A Madagascar journey is a very different kind of safari. There are no Big Five here. Instead, the rewards are rarer and more personal: the call of the indri echoing through the rainforest, sifakas dancing across open ground, and chameleons no bigger than a fingertip. Most of Madagascar’s plants and animals are found nowhere else, including more than 100 species of lemur. That makes it one of the world’s most rewarding destinations for naturalists, photographers and well-travelled safari guests.
Madagascar changes remarkably over short distances. In the east are the misty rainforests of Andasibe-Mantadia and Ranomafana. The west has the Avenue of the Baobabs and the UNESCO-listed Tsingy de Bemaraha, a landscape of razor-sharp limestone pinnacles. In the south you'll find the sandstone canyons of Isalo and the unusual spiny forest. The coast adds turquoise water, private islands and, from about July to September, humpback whales off Île Sainte-Marie and the Nosy Be archipelago.
Roads are limited and distances are long. A well-planned route using domestic flights, charters and helicopter transfers matters as much as the lodges themselves.
For the highest level of luxury, Safari Guru can design itineraries around Miavana by Time + Tide, a private-island retreat on Nosy Ankao, and Anjajavy le Lodge, a Relais & Châteaux property on the northwest coast. Madagascar Classic Collection offers intimate, solar-powered camps at Mandrare River in the southern spiny forest and at Namoroka Tsingy in the remote northwest (view a sample itinerary). Wild Expeditions' Masoala Forest Lodge can only be reached by boat. It is a remote rainforest base for red ruffed lemurs, aye-aye and sea kayaking. We also work with comfortable lodges close to key wildlife areas, such as Vakona Forest Lodge in Andasibe and Isalo Rock Lodge.
Safari Guru brings the right regions, lodges and flights together into one seamless Madagascar journey. We can pair a rainforest lemur experience with the baobabs and tsingy of the west, add a private-island finale, or tailor a honeymoon, family, photographic or high-end luxury itinerary around how you like to travel.
Timing is important. The dry season from April to November is generally best, while January to March brings heavy rain and cyclone risk. Read our guide to the best time to visit Madagascar, then let Safari Guru suggest the combination that suits you best.
Madagascar pairs beautifully with South Africa, Mauritius or a classic Botswana or East African safari. Airlink flies direct from Johannesburg to both Antananarivo and Nosy Be.
EMAIL SAFARI GURU WITH YOUR DATES, GROUP SIZE AND MADAGASCAR WISHLIST, AND LET US DESIGN YOUR JOURNEY.
This was our second safari, but our first using Safari-Guru (based on a word-of-mouth recommendation on our last safari). Allan and Deon were excellent from day one of the planning until we returned from our perfectly organized trip, staying in touch before, during and after our trip by email and WhatsApp to make sure that everything was progressing without a hitch.
Our trip was a combination of camps that we had selected and lodges that Allan recommended and every recommendation was a delight (recommendations for places we wouldn’t have thought to stay and rest breaks that we wouldn’t have thought to take, but which made the overall trip much better). The complex logistics of getting between camps and lodges, through airports and across borders was organized impeccably – which on a multi-day, multi-country safari is critical.
Would we recommend Safari-Guru…. Absolutely. Will we use them again, definitely! We wouldn’t think about going to anyone else.
- David Flemming, Australia
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