Find places in Madagascar

Must-Haves

• Rova of Antananarivo (Manjakamiadana) (Haute-Ville)
  The restored Queen's Palace crowns the highest hill in the city, with views over the rice fields and lakes below.
• Ambohimanga Royal Hill (Ambohimanga)
  A UNESCO listed hilltop royal city of wooden palaces, stone gates and sacred trees, an easy half day from the capital.

Fun for Everyone

• Andafiavaratra Palace (Haute-Ville)
  The former prime minister's palace now holds royal treasures rescued from the 1995 Rova fire.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Andohalo Cathedral (Haute-Ville)
  A grand stone cathedral on an old royal square, at the heart of a lovely walk through the upper town.

Off the Beaten Path

• Musée de la Photographie de Madagascar (Haute-Ville)
  A small museum of historic photographs that brings old Antananarivo and its people to life.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Lake Anosy (Anosy)
  The jacaranda lined lake with its war memorial is at its prettiest in October when the trees flower purple.
• Avenue de l'Indépendance (Analakely)
  The wide central boulevard between the old railway station and Analakely is the best place to feel the city's pulse.

Fun for Everyone

• Lemurs' Park (Imerintsiatosika)
  A botanical park west of the city where rescued lemurs roam free, ideal on arrival or departure day.
• Croc Farm (Ivato)
  A crocodile and wildlife park near the airport, an easy family outing on a first or last day.

Fun for Everyone

• Tsimbazaza Botanical and Zoological Park (Tsimbazaza)
  Gardens, lemurs, a museum of natural history and the rare aye-aye in the middle of the city.

Off the Beaten Path

• Lake Mantasoa (Mantasoa)
  A pine fringed lake east of the capital with the remains of Jean Laborde's 19th century industrial town.

Must-Haves

• Marché Artisanal de la Digue (La Digue)
  The capital's biggest craft market for raffia, carved wood, embroidery, gemstones and vanilla.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Analakely Market (Analakely)
  The city's central market spills down the stairways and streets with food, flowers and everyday goods.
• Andravoahangy Market (Andravoahangy)
  A huge local market where residents shop for everything from spices to second hand clothes.

Great for Date Night

• La Varangue (Antaninarenina)
  Refined Franco-Malagasy cooking in a house full of antiques, one of the capital's classic special occasion tables.
• Villa Vanille (Antaninarenina)
  Malagasy and French dishes in an old villa, often with live traditional music in the evening.

Must-Haves

• Sakamanga (Antaninarenina)
  A much loved hotel restaurant and bar filled with art, a reliable first meal in the city.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Hotely gasy canteens of Analakely (Analakely)
  Simple local canteens serve rice with romazava or ravitoto for a true taste of everyday Tana.

Great for Date Night

• Café de la Gare (Soarano)
  A grand café inside the restored colonial railway station at the top of Avenue de l'Indépendance.

Must-Haves

• Madajazzcar Festival (Citywide)
  A long running jazz festival bringing Malagasy and international musicians to venues across the capital.

Fun for Everyone

• Independence Day celebrations (Mahamasina and Lake Anosy)
  Around 26 June the city fills with parades, fireworks, lanterns and family outings.

Off the Beaten Path

• Famadihana ceremonies (Highland villages)
  In the dry season some highland families rewrap their ancestors' remains in joyful gatherings; attend only if invited.

Must-Haves

• Hôtel Colbert (Antaninarenina)
  A classic central hotel with a famous pastry shop, close to the upper town and the main boulevard.
• Radisson Blu Hotel Antananarivo Waterfront (Ambodivona)
  A modern international hotel with a pool, convenient for business travellers.

Great for Date Night

• Palissandre Hôtel and Spa (Faravohitra)
  A hillside hotel with a pool and terrace views over the city, good for a calm first night.

Off the Beaten Path

• Lokanga Boutique Hotel (Haute-Ville)
  A small boutique hotel in a historic house near the Rova with sweeping views.

Fun for Everyone

• Au Bois Vert Lodge (Ivato)
  Bungalows in a garden near the airport, handy for early flights.

Must-Haves

• Analamazaotra Special Reserve (Andasibe)
  The easiest place in Madagascar to hear and see the indri, the largest living lemur, singing at dawn.
• Mantadia National Park (North of Andasibe)
  Wilder, deeper rainforest with diademed sifakas, waterfalls and far fewer visitors.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Association Mitsinjo (Andasibe village)
  A community run forest with local guides whose fees go back into conservation.

