Madagascar at its best

  Madagascar full circuit made possible by Dadamanga. Thank you! - We had two weeks to see Madagascar. After a lot of independent research, we put together a trip that was pretty intense: Morondava, Kirindy, Tsingy, Belo sur Mer, Morombe, Ankasy,... read more Tulear, Ranohira, Andringitra, Ranomafana, Antsirabe, Andasibe and back to Tana. Dadamanga made the trip possible. Pre-trip organisation and info was excellent, our driver guide Theo was fantastic and went above and beyond getting us round the country, and the background admin and support during the trip helped it go well (preempting food allergy issues, sorting hotel problems etc.). Having travelled independently around 70+ countries, we couldn't have got round the route ourselves; but Dadamanga did and with a smile and good value. Thank you!!

  GLORIOUS  - GLORY, our entire trip was filled with GLORY ~ we usually travel by doing all the destination preparation work ourselves, we decided to give Brett & the team... read more he has amassed @ DADAMANGA the responsibility, freeing ourselves of the sometimes tricky/ laborious work of putting an itinerary together~ not sure we were the best customers, we decided to give the team the amount time we had to spend in Madagascar,& 2 of our must sees, Of course they were Lemurs & chameleons ~ that was it ~ from that minimal info they put together an itinerary, we decided to just trust them and had scant idea of where we really were going to go even though the itinerary was very detailed in what to expect ( we decided to not read it & just trust the team so this meant SO SO many GREAT Surprises for us ) ~ a great decision that turned out to be ~ we were met @ the airport in Tana & from that moment on we were treated to an amazing range of experiences that South Madagascar has to offer, we had a 'holiday', the team took over, drove us in comfort to all the destinations, sometimes handing over to experts in certain parks etc who guided us to wonders eg a picnic in a lush oasis in a national park during a wonderful hike , surrounded by & feeding the Lemurs we wanted to see ~ a night in a rainforest to see nocturnal teeny weeny little Chameleons & Lemurs ~ o i had a medical emergency in a town, our multi lingual driver/guide had a Dr into our hotel room in a jiffy to diagnose & medicate me , the friendliness/professionalism/ knowledgeable team were a SENSATION. So hotel choices were superb, drivers WONDERFUL, locations visited super fascinating looking forward to doing the North of this wonderous island & DEFINATELY putting our trust intoBfrett & the DADAMANGA team again. x THANKS for a super trip x

  Fantastic trip and highly recommend Dadamanga  - Our trip to Madagascar was fantastic thanks to Dadamanga. I cannot give a more positive review to Brett and his team. From the pre-trip planning to on the ground execution,... read more Dadamanga went above and beyond. I worked with Urbain to create an itinerary that worked for us- it was 17 days with a nice split of different landscapes and climates. Brett was more than accommodating with sorting out payment and even hopped on a phone call with me to confirm the wire details. Once we arrived in country, everything ran super smoothly, and if there was ever confusion or if we needed confirmations for our drivers/reservations, Brett and his team were quick to reply and sort it all out.

We were met at the airport by an English speaking guide who helped us exchange money. We especially appreciated the fact that he watched closely as the teller counted our money and insisted they use the automated money counter to ensure we were given the correct amounts. We had several domestic flights, and Madagascar air frequently shifted flight times— the Dadamanga team was always quick to notify us on flight changes and how our pick up/drop off would be affected.

Our first stop on the trip was the west and we flew into Morondava. We were greeted by our guide, Naina— who was absolutely fantastic! We loved staying in the forest at the Akiba Lodge and saw amazing wildlife on our hikes into the reserve. Our long drive up to the Tsingy was well worth the experience and our driver and guide made us feel safe along the way. We stayed at Soleil de Tsingy and it was an oasis- beautiful accommodations and good food. The Tsingy hike was challenging but amazing, and Naina along with the national park guide were so great and offered to take photos of us the entire time. (Naina and the local driver were just so fantastic!). Up next we flew back to Tana and we were met by our next guide, Ravo, to take us out to Andasibe. Ravo was great— he was knowledgeable and accommodating when we wanted to stop for food along the way. We absolutely loved staying at the Manjarano Lodge— it was a stunning hotel with beautiful facilities and good food. We enjoyed the hikes out in the reserve and national park and we were lucky enough to see a wide variety of wildlife.

Next Dadamanga arranged for us to fly to Sainte Marie for 5 days of relaxation at the Princesse Bora Lodge. We were booked in a beautiful ocean front villa and loved our stay— the resort has many activities to choose from and so we had a great combination of relaxation and fun.

Last up, we flew back to Tana for a couple days in the capital. Our local guide, Jon, was super knowledgeable and we very much enjoyed learning about the culture and history of the country. He also helped us stop at a spot to by some souvenirs and some local vanilla/spices— he was incredibly helpful in ensuring we weren’t taken advantage of and helped us get a fair price for items we purchased.

