Travel advice for Madagascar
From travel safety to visa requirements, discover the best tips for traveling to Madagascar
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Wild Madagascar
This trip is a tour of Wild Madagascar: discover dusty desert canyons, lush rainforests teeming with wildlife and trek through national parks. Explore the bustling capital Tana, then stop by the beach at Ifaty where you'll encounter forests of baobab trees and wandering tribesmen.
customize ⤍Dreaming of Madagascar
Tropical island beaches, lush rainforest, stunning wildlife, and the bright red clay houses of Antananarivo await you as you arrive on the beautiful island of Madagascar. Get your fill of culture in the capital Tana, snap beguiling wildlife, and revive and reboot on stunning white-sand beaches.
customize ⤍A Taste of Madagascar
An unforgettable journey through Madagascar's enchanting landscapes and cultural treasures. From the lush rainforests of Andasibe to the vibrant streets of Antananarivo, this adventure combines wildlife encounters with rich history, creating a diverse and immersive experience.
customize ⤍With limited direct flights, the best way of travelling to Madagascar from the UK, Ireland, North America, Australia and New Zealand is via Paris, Nairobi or Bangkok. There are direct flights to Madagascar from Johannesburg, which might not only suit visitors from South Africa but also be a handy connection hub for travellers from Australia and New Zealand. Most planes fly into Antananarivo, the capital, though a handful of French and Italian charter companies sometimes offer seasonal flights directly to Nosy Be from Paris and Milan. Read on for advice and tips on how to get to Madagascar.
If you’d rather book your flights to Madagascar through an agent, Flight Centre is a low-airfair specialist, STA Travel are worldwide specialists in independent travel; and Trailfinders is one of the best-informed flight-booking agents for independent travellers. If you want to travel to Madagascar and feel good about it, North South Travel offers discounted fares worldwide and puts profits towards supporting projects in the developing world.
Ivato International Airport is straightforward, with international arrivals and departures on the left and domestic on the right, connected by a short corridor. There’s a handful of international car rental agencies at the airport, represented in the car park behind arrivals and departures. For those getting around Madagascar by car, the airport is located in the northern suburb of Ivato, 5km north of the RN4 road to northwest Madagascar. This main highway enters the suburbs in the northwest and bypasses the city centre on the west side to join with the RN7 in the south of the city. There’s a similar bypass around the southeast side of the city linking the RN7 with the RN2.
Branching off the RN4 by the US Embassy is the heavily trafficked rue Dr Joseph Raseta/rue Ampanjaka Toera, which leads in 8km straight to the heart of the central district of Analakely, where the old Gare Soarano railway station can be found.
There are three main national taxi brousse stations (gares routières), each in different parts of the city. Gare routière d’Ambodivona is located about 2km northeast of the city centre, for the RN2 and RN4, with frequent departures to Tamatave and Majunga. Gare routière d’Ampasampito, around 2km east of the city centre, is for the RN2, with frequent departures to Moramanga. Southwest of the city centre, Gare routière de Fasan’ny Karana is for the RN7 and destinations in southern and western Madagascar. From here, you can catch frequent taxis to Antsirabe, Fianarantsoa, Morondava and Tuléar.
Return economy fares start at around £650 and may exceed £1300 in high season. The key advantage of flying Air Madagascar is the very worthwhile fifty percent discount you will get on internal flights booked with them. The downside, however, is an unavoidable introduction to the vagaries of Air Madagascar travel. If you need help with making a booking or understanding the Air Madagascar website, you’ll find that Aviareps, the UK sales and marketing office for the airline, are extremely useful.
With no direct flights, there are various options of getting to Madagascar from Australia and New Zealand, notably flying via Johannesburg or Nairobi, or hubbing through Bangkok. However, the best-value route is via Mauritius and/or Réunion; several flights a week are run by Air Mauritius and Air Austral, with tickets starting at around Aus$1600 return from Perth.
For customised Madagascar trips, speak to a local expert about our Rough Guides Tailor-made Travel service. If you’re for the weird and wonderful critters, Wildlife Worldwide is another good bet for enthusiastically organized tailored trips with a very strong conservation angle.
See our full guide for more information on getting around Madagascar.
From travel safety to visa requirements, discover the best tips for traveling to Madagascar
written by Andy Turner
updated 26.04.2021
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