HOW TO travel around MADAGASCAR

Updated: 8/31/20 | August 31st, 2020

Madagascar. It’s a lot more than an inaccurate (but fun) DreamWorks movie.

Located off the eastern coastline of Africa, this island, nearly the size of France as well as the third-largest in the world, has a population over 26 million however sees less than 300,000 tourists a year.

I spent two weeks there with Intrepid travel as well as was shocked by how few tourists there were as well as by just how challenging the country was to travel around. The roads are so poor it can take up to eight hours to go 250 km (155 miles)!

But soon it became clear why there were so few tourists: getting to the country is expensive, there’s very little information about it online, few organized activities, as well as only a couple hostels, tourism information centers, helpful signs, or anything that would be considered a “tourist infrastructure” (and sadly, very little infrastructure at all). Madagascar’s tourism caters to older Europeans who visit expensive beach resorts or take organized excursions as well as step around the country in a little bubble. Nary a backpacker did I see on my trip.

Moreover, it’s a country ravaged by poverty, corruption, as well as natural disaster. Travelers unwilling to get off the beaten path (which is a lot of people) normally don’t end up here.

Yet Madagascar is a raw as well as gorgeous destination that blew me away in so lots of ways. It’s inexpensive once you get there, your vacationer dollars can produce a really positive impact, as well as there are few crowds as well as lots of cute lemurs as well as majestic landscapes, which you get essentially to yourself!

Hvordan man kommer dertil

The first thing you need to know is that getting to Madagascar is not easy. direct flights are only offered from a handful of major destinations (including Paris, Istanbul, as well as Johannesburg) as well as less-visited countries like Seychelles, Mauritius, Kenya, as well as Ethiopia.

Additionally, a lot of of these destinations only offer a limited amount of flights per week.

I jumped on a flight offer to Johannesburg ($630 USD for new York to Johannesburg as well as then onward to Vienna) however that was a silly thing to do because, given the price of flights from Johannesburg to Madagascar (I paid $800 USD round-trip), it ended costing me a lot more than just booking a direct ticket to Madagascar.

I was pretty silly not looking up flights beforehand. I might have gotten a round trip ticket from the us for less (and from Paris for way less.) Here’s a chart for prices from new York City in January 2021 to help give you a sense of what to expect when booking your ticket:

For a flight from the united states to Madagascar, you’re checking out spending at least $1,000 USD for a round-trip flight. keep in mind these prices are for the rainy season in December/January. during the high season (also the dry season), you’re checking out flights better to $1,600-2,000 USD from new York City as well as $800-1,100 USD from Europe.

From Canada? prices start around $1,200 CAD in the low season.

You’re checking out spending at least $500 USD round-trip on a flight from Johannesburg (more if it’s high season).

However, it’s not all poor news. From Paris, Air France uses direct round-trip flights for around $700 USD. as well as there are a few travel hacking opportunities. With some planning, you can find a reward flight. You only need 30,000 miles each way from Europe, as well as Air France has a respectable availability (but if you miss the 30,000-point option, you’ll be checking out 60-90,000 points each way).

United has very sporadic reward flights on partners starting at 19,500 miles each way. Flights are only bookable on specific days, however, as well as only in the economy. On the plus side, the price in miles is the same in both the high season as well as the low season.

So it takes some work to get there, however if you can string together some flight deals as well as mile opportunities, you can lower the expense to an affordable(ish) level.

Here are some web sites you can use to find inexpensive flight deals:

Scott’s inexpensive Flights

The flight Deal

Holiday Pirates

How to get around Madagascar

Organized excursions are the most typical way to visit the country. One guide told me that about 80% of visitors come on organized excursions as well as the other 20% hire a private chauffeur to get around. (Most tourists are older as well as heavily European.)

I think that lots of younger travelers stay away since getting to the country or booking a excursion is so expensive. Plus, there’s just not much complimentary information offered on Madagascar.

But let’s modification that as well as talk about how to visit the country.

Organized Tours
A 14-day excursion will expense $2,400–4,400 USD. You’ll stay in mid-range hotels (private bathrooms, hot water, breakfast, as well as maybe even a pool) as well as have yodin egen bus med en chauffør såvel som lokal guide. Du får ligeledes private guider i hver park, der vil beskrive, hvad du ser, hjælpe med at se dyr samt give en vis ekstra kontekst på destinationen.

De fleste af udflugterne følger den samme rute og rammer alle de enorme parker såvel som destinationer i centrum af landet med tilføjede betalte tilføjelser til andre dele af landet.