Off the Beaten Path

• Maromizaha Protected Area (Near Andasibe)
  A community managed forest with excellent lemur sightings and quiet trails.
• Torotorofotsy Wetlands (West of Andasibe)
  A protected marsh known for rare birds and the golden mantella frog.

Fun for Everyone

• Night walk along the Andasibe road (Andasibe)
  Guided walks at dusk reveal chameleons, frogs and tiny mouse lemurs by torchlight.
• Vakôna Lemur Island (Vakôna)
  Rescued lemurs jump onto visitors' shoulders on a small island, a favourite with children.
• Peyrieras Reptile Reserve (Marozevo)
  A roadside reserve full of chameleons, geckos and butterflies on the way from Tana.

Must-Haves

• Vakôna Forest Lodge (Vakôna)
  Wooden bungalows in the forest with a pool, horses and its own lemur island.

Great for Date Night

• Andasibe Hotel (Andasibe)
  Bungalows looking over a lake and rice fields near the park entrance.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Feon'ny Ala (Andasibe)
  Simple bungalows beside the forest, named for the "voice of the forest" you hear at dawn.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Moramanga market (Moramanga)
  A busy town market on the road east, good for fruit and snacks on the drive.

Must-Haves

• Isalo National Park (Ranohira)
  Sandstone canyons, ridges and oases, Madagascar's most popular hiking park.
• Canyon des Makis and Canyon des Rats (Isalo National Park)
  Narrow green canyons with streams, ferns and ring-tailed lemurs.

Fun for Everyone

• Piscine Naturelle (Isalo National Park)
  A clear pool beneath a waterfall framed by pandanus palms, perfect for a swim mid hike.

Off the Beaten Path

• Cascade des Nymphes (Isalo National Park)
  A pair of blue and black pools in a shady gorge on a longer, quieter trail.
• Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park (West of Ilakaka)
  A dry forest by the RN7 with birds found nowhere else and Verreaux's sifakas.

Great for Date Night

• La Fenêtre de l'Isalo (South of Ranohira)
  A natural rock window where the sun sets through the sandstone, a classic evening stop.

Off the Beaten Path

• La Reine de l'Isalo (Along the RN7)
  A rock formation said to look like a seated queen, best seen in late afternoon light.
• Ilakaka (Ilakaka)
  A rough frontier sapphire town that grew from nothing in the late 1990s, fascinating to pass through.

Great for Date Night

• Isalo Rock Lodge (Ranohira)
  A stylish lodge built into the rocks with a pool facing the massif.

Must-Haves

• Le Jardin du Roy (Ranohira)
  Stone bungalows among the sandstone rocks, close to La Fenêtre.

Fun for Everyone

• Relais de la Reine (Ranohira)
  A long established lodge with a pool, gardens and horse rides into the plains.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Ranohira village hotely (Ranohira)
  Local canteens in the village serve zebu, rice and beans for hikers after a long day.

Must-Haves

• Avenue of the Baobabs (North of Morondava)
  Giant Grandidier's baobabs lining a red dirt road, unforgettable at sunrise and sunset.
• Kirindy Forest Reserve (North of Morondava)
  A dry forest known for the fossa, sifakas and, in season, the giant jumping rat.
• Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park (Bekopaka)
  Razor sharp limestone pinnacles crossed by rope bridges, a UNESCO site reached by a long dry season track.

Great for Date Night

• Baobab Amoureux (Near the Avenue of the Baobabs)
  Two baobabs twisted around each other, a favourite stop for couples.

Off the Beaten Path

• Manambolo Gorge (Bekopaka)
  A canoe trip through a limestone gorge with caves and burial sites at the edge of the Tsingy.

Off the Beaten Path

• Sacred Baobab (Baobab Sacré) (Near the Avenue of the Baobabs)
  A huge baobab honoured with offerings by local communities; ask before photographing.

Off the Beaten Path

• Belo-sur-Mer (South of Morondava)
  A fishing village where boat builders still make large wooden schooners by hand.
• Tsiribihina River descent (Miandrivazo to Belo-sur-Tsiribihina)
  A slow multi day river trip by pirogue or barge past villages, lemurs and waterfalls.

Fun for Everyone

• Nosy Kely beach (Nosy Kely)
  The town's sandy peninsula for swimming and watching fishermen's pirogues at sunset.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Morondava market (Town centre)
  A lively market for fish, fruit and the colourful lamba cloths of the west coast.

Must-Haves

• Palissandre Côte Ouest (Nosy Kely)
  A beachfront resort with a pool, an easy base for the baobabs.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Chez Maggie (Nosy Kely)
  A friendly beach hotel and restaurant popular with travellers for years.

