Quick Thoughts
Like most kids of my generation, the film Madagascar was engrained into my imaginative soul, and to this day I’ll occasionally hear the theme song playing inside my head (don’t ask). So when I finally had the opportunity to travel to the land of lemurs, I told my ass to…move it.
Now with that lame joke out of the way, some quick facts. Madagascar is one of the most diverse environments on earth. The island has a wide range of climates and ecosystems, from the dry spiny forests in the west to the humid rainforests in the east. Considered the fourth largest island in the world, Madagascar is home to many different species of animals and plants, including some that are found nowhere else on Earth like the star of the show: lemurs!
Key Highlights
Link to my collection of Instagram Stories from the trip!
Lemurs - It goes without saying that the primary motivation of this trip was to make friends with lemurs. While that didn’t happen per se, I did get some wonderful shots of them in their natural habitat.
Baobab Avenue - Located in Morondava, this famous stretch of road was named after the iconic baobab tree which can be seen towering over the landscape. Catching the sunrise and sunset views from this location is a must.
Bekopaka - The Bekopaka Tsingy National Park is located several bumpy-road hours north of Morondava. It’s a protected UNESCO World Heritage site that hosts a high concentration of limestone formations that are worth checking out, especially while suspended over the sharp ravine hanging on for dear life to a wooden rope bridge.
Andasibe National Park - A beautiful national park located in the eastern part of the island full of rare lemur species. Here is where I caught sight of the red ruffed lemur.
Malagasy locals - It was wonderful meeting the locals and experiencing the Malagasy culture. The people of Madagascar only showed us kindness, hospitality and friendliness throughout the trip.
Things to Know
Tsiky Tour - This was the tour agency we used to plan the entirety of the trip including hotel, itinerary, transportation, etc. It really made the experience much more streamlined and stress-free. Also they are very flexible based on your time and interests.
General itinerary - Fly into Ivato Airport near Antananarivo (Tana), drive immediately to Antsirabe. From Antsirabe another drive to Morondava. In hindsight, these drives were quite lengthy and I’d recommend taking a flight directly from Tana to Morondava. Explore the baobab landscape in Morondava before driving to Bekopaka for some hiking in Tsingy National Park. After a few days we took a flight from Morondava back to Tana to venture east towards Andasibe National Park to see lemurs.
Don’t underestimate the size of Madagascar! It’s about twice the size of Texas and the roads aren’t always the smoothest. I 100% recommend taking domestic flights to travel from one coast to the other.
There are four main airports in Madagascar: Antananarivo (TNR), Nosy Be (NOS), Toamasina (TMM) and Antsiranana (DIE). I flew into TNR airport located in Ivato, which is about 15 miles from Antananarivo.
While I didn’t bring a drone, our guide mentioned drones are allowed within reason (e.g., if you bring one it’s fine).
Climate varies wildly from coast to coast. For instance, near Tana it was quite pleasant and mild given the high altitude, but once we got towards Bekopaka / Tsingy area it heated up significantly. Factor that into your clothes packing.