Jeg gik med Intrepid Travel på deres oplevelse Madagaskar -udflugt som en del af mit partnerskab med dem. Vores guide Patrick var en fænomenal ressource, der besvarede alle mine spørgsmål, leverer rådgivning samt giver ideer til, hvad man skal se såvel som i dette land, der mangler en masse ressourcer til forskning.

Hvis det var op til mig, ville jeg have fokuseret turens rejseplan mere. Jeg tror, ​​at Intrepid ofte prøver at gøre for meget. Mens jeg kunne godt lide alt, hvad vi gjorde, ville jeg ønske, at der havde været meget mere tid på at tjekke hvert sted såvel som mindre tidskørsel (dog hvis Madagaskar havde ordentlig infrastruktur, som ikke ville have været et problem).

Uafhængig rejse
Madagaskar er et udfordrende sted at besøge solo. Der er lidt ferieinfrastruktur eller vandrerhjem (hvilket giver mening i betragtning af, hvordan billige hoteller såvel som gæstehuse er her) såvel som offentlige busser går ikke til masser af byer såvel som nationalparker. Du bliver også nødt til at kende fransk, da engelsk næppe tales (selvom engelsk er et officielt sprog).

Efter min mening gør dette det temmelig hårdt at komme rundt uden nogen form for hjælp.

Men kan du rejse rundt på egen hånd? Jo da! Jeg tror dog, at du skulle være en erfaren rejsende, virkelig OK, der skubbes ud af din komfortzone, såvel som i absolut intet rush, da det vil tage tid at komme rundt på en budgetplan.

Da veje er virkelig dårlige, er det en udfordring at komme fra punkt A til B. I en offentlig taxa Brouse (lille varevogn pakket til gællerne med mennesker) træder du langsomt. Busser går, når de er fulde. Der er ingen fast tidsplan. Ofte dukker de op; Meget oftere end ikke, gør de det ikke.

Når man ser bussernes tilstand såvel som hvor mange mennesker de stammer derinde, plus antallet af ulykker på vejen, er jeg ikke sikker på, at jeg endda ville komme i en. Jeg vil ikke bruge 24 timer pakket som en fjerkræ i en varevogn uden aircondition (og ofte ikke engang vinduer).

At leje et køretøj såvel som chauffør koster $ 75 USD om dagen (eller lidt meget mere, hvis du vil have 4WD) såvel som den mest populære mulighed for folk, der søger at gå på egen hånd (og ikke ønsker at vente på busserne). Mens du måske kører på egen hånd, kræver en masse udlejningsfirmaer, at en chauffør følger med dig.

Du kan ligeledes flyve rundt på øen, men der er kun et flyselskab (Air Madagaskar), såvel som en masse billetter, der udgifter mindst $ 250-300 USD, så hvis du er på et budget, er det ikke muligt at flyve. Plus, de annullerer flyvninger ofte uden varsel.

Så hvad skal du gøre?

Hvis du virkelig prøver at finde nogle robuste, old-school uafhængige rejser, er Madagaskar stedet at gøre det. Hvis du har masser af tid såvel som er klar til en rigtig udfordring, skal du gå solo – såvel som at lære noget fransk! (Jeg kan virkelig ikke ate behovet for at kende fransk. Uden for de enorme byer såvel som et par ferieområder tales engelsk næppe.)

Du vil dække lidt mere jord såvel som har meget mere frihed, hvis du lejer et køretøj såvel som chauffør. Der er masser af billige gæstehuse såvel som restauranter omkring, så du ikke behøver at se så godt som stort efter et sted at bo eller et måltid.

Hvis du ikke prøver at finde den slags robuste oplevelse såvel som noget meget mere organiseret, er en udflugt den bedste – såvel som virkelig – mulighed. Jeg ville have en udflugt til at hjælpe mig med at få landet af landet såvel som svar på alle mine spørgsmål om landet. Jeg taler ikke fransk og havde heller ikke meget tid. En udflugt var en stor orientering til et land, der var en gåte for mig. Det var en fantastisk måde at møde mennesker på en destination med få uafhængige rejsende.

(Én ting at huske er, at klienten i udflugterne her er ældre såvel som udflugterne, der beskæftiger sig med det i deres rejseplaner, aktiviteter såvel som indkvartering. Udflugterne her er ikke skabt til aktive backpackere.)

Hvis jeg gik tilbage, ville jeg gå af mig selv såvel som at udforske med et køretøj, men jeg er glad for, at jeg gik med en udflugt ved mit første besøg.