Fun for Everyone

• Baobab Café (Nosy Kely)
  A hotel on the river side of the peninsula with a pool and a relaxed bar.

Off the Beaten Path

• Hôtel Soleil des Tsingy (Bekopaka)
  A lodge with views over the forest near the entrance to the Tsingy de Bemaraha.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Seafood grills of Nosy Kely (Nosy Kely)
  Simple beach restaurants grill prawns, crab and fish caught that morning.

Must-Haves

• Lokobe National Park (Southeast Nosy Be)
  Reached by pirogue, this last patch of original forest holds black lemurs and tiny chameleons.
• Nosy Tanikely Marine Reserve (Off Nosy Be)
  Snorkel with turtles and reef fish in clear water, then climb to the lighthouse.

Fun for Everyone

• Nosy Komba (Off Nosy Be)
  A small island village where black lemurs come close and locals sell embroidery.

Great for Date Night

• Nosy Iranja (Southwest of Nosy Be)
  Two islands joined by a white sandbar at low tide, with turtles nesting on the beach.

Off the Beaten Path

• Nosy Sakatia (West of Nosy Be)
  A quiet green island with seagrass where turtles graze close to shore.

Great for Date Night

• Mont Passot (Central Nosy Be)
  The island's highest point, where people gather at sunset to watch over the crater lakes and islets.

Fun for Everyone

• Andilana Beach (North Nosy Be)
  The island's best swimming beach, with calm water and soft white sand.
• Whale shark and humpback whale trips (Off Nosy Be)
  From roughly September to December whale sharks gather offshore, with humpbacks earlier in the season.

Off the Beaten Path

• Mahatsinjo Sacred Tree (Mahatsinjo)
  A vast banyan tree, a sacred royal site planted in the 19th century; wear a lamba and go barefoot.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Hell-Ville market (Hell-Ville)
  The main town's covered market for vanilla, spices, pepper and tropical fruit.

Fun for Everyone

• Ambatoloaka (Ambatoloaka)
  The island's liveliest beach village, with bars and music on the sand after dark.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Ambatoloaka beach grills (Ambatoloaka)
  Fish, octopus and zebu skewers grilled on the beach at sunset.

Must-Haves

• Donia Festival (Hell-Ville)
  A big music festival around Pentecost bringing artists from across the Indian Ocean islands.

Great for Date Night

• Vanila Hotel and Spa (Ambaro)
  A beachfront resort with a spa and sunset views over the bay.
• Constance Tsarabanjina (Mitsio archipelago)
  A barefoot luxury island lodge on its own islet north of Nosy Be.

Fun for Everyone

• Andilana Beach Resort (Andilana)
  A large all inclusive resort on the island's best beach, easy for families.
• Nosy Be Hotel and Spa (Ambatoloaka)
  A beachfront hotel within walking distance of restaurants and bars.

Must-Haves

• Ravintsara Wellness Hotel (Madirokely)
  A boutique wellness hotel with gardens and a calm beach.

Must-Haves

• Pirate Cemetery (Near Ambodifotatra)
  Weathered tombs on a hill overlooking the bay where pirates once sheltered.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Église Sainte-Marie (Ambodifotatra)
  Said to be the oldest Catholic church in Madagascar, small and charming by the sea.

Must-Haves

• Île aux Nattes (Southern tip)
  A small car free island across a channel with palm beaches and walking paths.

Off the Beaten Path

• Piscines naturelles d'Ambodiatafana (Northeast coast)
  Natural rock pools at the wild northern end of the island.
• Forêt d'Ikalalao (Central Île Sainte-Marie)
  A patch of protected forest with guided walks and endemic plants.
• Baie d'Ampanihy (East coast)
  A sheltered mangrove bay explored by pirogue.

Must-Haves

• Humpback whale watching (Off Île Sainte-Marie)
  From about July to September humpbacks calve in the channel, often visible from the shore.

Off the Beaten Path

• Cétamada whale centre (Ambodifotatra)
  An NGO that explains the whales and promotes responsible watching.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Ambodifotatra market (Ambodifotatra)
  The island's main town market for fruit, fish and cloves.

Great for Date Night

• Princesse Bora Lodge and Spa (South of the airport)
  A beach lodge with a spa, known for whale season programmes.

Must-Haves

• Libertalia Hotel (Ambodifotatra area)
  Bungalows by the sea with a pontoon facing a small island.

Low Cost and Authentic

• La Crique (North of Ambodifotatra)
  Simple bungalows on a pretty cove, long popular with independent travellers.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Beach restaurants of Île aux Nattes (Île aux Nattes)
  Simple places serving coconut fish and grilled lobster right on the sand.