to really want to see the birds and other wildlife here because it's not easy to see many of the species. We came back here in the late afternoon, Death March 2 our guide called it, and looked for the Long-tailed Ground Roller for several hours before we found him. That was a good...

Tip Photo
Visit Faux Cap on southern tip of Madagascar

by no1birdlady

From Berenty Reserve, we drove down to Faux Cap which is the southern tip of the island of Madagascar. It's very hot and dry here. Plants here are prickly with different types of cactus and other thorny plants. I was amazed by a 5 ft. tall Aloe, so I made a sketch of it. It was in bloom which doesn't happen very often. There are several birds which are only seen in this area that we looked for. We saw the Running Coua and Literal Rock Thrush. We heard the Verreaux's Coua and followed him down several tracks but never saw him. This day our lunch was more spartan. We had grass mats spread out for us on the ground and plates of sliced cheese, sliced zebu (a type of local beef), and tomatoes to make sandwiches. Drink choices were hot coke or tonic. They don't ever chill their drinks here. I wrote in my journal, "I'd kill for a glass of clean pure ice".

Tip Photo
Stay at Berenty Reserve and See Lemurs.

by no1birdlady

From Ft. Dauphin on the SE coast, we drove over the mountains to stay at Berenty Reserve. These mountains are a climatic divide. The eastern side recieves rain and mist from the Indian Ocean. But on the western side of these mountains, it is very dry. The road was a red clay track. We stayed in cottages on this reserve set aside by M. DeHaulme to preserve the habitat and provide a place for the lemurs. We saw the lemurs as soon as we entered the reserve. They are quite used to people and will come to the open-air dining room to beg for food. This is a wonderful reserve with many trails to hike and observe wildlife. We visited a Flying Fox (Bat) colony and watched them take off at dusk. One night we went out to look for nocturnal lemurs and saw several. We saw a lot of unique birds, insects and plants here as well.

Tip Photo
Fun things to do in Madagascar

Top 3 Hotels in Madagascar

Hotel Tamboho  Antananarivo

 32 Opinions

 Hotels in Antananarivo

La Varangue  Antananarivo

 1 Review and 29 Opinions  I spent three nights in this very pleasant hotel in Tana. The location is excellent,. right around... 

 Hotels in Antananarivo

Hotel Royal Palissandre  Antananarivo

 1 Review and 47 Opinions  Le Royal Pallisandre is a very good quality hotel in the heart of the city. The rooms and public... 

 Hotels in Antananarivo

18 Hotels in Madagascar
 
Explore the World
Travel Destinations
Travel Highlights

The Place

Reviews and photos of Madagascar attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Madagascar sightseeing.

Experience Madagascar
Things to Do: Cities in Madagascar
  1. Antananarivo Things to Do
  2. Antsirabe Things to Do
  3. Ampefy Things to Do
  4. Toamasina Things to Do
  5. Nosy Be Things to Do
  6. Ambohimanga Things to Do
  7. Toliara Things to Do
  8. Morondava Things to Do
  9. Mahajanga Things to Do
  10. Nosy Sainte Marie Things to Do
  11. Anjajavy Things to Do
  12. Malaza Things to Do
  13. Andasibe Things to Do
  14. Tangorombohitr' Isalo Things to Do
  15. Ranomafana Things to Do
  16. Antsiranana Things to Do
  17. Nosy Mangabe Things to Do
  18. Berenty Things to Do
  19. Sambava Things to Do
  20. Antalia Things to Do
  21. Anakao Things to Do
  22. Ambalavao Things to Do
  23. Lazaina Things to Do
  24. Ambatolampy Things to Do
  25. Ambalavao Things to Do
  26. Ranomafana Things to Do
  27. Mahavelona Things to Do
  28. Tolanaro Things to Do
  29. Ranomafana Things to Do

More Cities in Madagascar

 

Popular Regions in Madagascar

Faritanin' Antananarivo Things to Do  Faritanin' i Toamasina Things to Do  Faritanin' i Toliara Things to Do  Faritanin' Antsiranana Things to Do  Faritanin' i Fianarantsoa Things to Do  Faritanin' i Mahajanga Things to Do 

More Regions in Madagascar

Questions and Answers

josemuniz12000 profile photo

Q:  Has anyone used Desire Travel Tours and had problems just before arriving? I'm 12 days from departure to Madagascar from Kenya... 

Odinnthor profile photo

A: I think you may be jumping to bad conclusions too quickly. I have been a tour director for several decades, and have a pretty good handle on most operators. It is... 

Read 6 Replies

postQuestion_button

Click here for best deals for Madagascar

Great Prices, Great Rooms
hotels.com We Know Hotels Inside And Out. Click or call now: 1-800-914-6835
Vacation Package Specialists
Expedia Vacations Save on flight + hotel packages. Click or call now: 1 - 800-713-8214
Save on Air + Hotel ? Book a Getaway Today!
hotels.com Vacations The One Stop Shop for Your Next Trip. Click or call now: 1-800-764-6835
Great Rooms, Great Prices
Hotels.com Low Rates Guaranteed!  Click or Call an Expert at 1-800-45-HOTEL

Sponsored Links