Day 1: Welcome to Madagascar! Antananarivo Airport Pick-up
Choose this express tour to discover the island’s gems in a whirlwind adventure! Upon your arrival at the Ivato International Airport in Antananarivo, aka Tana, our English-speaking driver guide will pick you up and transfer you to the hotel for check-in. ► Attention: 1. This tour is only feasible from May to the beginning of November since the Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park is closed from mid-November to April the next year. Madagascar shines brightest during the dry season (April to October), offering ideal conditions for exploration, but don’t be discouraged if rainy season (November to March) fits your schedule! We can craft an alternative itinerary that caters to these conditions. Just be prepared for potentially muddy roads and restricted access to some reserves. 2. Due to the lack of local flights, the departures for this route are not available on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For your information, Antananarivo and Morondava are linked by flights on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday respectively. When booking your flight from your home country, be sure to consider the arrival date in Antananarivo of Madagascar. If your desired travel date has no flight, don’t worry! Just contact our travel consultant in advance. We can work with you to create a customized itinerary that fits your arrival timeframe. ► Recommended Activities for Today’s Free Time: It your flight lands early today, take a tour on your own to experience local life! Over 80% of Madagascar’s residents live under the poverty line and Tana is where to find the epitome, with pickpocketing and begging spot from time to time. (Some beggars may be aggressive, so if you don’t feel like giving them something, don’t look at and talk to them.) But you can be sure that life here is not chaotic as you might think; on the contrary, people here would in general show you a friendly attitude. Perhaps observe facial features of locals to confirm they have Malaysian and Indonesian ancestors, explore markets for tropical fruits you’ve never seen before and handicraft souvenirs in shapes of local wildlife, and find a great spot to shoot Tana’s exotic cityscape. As required by local authorities, remember to take the passport with you when you go out to dine or drink in restaurants and bars. Accommodation: Asia & Africa Hotel - Ivato Airport, Antananarivo (4 stars) or similar
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Day 2: Fly from Antananarivo to Morondava
We will arrange for you a flight to Morondava in western Madagascar. Your driver guide will escort you to the airport two hours early so you can take your time checking in. Upon arrival, another local driver guide will pick you up at the airport and transfer you to the hotel. Spend the rest of the day however you like, either relaxing in the hotel or exploring around the town. If it’s still early, why not get into a local dugout canoe with hotel staff’s help to the nearby Betania fishing village for a Vezo culture experience? Vezo is a Malagasy word meaning one who catches fish. Along the way, you will enjoy mangroves with migratory birds like egrets and herons. On the shore, locals in canoes are sorting through their catches of the day. Go into the village to observe locals repairing or creating their canoes and photo with some cute children who come to you.
► Please Note:
If any flight schedule adjustment, which often happens in Madagascar, is informed by the airport authority, to accommodate any change we will need to modify our itinerary a bit for you to have a seamless tour. Driving to Morondava instead of flying, for example.
