Madagascar Tours and Trips

This trip was exactly as described. We saw all the lemurs we could hope for, plus other creatures, and the scenery was wonderful. Although we travelled on bumpy roads for some long days, our driver (Jean) was excellent, and there were frequent stops. The three nights in a good hotel on the beach were very welcome at the end. Most of the accommodation was great, and several hotels had a pool. Our Explore Leader (Naina / Charles) took great care of us and was very knowledgeable about the wildlife and many other aspects of his country. He really made the trip for us. Thank you!

I loved everything about Madagascar. I have had 4 trips with Explore and feel safe knowing they will look after me. The accommodation was excellent, we stayed in some really luxurious hotels. Our guide was excellent, very knowledgeable. Whatever I asked him to ID (insect, animal, plant) he knew what it was, even giving the Latin name. I recommend this trip and hope to return to visit the north of the Island one day.

Madagascar is a truly special place and this trip is a real adventure. I have heard Madagascar described as one for the “seasoned traveller” and this is pretty accurate – certainly it is somewhere that you should go with your eyes and mind open and prepare for the rugged terrain and slightly uncomfortable journeys. That said, I would not trade a thing as the experiences are all part of its charm and more than made up for by the beautiful scenery and amazing wildlife. I loved the entire trip and thoroughly enjoyed the variety of experiences, from the slightly chaotic capital Tana, to the jagged UNESCO site of the Grand Tsingy, to the peace and tranquillity of Ifaty, all interspersed with amazing national parks and wildlife including lemurs, chameleons, fossa and owls. We were incredibly lucky with our wildlife viewings, with red-fronted brown lemurs, greater bamboo lemur, Goodman’s mouse lemur, dwarf lemur, grey mouse lemur, sportive lemur, ring-tailed lemur, indri, diademed sifaka, Verreaux's sifaka, Milne-Edwards sifaka and many many more. We went in October and the babies were out in force – so many incredibly playful young lemur could be seen and photographed, all apparently quite indifferent to our presence. The day and night walks were all very well organised and provided plenty of opportunity to just stand back and observe these creatures in their natural habitat. We were rarely rushed on the walks (only when the guides had heard tell of something else exciting up ahead) and the local guides were expert at finding the best angles and lighting for some great photographs, even in challenging conditions. I found the hotels to be of a general good standard and, as a solo traveller, did not feel as though I was in any way penalised by room size or quality. In fact, by luck of the draw, in one location I ended up with the suite! We had at least warm water most of the time and the food was generally good if a little repetitive after a while. Breakfast was generally fruit, breads, jams, and eggs cooked to order. Where there was nowhere appropriate to stop for lunch, we were able to order sandwiches to go so we never went hungry on the long drive days.

Our World Expeditions trip to Madagascar was phenomenal. Our guide, Lola, briefed us daily on the following day’s schedule, was flexible when we wanted to stop or didn’t, and was friendly and personable and helpful the entire time despite long days of driving. The activities and hikes planned were wonderful, and we saw all the animals in the wild that we had wanted to see when we first started planning this trip. It was really nice to not have to deal with any logistics presence since we only had a few weeks to see the country. Our luggage was lost by Air France on the way to Madagascar, and Lola and World Expeditions worked hard to track it down and arrange to have it driven all the way to our camp in the southern part of the island when it was finally located three days later, despite the courier wanting to leave it by the side of the road 2 hours away from the camp!

Brilliant trip best way to travel around Madagascar would be in an organised group like this. Some long travel days but I thought were very well broken up with interesting stops. The parks and lemurs were well worth the effort. The only problem I had was the change to the itinerary after I had already booked after comparing itineraries with other companies. There is basically a wasted day - boat trip had been removed and replaced with sitting around a hotel waiting to check into the next hotel !! I assume this will be updated?

Armond was an amazing leader, with local knowledge a good sense of how to engage us all in what was happening, and life in general in Madagascar. We learned so much. The local tour guides at each national park were super helpful and gave us that individual attention to be able to find the amazing animals. Michele our bus driver was incredible - how we didn't feel bounced around on those super rough roads was testament to his skill. Being an active tour was really good - not so long in the bus each day and a chance to get a walk in really made a difference. The challenge of the 4-day hike up a mountain was memorable and felt like a real achievement.