We’re very excited to be adding Madagascar to the African Portfolio collection.
Earlier this summer, our own Vanessa traveled through Madagascar, exploring its rainforests, dramatic national parks and beautiful coastline firsthand. She returned not only with wonderful stories and photographs, but convinced that this is a destination we should be sharing with our clients. Madagascar feels like a natural addition for us. It offers extraordinary wildlife, beautiful landscapes and wonderful places to stay, but the experience is quite different from a traditional African safari.
Who is Madagascar for?
We think Madagascar will particularly appeal to travelers who have already been on safari and are looking for something new and genuinely different.
This isn’t a destination centered around the “Big Five” or days spent watching wildlife from a safari vehicle. Instead, you explore largely on foot, following forest trails in search of lemurs and chameleons, walking through remarkable landscapes and discovering wildlife found virtually nowhere else on earth.
It’s active, adventurous and a little unexpected — which is a big part of its appeal. You do have to have a good level of fitness to enjoy the different terrains, which are often uneven. Unlike most safaris, the afternoon siesta does not feature as much on a trip to Madagascar!
Madagascar can also work beautifully for travelers who enjoy combining wildlife with scenery, culture and time on the beach. Vanessa’s journey was a perfect example of just how varied one trip can be.
From Antananarivo to Isalo
Vanessa began in Antananarivo, Madagascar’s capital, with time to explore the city before flying south to Isalo National Park.
Isalo reveals a completely different side of Madagascar. Dramatic sandstone formations, deep canyons, natural pools and wide-open landscapes make this one of the country’s most striking regions. Staying at Isalo Rock Lodge provided a comfortable base for exploring the park on foot and experiencing scenery unlike anywhere else on her journey.
Into the Rainforest
From Isalo, Vanessa continued to Andasibe, one of Madagascar’s best-known wildlife areas and an essential stop for anyone hoping to see lemurs in the wild.
Here, the experience is all about heading into the rainforest with an expert guide, listening for calls in the canopy and watching for movement among the trees. Andasibe is particularly famous for the indri, Madagascar’s largest living lemur, whose haunting call carries remarkable distances through the forest.
There are also opportunities to see other lemur species, chameleons, frogs and some of the island’s extraordinary birdlife. It is a very different style of wildlife experience from a conventional safari — more intimate, immersive and wonderfully unpredictable.
Wild Madagascar Meets the Coast
The second half of Vanessa’s journey showcased another side of the country entirely.
She flew to Anjajavy, where forest meets the Mozambique Channel. Staying at Anjajavy Le Lodge, she could combine wildlife and nature walks with beautiful beaches and time on the water. Lemurs can quite literally be part of the scenery here, making it an unusual combination of bush and beach.
From there, she continued north to the Nosy Be archipelago, staying at Eden Lodge before finishing at Tsara Komba, tucked between tropical forest and the sea on Nosy Komba.
It was a wonderful way to end the journey: warm Indian Ocean waters, lush vegetation, beautiful views and a slower pace after the more active days of exploring Madagascar’s parks and forests.
Something Completely Different
What Vanessa’s trip really highlighted for us is just how much variety Madagascar can offer within a single journey. In less than two weeks, she experienced a fascinating capital city, otherworldly rock formations, dense rainforest, extraordinary wildlife, remote coastal wilderness and idyllic Indian Ocean islands.
It also reinforced how important good planning is here. Distances can be considerable and logistics are not always straightforward, so carefully combining road transfers, charter flights and boats makes an enormous difference to the overall experience. This is certainly one destination where our normal VIP Meet and Greet on arrival is not just a nice to have, but essential.
Having now experienced these areas, lodges and logistics firsthand, we’re excited to begin designing Madagascar itineraries for our clients. For those who have already experienced a classic safari and are wondering, “Where next?” — Madagascar may be the answer. It is still Africa, but a wonderfully different version of it.
Many thanks to Vanessa’s travel partners (Mark, Heather, Mark and Judy) for sharing their feedback and photos with us! We are also grateful to our new partners on the ground, Asisten in Madagascar – for their help and assistance.