► Recommended Restaurant for Dinner:
For dinner, why not walk just about 10 minutes north of your hotel to enjoy a seafood feast at the Bleu Soleil, the highest-rated restaurant in the town? Here, lobsters as big as forearms, bright golden crabs and calamari skewers will surely make your mouth water, so do their affordable prices. A lobster over a kilo or two pounds costs only about USD 14 / MGA 65,000. There are dishes for veggies too. If time permits, catch a beautiful sunset over the Indian Ocean on its patio. In the evening, enjoy live music and sip cold beer. Another equally popular restaurant Le Corail, about a 7-minute walk from the hotel, is also worth a try. Lower prices, English menu and English-speaking waiters can be expected in this restaurant; however, it sits off the road and does not have sea views.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Laguna Beach, Morondava (3 stars) or similar Ring-tailed Lemur The Chameleon
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Day 3: Drive to Kirindy, Visit Kirindy Forest, and then Continue to Bekopaka
Meet the Lemurs in Kirindy Forest Make an early start in the morning and we will arrive at Kirindy Forest in 2.5 hours, passing the famous Avenue of the Baobabs on the way. Enjoy your first official chance to meet Madagascar’s national treasures of lemurs, of which we will go for sifakas and red-fronted brown lemurs here with our local spot guide. Sifakas have a signature sideways-leaping movement you can’t miss to capture, while brown lemurs might be seen biting millipedes, whose poisonous secretion is said to be able to kill their intestinal parasites. This is a dry forest so if you come during the dry season, the whole landscape would be mottled by leave-shedding trees - that’s how you can also spot many conch-like beautiful snail shells, whose hosts may come sliding back during the rainy season. ► Insider Tips for Wild Safari: 1. To block bites from insects like mosquitos, although Madagascar can be intolerably hot, during wild safaris we still recommend you to wear long sleeves, which can also reduce tropical UV rays. For a sustainable tourism, eco-friendly insect repellent would be your best choice. 2. Please refrain yourself from initiating to touch or feed wild animals, as each animal has their own degree of aggression and might hurt you when you least expect. Please always listen to your guide, who are responsible for both your safari experience and safety. Afterwards, unwind on a scenic boat ride across the Tsiribihina River to arrive at Belo sur Tsiribihina. Then, buckle up for a 4-hour drive to our next stop, Bekopaka, and check into the hotel. ► Recommended Restaurant for Lunch: At Belo sur Tsiribihina, the gastronomic gem Mad Zebu awaits. You will be served with Malagasy dishes recreated with a delicate European touch - that can be a surprise in such a place in the middle of nowhere - such as zebu steak, which needs to be dipped in a special wine sauce to eat. Although all the dishes here are as sophisticated as you would get in some Western restaurants elsewhere, its prices are much lower, with a three-course set costing about USD 16 / MGA 73,000. The menu is not in English, but there are always friendly staff to help you. Remember to ask your guide to book it for you in advance if you feel like enjoying a quick lunch on your way to Bekopaka. Meals: Breakfast Accommodation: Olympe de Bemaraha, Bekopaka (3 stars) - the best local hotel
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Day 4: Bekopaka: Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park (Big Tsingy)
Rock Climbing Adventure at the Great Tsingy This morning, we will take you to hike the spectacular stone forests of Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park, one of three UNESCO heritage sites in Madagascar. Tsingy, “where one cannot walk barefoot” in Malagasy, are soaring razor-sharp limestone spires, and Bemaraha has the most widespread such formations in the world. Today is for the Big Tsingy, somewhere over which spans a suspension bridge for the adventurous to cross. There are two routes to reach the bridge: one from the front mountain, which is more dangerous and physically exhausting, and the other from the back mountain with a relatively gentle slope. Discuss with your guide and pick one according to your situation. Rest assured you have a safety rope to protect you the whole time, but be careful to only open one of the two clasps at a time when moving. Apart from exploring around high above, we will also dive into the areas below where rain gathers to nurse numerous lives. There are 11 lemur species, of which Bemaraha woolly lemur - locals call it “grandfather of sifakas” - is unique to this region. Also meet clouds of bats - as there will be lots of caves for you to venture into. Enjoy a self-prepared picnic lunch before we continue to hike.
► Things to Know:
1. To cope with unexpected electricity cut-off in hotels or lodges in this trip, we recommend you to bring power banks with you in advance, as well as a flashlight. If you have special devices like breathing machine that needs constant power, let us know before you go so that we can warn the hotels where you will stay. Manage to charge your mobile devices first after you check into the hotel, and ask the hotel reception for help if you don’t find a plug in the room.
2. If you want to take a hot shower after long day’s trip, familiarize yourself with the hotels’ hot water supply time and be there at the appropriate time. But be prepared for the possibility that some may not have any at all.
