Ultimate Madagascar

London – Johannesburg – Antananarivo

Depart from London Heathrow in the evening for Johannesburg. The connecting flight to Madagascar will land you at Antananarivo the following morning. Your Ultimate Madagascar tour starts with a night in a comfortable hotel close to the hub of the city, giving you a great opportunity to explore Madagascar’s interesting capital.

Stay: One night at the Royal Palissandre Hotel.

Isalo National Park

A scheduled flight pops you over to Tulear where you’ll be met by an English-speaking guide and driven to Isalo. This is an area that is sacred to the Bara people, so you can expect to see ancient burial sites tucked into caves in the walls of yawning canyons. It is also rich in wildlife, but it is the curious landscapes that are most likely to attract your camera lens – the area is famous for its dramatic canyons and sandstone rocks sculpted into strange formations by centuries of powerful winds and natural erosion. Massive stone columns, twisted spires and rugged pinnacles of stone stand like geological guardians surveying open plains ringed by imposing cliffs and escarpments.

Stay: Three nights at Jardin du Roy.

Andasibe National Park

Today you return to Tulear to board your flight to Antananarivo. A three hour drive through compelling countryside then sees you arriving at Andasibe National Park. The park has two protected areas, Mantadia and Indri d’Analamazaotra. The latter is famous for its population of indri lemurs – the world’s largest species of lemur – and you can meet groups of them close to the park entrance and hear their haunting calls from daybreak onwards.

Morning walks through the Andasibe-Mantadia Natural Park will reveal up to 60 groups of lemurs as well as anrecs (indigenous hedgehogs), different types of chameleons, numerous bird species and exuberant natural flora. Vakona’s private park also offers you some very interesting nocturnal walks.

Stay: Three nights in at Vakona Forest Lodge.

Tsarabanjina

Now it’s time to see a different side of Madagascar. A journey involving a road trip to Antananarivo, a flight to the intriguingly named Nosy Be, and a 90 minute boat ride finally brings you to a private island and the luxurious Tsarabanjina Hotel.

The travelling will have been thrilling, but the destination is outstanding. You’ll be surrounded by a gigantic natural aquarium, with a tranquil lagoon and a welcoming sea providing a pristine environment for diving and snorkelling to see countless species of exotic fish and marine creatures living on multi-coloured coral reefs. The island itself has irresistible beaches and is home to hundreds of indigenous birds, making nature walks a complete pleasure.

Stay: Four nights at Tsarabanjina Hotel.

Antananarivo

A boat returns you to Nosy Be for your flight back to Antananarivo where you’ll have a final chance to look round Madagascar’s capital.

Stay: One night at the Royal Palissandre Hotel.

Antananarivo – Johannesburg – London

From your hotel you’ll be driven to the airport for your flight to Johannesburg and onwards to London, arriving early the next morning.