Nosy Be is Madagascar’s most popular tourist destination. Located off the island's northwestern coast, this small island is blessed with exquisite sand beaches, glittering volcanic lakes, and diverse flora and fauna. Nosy Be has remained refreshingly unspoiled and free of development, with low-key beach bungalows outnumbering commercial resorts. Most visitors simply relax on idyllic beaches, go swimming or snorkelling in the calm azure waters, and enjoy seafood feasts at oceanfront restaurants; however, if you enjoy sightseeing, it’s worth paying a visit to the bazaar in Hell-Ville to pick up samples of fragrant spices (Nosy Be is nicknamed ‘The Perfume Island’). The Lobeke nature reserve, coral reefs, and surrounding islets make for enchanting day trips and offer active, outdoor adventure opportunities.
Evolution has occurred more or less in isolation on this remote island – located 400 kilometres off Africa’s east coast – with the result that much of its indigenous wildlife is found nowhere else on earth. Madagascar’s menagerie of weird and wonderful creatures includes the world’s biggest and smallest chameleons and over 70 species of lemur – long-tailed primates endemic to the island. The Madagascan landscape is no less compelling than the resident wildlife, with terrain ranging from lush jungles and palm-fringed beaches to the knife-edged karst tsingys of the Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park’s ‘stone forests’. Madagascar is an otherworldly paradise where visitors are offered a unique glimpse into a fantastical one-of-a-kind world.
Dotting Madagascar’s scenic northeast coast just southwest of Nosy Be, the remote Nosy Iranja is largely inaccessible but well worth the effort. Nosy Iranja is made up of two islands connected by a 1.2-kilometre sandbar that is visible during low tide. Nosy Iranja Be is the larger island measuring two square kilometres and the tiny Nosy Iranja Kely is much smaller and uninhabited. These breathtakingly beautiful islands boast white-sand beaches lapped by warm, crystalline waters. Visitors can look forward to a lovely selection of activities including: viewing the extraordinary site of nesting turtles laying their eggs along the beaches and the little hatchlings making their way to the sea, snorkelling through the turquoise waters and enjoying the clear uninterrupted starry night skies.
Russian Bay is located in Madagascar. The bay is home to a variety of marine life which makes it an ideal location for diving and snorkelling. The bay can be explored via a variety of hiking trails and visitors have the opportunity to spot lemurs, reptiles and birds.
As previously described
Dotting the ocean just off the northwest coast of Madagascar, Nosy Komba is a spectacularly scenic volcanic island sandwiched between Nosy Be Island and the mainland. This popular tourist destination is known for its remarkably beautiful landscapes featuring a rugged coastline covered in forested hills meeting the crystalline waters and interrupted by magnificent white-sand beach beaches hidden in picturesque coves. Visitors can look forward to an array of activities including visiting the friendly black lemurs at the Black Lemur Sanctuary, discovering a host of fishing villages scattered along the shoreline and exploring the dusty streets of Ampangorinana, the main village, where visitors can browse the market stalls for beautifully embroidered goods, intricate wood carvings and woven baskets. Other highlights include: bird watching, whale spotting, diving, and snorkelling.