3. As we leave hotel for the park, it’s best to take your valuables with you as we suggest you not put too much trust in the safe in your room. This is an issue with all Tsingy hotels.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Olympe de Bemaraha, Bekopaka (3 stars) - the best local hotel
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Day 5: Bekopaka - Morondava, Watch Sunset at Avenue of the Baobabs
We will drive back to Morondava toady (200km/9h). En route, make a stop in Belo sur Tsiribihina, where we will take a returning boat ride across the Tsiribihina River. ► Please Note: As you might notice yourself, while out on the dirt roads off the urban area there will be pits and grooves in various sizes that would make vehicles bounce and rattle, not to mention the more terrible conditions in rainy season. That’s why we will have you secured in an off-road vehicle; with your patient driver guide, you will find these road trips much more tolerable. Also you will be provided with masks to reduce dust inhalation along the way. Bring some motion sickness medication if necessary. Late in the afternoon, a breathtaking spectacle is waiting for you - a majestic sunset over the Avenue of the Baobabs. These iconic trees silhouette against the fiery sky, creating an unforgettable memory. Once we arrive in Morondava, check into the hotel and unwind after a long road trip. ★ Titans of Time: Madagascar’s Ancient BaobabsThe Avenue of the Baobabs isn’t a true avenue in the traditional sense of a lined path. There are actually more baobab trees scattered throughout the surrounding meadows and rice paddies. They are all adansonia grandidieri, a species endemic to Madagascar. These giants are estimated to be between 800 and 2,000 years old! The trees have a unique adaptation to Madagascar’s dry climate. They store water in their swollen trunks, hence their nickname ‘the upside-down tree’. During the dry season, the baobabs lose their leaves, giving them a skeletal appearance. When the rainy season arrives, they sprout vibrant green leaves, completely transforming their look. One legend suggests the trees were once powerful and mischievous people who were turned upside down by the gods as punishment for their misdeeds. Another legend claims they were once too proud and were banished from the lush forests. Meals: Breakfast Accommodation: Laguna Beach, Morondava (3 stars) or similar
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Day 6: Fly from Morondava to Antananarivo
Today, our driver will escort you to the airport for the flight back to Antananarivo. After landing, our driver guide based there will drive you to the hotel for check-in. ► Insider Tips: Most flights arrive in Antananarivo after midday, so you may have a few hours in the afternoon to explore the city on your own. Immerse yourself in Malagasy history with a visit to the Queen’s Palace (Rova - Le Palais de la Reine). This royal complex, perched on a scenic hill, offers stunning panoramic views of the city. It is also a good choice to visit the Analakely Market near your hotel to experience the vibrant local life. Meals: Breakfast Accommodation: Radisson Serviced Apartments Antananarivo City Centre (4 stars)
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Day 7: Royal Hill of Ambohimanga, Departure from Antananarivo
Today is the last day of your Madagascar tour for seniors. Let’s visit the sacred King’s Palace on Royal Hill of Ambohimanga in the morning. Once home to the great king of Andrianampoinimerina (1787-1810) who endeavored to bring the then divided island into one, Ambohimanga is now a UNESCO-honored site offering insight to local history and culture. The site selected is strategically interesting - you can stand on the viewing platform around King’s Palace atop the hill, overlooking the surrounds just like the Merina king.
Following your tour’s conclusion, our driver will take you to Ivato Airport of Antananarivo, coordinating with your flight schedule for a stress-free departure. Remind the driver to send you to the airport three hours prior to your departure. Once inside departure hall, there is no going back to the public area. There is only a small kiosk selling drinks and snacks and only charges dollars or euros, so it is recommended to dine (if you need) and spend all your Ariary (Madagascar’s official currency) before security check. Wish you a pleasant journey home!
Meals: Breakfast ★ Have Your Tour Tailored to Get More of Madagascar! If you want to see more of Madagascar’s charms, why not let us tailor your tour for an extension? Visit the forests in eastern Madagascar to see the largest lemur Indri, or Sainte Marie or Nosy Be for white tropical sands plus a whale-watching tour during their migratory season (July-September). Perhaps just go a bit further east to check out Isalo National Park, whose desert-like sandstone terrain is paradise for every photographer.
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