We had a fantastic experience in Madagascar and highly recommend Dadamanga to help organize and coordinate your Madagascar travel experience! Misoatra to the entire Dadamanga team!

  Great ~2.5 week trip around Madagascar  - My mother and I did a ~2.5 week trip with Dadamanga in July-August 2024. Our itinerary was basically three pieces (each with different guides and drivers):
1. The RN7 route... read more but no time at the beach. Highlights: Ranomafana and Isalo. We then flew back to Antananarivo and did a one-day city tour.
2. A trip out west. We flew between Antananarivo and Morondava and then visited the Avenue of Baobabs, Kirindy Reserve, and the Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park.
3. After flying back to Antananarivo, we went to Andasibe. Highlights: Mantadia and Analamazaotra.

I had proposed the original general areas we were interested in, and Dadamanga did a great job of putting together a comprehensive itinerary. We felt like the trip was really well organized, and they were great about accommodating specific itinerary requests. We especially liked our guide and driver (Lova and Lionel) for the first leg of the trip, and most of the local/park guides were great. We really loved the diversity of scenery and animals we saw on the trip.

The main negatives were mostly about the difficulty of traveling in Madagascar. The roads are really bad, so it is slow to get anywhere. A few of the hotels in more remote areas had limited food choices.

  Wonderful 5 days in Madagascar - Lemurs & culture  - This was an excellent bespoke tour arranged by the team and wonderful 5 day introduction to Madagascar. From the moment we arrived we were guided through the airport and... read more helped to get currency and Simm cards, through to our departure where we were waved off! The pre trip organisation and information was comprehensive and fully delivered to expectations. Our driver/guide Mihaja was wonderful with very good English and knowledge of the wildlife, culture, traditions and history of this beautiful country. Hotels were very luxurious and in beautiful settings. Yes we saw lots of lemur! Fascinating creatures with many varieties. We highly recommend ..and don’t be nervous to wire the funds as Brett and team can be trusted to deliver! Ps Be prepared for bumpy roads & brush up on some French as it is the second language. Misaotra Brett and team!

  Madagascar tour by couple.  - The tour was amazing! Drivers were knowledgeable about the roads. We visited national parks. The tour was arranged around what we wanted to see. Travelled from one side of the... read more country by car then internal flight back to the east side. Only problem we had was not enough time there !!

  Fantastical, Unique, Exhilarating, Magical, Challenging and Frustrating - Dadamanga put together a wonderful, private tour of Madagascar that met our needs, duration and desires. The questionnaires and email exchanges fine tune the travel plans. The responses are timely.... read more The staff of drivers and guides (Roberto, Naina, Enry, Depot, Tojo and Morris) are excellent.
On the day of our arrival, Dadamanga adjusted their greeting & pickup of us at the airport from 3 PM in the afternoon to 2 AM at the dead of night due to a Kenya Airways cancellation. I have got a new definition of rough road after the nine-hour ride between Morondava and Tsingy.
Dadamanga provided some excellent advice during the planning process: “An economy-sized pack of patience and a family-sized box of sense of humor are very good travel items to bring on any Madagascar visit.” Having enjoyed our adventure in Madagascar, the wisdom of their advice is so true. Enjoy Madagascar!

  Magical adventure  - I’m grateful to have been a part of the group tour experience. I knew that I needed a tour operator for visiting Madagascar, and wasn’t keen on traveling alone,... read more but also knew that my usual travel partners wouldn’t really appreciate this destination. The tour Dadamanga designed was a great mix, with highlights for me including the Tsiribihina River trip, sunset at the Avenue of the Baobabs, several of the lodgings, Mad Zebu restaurant, and the glorious highland scenery—plus lemurs, of course.
There were a few adventurous bits (4wd getting stuck in the sand, another needing to be towed by a passing group of road angels, non-motorized car ferry, primitive camping on the riverbanks) but it was a great time! I had developed plantar fasciitis a few days before the trip and was thus a bit limited in walking properly, but our guide and the local guides were very helpful.
I appreciated the descriptions in the itinerary that gave me a good idea about what lay ahead; I would probably include a bit more detail on the loo situation but otherwise it was a well-written overview that was honest about some of the driving days.
Truly a great time!

  Fantastic company to work with  - I worked with Dadamanga to design a tour itinerary but did not end up visiting Madagascar after all. HOWEVER, wow! I have never worked with such an amazing response. These... read more guys were incredible! Our communications were top notch, clear, and professional. The itinerary was impressive, very comfortable, fun, and transparent with details. I am sure that judging by the care they put into their correspondence and planning that their tours and shepherding would have been first class.