Sample itinerary - Best of Madagascar Safari

Day notes

Upon arrival into Ivato Airport you will be greeted by an English-speaking guide who will accompany you to your hotel. 

Ideally situated next to the airport, the Nosy Manga Hotel offers large comfortable ensuite bedrooms equipped with air-conditioning and satellite tv. The hotel is equipped with a roof-top pool, and a stylishly-decorated bar and restaurant area.  

Day notes

After an early breakfast, transfer to Ivato Airport in time for your scheduled charter to Anjajavy. Upon arrival you will be greeted by a hotel staff member and transferred to the lodge.

Anjajavy Lodge is located within a 450 hectare nature reserve on Madagascar’s north-west coast. The lodge’s 25 duplex, rosewood villas all have private decks overlooking the ocean. Meals can be served in an enclosed oasis in the hotel grounds or on the beach. The surrounding forest is alive with lemurs, chameleons, malachite kingfishers and hummingbirds. At 5:30 pm you will depart for a night walk in the reserve to spot a variety of nocturnal lemurs. While the reserve’s show-stoppersare undoubtedly the charismatic coquerel’s sifakas, the hours of darkness also have their star performers. Weighing a mere 63 grams, danfoss mouse lemurs scamper about in the shrubbery around the reserve just after nightfall, springing from branch to branch, quick as a flash, in search of food. If you hear a strange squeal coming from the tree tops, then you have probably found a Grewcock’s sportive lemur. Other mammals to spot are the endemic tsingy tuft-tailed rat, Commerson’s leaf-nosed bat, or Madagascar’s largest predator - the rare and elusive fossa.

On your second morning, experience an iconic adventure of the Anjajavy Reserve by vehicle to a village between tsingy, mangrove and forest. During this excursion, you will learn about the first project aimed at repatriating the Giant Tortoise back into Madagascar. You will visit a young coconut grove and small caves at the base of magnificent tsingy. One of the caves features an animist culturalite; another of these cavities holds open ancestral Sakalavaburials sites. Return to the lodge for lunch. 

This afternoon, depart for a walk along the ‘Chemin des Crabes’ to see the fabulous birdlife, beautiful baobabs and of course, the famous hairy crab. Even if bird watching isn’t your thing, you can’t help but be enchanted by the kaleidoscope of colours and shapes of the reserve’s common birds, from the vibrant red fody and Souimangasunbird to the exotic paradise flycatcher and sickle-billed vanga. It is one of the best places to spot the regal Madagascar fish eagle, shy crested Ibis, or rare Madagascar sacred Ibis. At the end of the walk, you will visit a small cave where you will find a fossilized lemur skull, stalactites and sharks’ teeth.

On your third morning, you can enjoy a walk along the King’s Alley. You will discover extremely ancient baobab trees, tsingy rock formations found only in Madagascar, along with a variety of lemurs including the Coquerel’ssifakas. These remarkable animals live in family groups of up to 10 individuals, and though they are perfectly adapted to life in the trees they often descend to the ground too. Unlike the famous Verreaux’s sifaka from southern Madagascar with its characteristic sideways dance, the Coquerel’s sifaka bounces across the ground like a mini kangaroo! The sifakas, along with troops of common brown lemurs, roam freely in the gardens and surrounding reserve. You will return to the lodge for lunch and a leisurely afternoon.

Day notes

After an early breakfast, your driver will take you back to Ivato Airport in time for your scheduled charter flight to Maroantsetra in the north-east. The densely forested Masoala Peninsula contains the largest remaining block of protected rainforest in Madagascar and harbours a wealth of rare and unique species including the red-ruffed lemur, seen only in Masoala. You are met on arrival at Maroantsetra Airport and transfer to the jetty to board a boat for the 2 hour voyage across Antongil Bay to Masoala Forest Lodge. Sightings of dolphins and whales are likely.  On arrival at the lodge beach, you are welcomed ashore and settle into your thatch and canvas tree-house.After freshening up in the accommodation, lunch is served in the beach house. The afternoon activities include exploring the beaches and coastal forest in the lodge area and maybe enjoying a swim in the sea, before taking a guided walk along the coast past Tampolo Point, with the possibility of spotting white-fronted brown lemurs in the coastal forest. Return to camp to sundowners on the beach before dinner is served in the beach house.

Your next day may be as follows: After breakfast on the sea deck set off on the day’s adventure, walk down the coast and up into the primary rainforest in search of the red-ruffed lemurs, dwarf chameleons and other wildlife endemic to this forest. After some hours in the dense forest with the giant hardwoods and majestic tree ferns, return to camp by boat for a well-earned lunch and rest. The afternoon activity could be a snorkel on the nearby coral reefs, rich in diversity, or a guided sea kayak to the look-out rock at the “Secret Cove” for the sun set, with the chance of a close encounter with bottlenose dolphin or green turtle.

The final full day has a relaxed start. Depart on a guided walk through the coastal forest, in search of more birds and mammals. Sightings of the incredible scaly and short-legged ground-rollers are regular. Mixed species flocks can contain an incredible diversity of vangas – the islands most celebrated bird family. After a couple of hours walk, take a welcome swim in the crystal clear pools of the Tampolo River at the foot of the forested mountains.  Return to camp on a traditional dugout canoe paddling down the shady river.  After lunch, enjoy a relaxed afternoon swimming on the private beaches or snorkelling on the coral reefs. In the evening, enjoy a guided nocturnal walk with the intriguing possibility of seeing some of the secretive nocturnal wildlife such as leaf-tailed gecko, mouse lemurs and maybe even the elusive aye-aye.

Day notes

This morning you head back to Maroansetra by boat (2hrs) in time for you scheduled charter flight back to Tana.  On arrival you are met by your guide and driver and transfer to the international terminal in time for your outbound flight (only for international flights departing after 3pm).