9 Day Madagascan Explorer (BS-YSY)

Salama! Welcome to Madagascar.

You can arrive at any time on day 1 as there are no activities planned until the important welcome meeting tonight at 6pm. Your leader will leave a note at reception telling you where this important meeting will take place. Your leader will collect your local payment tonight (in Euros, cash only please)

Please ask a member of reception for this information. After the group meeting there is the option of joining the group for dinner.

The tour begins in Antananarivo, Madagascar's charmingly crowded capital. Come early and take some time to get acquainted with the city- hilly Antananarivo is a fun place to explore. Head to Analakey to visit the permanent street markets or seek out the fun restaurants and nightclubs.

Tonight we stay in a hotel.

Departing early this mornng, at around 7.30am we drive south of the capital passing beautiful highland scenery on the way to Antsirabe, famous for its thermal springs, gemstone merchants and neat French-style architecture (approx. 3 hours drive). There is a chance to visit the town, perhaps taking the chance of using the local form of transport, pousse-pousses (rickshaws) and we will visit some local handicraft craftsmen.

After lunch, we head to a nearby local village (approx 40 minutes drive). Please note that the road to our local village stay is too rough for our van and you will be asked to walk for approximately one kilometre to the house just carrying your daypack with your overnight needs. The walk is not strenuous. Our large bags will stay in the van overnight.

After meeting our hosts and settling in to our beautiful, traditionally crafted timber home for the night, we will head off on a walk (approx. 2 hours) around the village with a local guide who can tell you more about village life.

That evening before dinner, if we are lucky there may be the chance to enjoy some traditional Malagasy music and song. After our local dinner, we head upstairs to our comfortable bunk beds.

Please note that our homestay features shared accommodation in three rooms with four beds in each room (two sets of bunks). Mosquito nets, pillows and bedding are provided. You will need your own towel. Shared toilets are located outside of the house and are simple but very clean. There is both western and asian style toilets and toilet paper is provided and should be placed in the rubbish bins next to the toilet.

Simple shower facilities are also available (cold water).

After breakfast with our new friends, we continue south through the mountains to Ambositra (approx. 2 hours). Famous for it's wood carving industry, we have the chance to watch this process at a local workshop.

After an earlyish lunch, we leave the main road, and drive up into an area of magnificent rainforest to arrive at the Ranomafana Lemur Reserve (approx. 4 hours). This 41,500ha park is home to rare golden bamboo lemurs, which were rediscovered here in 1986. Don't forget to have your torch ready and shoes with good grip, as we take a guided walk into the rainforest. Wiith luck, we should see different species of lemur as well as a variety of insects, bats and amphibians.

Our accommodation in Ranomafana is in simple twin share rooms with private ensuite facilities.

Set off early on another guided walk through Ranomafara National Park, following tracks through rugged mountainous terrain in search of other species of lemurs. This reserve is not frequently visited so walking through a perfectly still forest, the silence broken only by the occasional screeching call of a lemur, is sheer delight. Our walk will last for approximately 3 hours. The conditions can be hot and humid and we may leave the track and walk up and down steep jungle tracks in order to spot lemurs. You will need footware with good grip. It is a real adventure, but suitable for anyone of average fitness.

After lunch we have the chance to visit the local swimming pool which is fed by hotsprings and makes for a refreshing dip.

We continue our journey south to the town of Fianarantsoa where we spend this evening (approx. 1.5 hours travel time)

Tonight's hotel has comfortable twin share rooms with private bathrooms, a swimmng pool and a fun bar.

Moving south from Fianarantsoa, you'll experience an increase in temperature as we leave the mountains behind and descend towards desert regions.

We stop at Ambalavao (approx. 1 hour drive), the home of Madagascar's famous natural paper, to watch locals producing paper from bark the traditional way. Here we also have a unique chance to visit the local zebu (Madagascan cattle) market and watch deals taking place against a magnificent mountain back drop. There is time before lunch to explore the local market and also take a walk through this beautiful town.

Continuing south, the air feels drier and the vegetation becomes sparse as we pass a group of rocks known as the 'Door to the South' and climb onto the Horombe Plateau to the town of Ranohira to spend the night (approx. 3.5 hours drive).

The following day we set out walking in the Isalo National Park, a vast region of wind-polished and water-scoured rock towers. The area offers excellent photographic opportunities, the possibility of seeing rare endemic plants and if we are lucky, lemurs, which add further to the attractions of this fascinating reserve. The walk will include a visit to a monkey canyon and a stop by a beautiful natural swimming pool where you can cool off in the afternoon. You will walk for approximately 7 hours but this includes many stops and a lunch break where we will enjoy a picnic. Fit travellers may also like to include the 1 km return walk to the lovely Nymphs Pool for another chance for a dip in crystal waters at the end of a wonderful day.

Our lodge in Ranohira, our base for exploring Isalo, is based around a large swimming pool and constructed from local materials. It is a good chance to get some laundry done.

Leaving the park, we continue on to Tulear (approx. 4 hours) where we have the chance to stop and marvel at some of the many Mahafaly tombs that lie along the side of the road. Madagascar is divided (like the rest of Africa) into tribal areas and the Mahafaly are amongst the most famous of them all, largely because of these extraordinary, beautiful tributes to their dead.

We travel onwards on a rough sand road for about 1.5 hours to our beach resport at Ifaty. You can take part in beach activities, go on walks to the nearby spiny forest to see baobabs, aloes and euphorbia or simply just relax on sun-kissed sands. Enjoy a drink at a beach bar watching a spectacular sunset over the ocean.

Our accommodation is twin share rooms with ensuites.

Today your morning is free to relax on the beach before we head back into Tulear (approx. 1.5 hours) around lunchtime and take a 3pm flight back to Antananarivo. The flight time is approximately 1 hour - if the flight is running on schedule it should arrive in Antananarivo at 4pm.

Our tour will finish on arrival at either the airport or our start point hotel, depending on your preference. Please ask at time of booking.

PLEASE NOTE: the flight from Tulear to Antananarivo is often delayed - sometimes by quite some hours. Please do not book your international departure flight until after 21:00 (9pm) on departure day (Day 9) to allow for delays in our domestic flight back from the beach.