Full itinerary

Day 1: Antananarivo

Arrive at any time.

There are no planned activities until an evening welcome meeting.

Please note, occasionally the following itinerary may have to be shuffled due to changes with the internal flight schedules. Typically, this results in shuffling days of the itinerary around and does not cause any missed activities, destinations or experiences.

Optional Activities - Day 1

Antananarivo City Tour

Follow a local guide on a tour of history-rich Antananarivo, the vibrant capital of Madagascar. Get to know the real "Tana" (as locals call it) . Explore the colorful, bustling market, and sites such as the Cathedral, and Queen's Palace Ambohimanga.

Accommodation

Belvedere Hotel

Scaritel

Select hotel

Day 2: Antananarivo - Andasibe (5h 135km)

Travel to Andasibe-Peyrieras Reptiles National Park with scenic stops en route. Stay in a quiet area near Andasibe and explore the Indri Special Reserve section of this massive area.

Depart the capital and continue east, with stops along the scenic rainforest route of world-renowned Andasibe-Peyrieras Reptiles National Park.

Continue on to the national park. With free time over the next two days, opt to visit other small private or community reserves around Andasibe, and go on guided night walks inside those reserves or along the main road. Walk to the little town of Andasibe or simply enjoy the relaxing tranquility of the surrounding forest.

Day 3: Andasibe

Spend the day exploring this national park. Stay in a quiet area near Andasibe and explore the Indri Special Reserve section of this massive area.

Explore the Indri Special Reserve and national park located 1.5km (0.93 mi) from the town of Andasibe. One of the park’s primary purposes is to protect the natural habitat of the indri, a large black and white diurnal species that feeds on leaves and fruit. In addition to the indri, the park has 10 other diurnal and nocturnal lemur species, large chameleons, and the rarely seen blue coua.

The flora is just as spectacular with numerous species of trees, palms, and orchids (which flower in October/November).

Day 4: Andasibe - Antsirabe

Travel to the colonial city of Antsirabe, stopping to see rice paddies along the way.

Travel to the ancient colonial town of Antsirabe. Along this stretch of road you will see Merina tombs and the labour-intensive cultivation of rice paddies.

Antsirabe is known as a thermal city because of its volcanic lakes. It's also famous for its precious and semi-precious stones and handicrafts.

Day 5: Antsirabe

Visit Lake Andraikiba, lake Tritriva, visit the jewelry factory made with zebu corn, visit the city.

Lake Tritriva is a volcanic lake in southwest-central Madagascar, in the region of Vàkinankàratra, located near the village of Belazao. The lake fills an extinct crater in a region notable also for the presence of many hot springs. It sits in the vent of an oval volcanic cone enclosed in vertical gneiss cliffs.

Day 6: Antsirabe - Ranomafana

Beautiful landscape view and rice paddies. On way stop by in Ambositra to see the famous Woodcraft factory. This evening, enjoy a night walk to check the smallest Lemurs.

Ranomafana, a little village named after the hot springs in the valley.

Day 7: Ranomafana

Spend the day exploring the National Park in the morning. In the afternoon enjoy your time at the Ranomafana thermal baths.

Day 8: Ranomafana - Ranohira

Early in the morning, enjoy a scenic journey heading south through Madagascar's wine-producing region. Stop at Anja Community Reserve, known for groups of ring-tailed lemurs. Continue on through the ever-changing landscape to Ranohira and Isalo National Park.

Madagascar is home to an endemic species of silkworm, which feeds on tapia trees in the wild and whose cocoons are threaded and woven like 'conventional' silk. The labour intensive production process of this 'wild silk' is laid out in this workshop, we stop by to visit this factory.

Travel through the savannah before the massif of Isalo becomes clearly visible.

Day 9: Ranohira

Spend the day exploring Isalo National park on foot, stopping at a natural swimming pool and waterfalls.

Isalo National Park is located in the Ihorombe Region of Madagascar. The park is known for its wide variety of terrain, including sandstone formations, deep canyons, a palm-lined oases and grassland. The closest town is Ranohira and the closest cities are Toliara.

Day 10: Ranohira - Ifaty

Drive through the desert landscape, viewing Mahafaly tombs and giant baobab trees en route. Continue to the beautiful Mozambican Channel beaches of Ifaty.

On the way to Toliara, drive through the magnificent wide-open and vast desert landscape. Pass through several unique frontier-style sapphire mining towns, and babobab trees en route.

This drive will also pass by the tombs of the Mahafaly; a local tribe in Madagascar known predominantly for their large tombs. They were built for chiefs and kings and are covered in stones, sculptures, and horns. The more important the deceased, the more horns and statues the tomb is adorned with. One of the largest tombs has over 700 zebu horns! As this is a sacred site we will just be passing by, and photography is not permitted.

Continue on to Ifaty to relax and enjoy the breathtaking beaches of the Mozambican Channel.

While in Ifaty, opt to ride in a dugout canoe, visit the spiny forest reserve, go snorkelling or diving on the reef, or simply relax on the beach.

Day 13: Ifaty - Antananarivo

Travel to Toliara for a flight to Antananarivo and an optional last night out on the town.

NB:

Due to the unpredictability of local flights, if we are unable to secure your domestic flight, we will instead transport you in private vehicles. This journey can take approximately 11 hours.

The tour ends upon arrival in Antananarivo. To avoid any unnecessary issues with timing, please book ongoing travel no earlier than 8pm.

Please contact your booking agent if you would like to book post-tour accommodation.

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... yup, it is a plane, actually.

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