Er Madagaskar sikker?

Da jeg vandrede rundt, følte jeg mig aldrig en gang utrygt. Jeg var meget mere af en nysgerrighed end noget andet i betragtning af at de ser så få turister, især dem, der ikke er sammenkoblet i en bus. Der er en masse tiggere, især børn, såvel som du skal bare fortsætte med at sige nej såvel som at gå væk. Taxierne her tager nej for et svar såvel som ingen bugner dig virkelig.

Når det er sagt, er kriminel handling rig i hele landet såvel som ikke en lokal, jeg vidste, at jeg anbefalede at gå ud efter mørke. De gør det ikke engang. Faktisk masser af hoteller ifunding of Antananarivo hire escorts to take people from the hotel to bars or restaurants.

During the day and, especially in smaller villages, walking around is perfectly fine. At night, I would use a lot a lot more caution, especially in the capital.

What are prices Like?

Though getting to the country is expensive, once you are there everything is exceptionally cheap. Your money goes a long, long way in Madagascar. I went to a local market as well as spent 100 ARY on a spring roll. After realizing that there are 3,000 ARY to the dollar, that indicated I had paid just three cents. As I was still hungry, I gotten 15 more.

Even when you are eating at the hotel restaurants the excursions go to, a lot of meals aren’t a lot more than $4 USD. In regular, local restaurants, they are half that price.

Madagascar food is mostly chicken, zebu (a type of cattle), pork, stews, as well as rice. lots OF RICE. (Get the Zebu in a stew. It’s much better that way.) There’s likewise a lot of surprisingly good pizza in this country. You’ll certainly need to know French if you go into the non-international places (or travel outside of the cities).

Even on the road, there are a lot of restaurants (again, knowing French is going to be crucial here, especially outside the funding Antananarivo). hotels are $20-50 USD per night (on the more affordable range outside the capital). You can quickly find accommodation on booking.com. There’s plenty of accommodation provided on that website.

Here are some normal prices:

Meals at restaurants that deal with tourists – 12,000-30,000 MGA ($3-8 USD)

Meals at regular, local restaurants – 6,500 MGA ($1.75 USD)

Street snacks – 10-200 MGA (up to 5 cents US) (Be sure to try nem (spring rolls). They are incredible!)

Accommodation – 65,000-160,000 MGA per night ($20-50 USD)

Car with a chauffeur – 285,000 MGA a day ($75 USD)

Grocery prices – 11,000-20,000 MGA ($3-5 USD) (This would get you a kilo of rice, some zebu, as well as a variety of vegetables.)

SIM Card – 4,000 MGA ($1 USD) as well as 30,000 MGA ($8 USD) per 2 GB of data.

Park entrance fees – 55,000 MGA ($15 USD) plus 20,000 MGA ($5.50 USD) for a guide

Local tiny buses – 10,000-20,000 MGA ($2.50-5 USD)

***
Madagascar was a beautiful, raw, as well as bewitching country. There’s no place like it on earth.

Far off the vacationer trail, this a destination where your inner Indiana Jones or Anthony Bourdain can be set complimentary to explore. I’m so delighted I went, as well as though the old traveler adage is “I can’t wait to go back,” I suspect that my visit to Madagascar will be the only one in my lifetime. I hope I’m wrong, however given the problem of getting there, it really can be a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

And I do hope you make it in your lifetime!

Book Your trip to Madagascar: Logistical ideas as well as Tricks
Book din flyvning
Use Skyscanner or Momondo to find a inexpensive flight. They are my two favorite search engines since they search web sites as well as airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned. start with Skyscanner first though since they have the greatest reach!

Book din indkvartering
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the greatest inventory as well as best deals. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the least expensive rates for guesthouses as well as inexpensive hotels.

Don’t forget travel Insurance
Travel insurance will secure you against illness, injury, theft, as well as cancellations. It’s extensive protection in situation anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it lots of times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service as well as value are:

Safety Wing (for everyone below 70)

Forsikre min rejse (for dem over 70)

Medjet (til ekstra repatrieringsdækning)

Looking for the best companies to save money With?
Tjek min ressourceside for de bedste virksomheder, der skal bruges, når du rejser. I list all the ones I use to save money when I’m on the road. They will save you money when you travel too.

Want a lot more information on Madagascar?
Be sure to visit our robust destination guide on Madagascar for even a lot more planning tips!

Note: I went to Madagascar with Intrepid travel as part of our ongoing partnership. They paid for the excursion as well as my expenses during the trip. I paid for my flights to as well as from Madagascar.