Dadamanga: The 5-star Madagascar tour company chosen by you

  Thorough, Knowledgeable, and Personable Guides through Dadamanga - During the pandemic, I put a lot of energy into planning a six-week trip to Madagascar for myself, my husband, and another couple. After numerous postponements, we finally made this... read more unforgettable trip in September-October 2023.

We used two touring organizations, chosen based on their stellar ratings on TA. It would probably have been more efficient to choose one, but after corresponding with both, I felt some loyalty to each of them, and I proceeded to coordinate segments of our itinerary with each. Both were excellent! But they are quite different, and one might fit your needs better than the other. We remain happy that we worked with both. (My review of Elysée Velomasy’s Masoala Ecotour can be found under “Masoala National Park.) I first “met” Dadamanga because of Brett’s wonderful responses to my queries on the TA Forum for Madagascar. He was consistently helpful—and never even hinted that he could provide the services I would undoubtedly need. He is truly dedicated to being helpful to those interested in Madagascar.

I am also including some specific comments for visitors like me who have mobility challenges. (I use trekking poles for normal walking due to balance issues, have osteoporosis in my knees which limits my flexibility especially in going up and down uneven stair steps, and my stamina is limited.) I wish I had made this trip 20-30 years ago! If you’re fit, do it now!

In getting around in Madagascar, you sometimes have the option to fly between destinations (or more typically between the capital and a destination). I would definitely recommend this over driving. One of the biggest obstacles to tourism is the appalling state of the roads. But many destinations are only accessible by driving.

Brett and the office staff at Dadamanga, especially Urbain and Huguette, with whom I had the most contact, were amazing in organizing all our details and providing step-by-step support in a written guide to everything you need to know as you plan and implement your trip, down to details like what address to use on your visa for your “in-country” address. Dadamanga also went above and beyond to accommodate some last-minute changes we requested as we grew to understand our own limitations as well as to take advantage of unexpected opportunities.

We had two different segments of our trip with Dadamanga. First, we flew to Toliara (Tulear) and drove back to Tana along the N7 route, spending 12 days visiting Zombitse, Isalo, Andringitra, and Ranomafana National Parks, plus Anja Community Reserve. The second part was in the north for which we flew to Diego Suarez and spent four days in Amber Mountain NP and the Ankarana Reserve.

Our driver-guide for the overland trip along the N7 was the incredible Tsiory! First, he was a capable, prudent, cautious driver—and we definitely appreciated that! He also did a fantastic job of providing background on wildlife, cultures, customs, history, and geology as we drove. He organized the best local guides within the National Parks and for city and village tours that included exposure to local culture and to industry and handicrafts. And he was personable and fun! While the number of walks I could handle was limited, Tsiory did a great job of assessing that and providing alternatives. (I had already enjoyed shorter treks in Masoala, Nosy Mangabe, and Andasibe, where I had seen and heard the indri, aye-aye, and many other lemurs, so I didn’t mind.) The rest of our group did more demanding hikes and saw common brown lemurs, sifakas, golden and greater bamboo lemurs, and sportive lemurs, as well as painted frogs, many geckos and chameleons. They also hiked through fascinating geological formations and terrain, while I had the good fortune of visiting a Betsileo village, learning about their customs, and enjoying a traditional lunch in the home of our local guide.

A highlight for me was visiting the Anja Community Reserve and seeing large troops of ring-tailed lemurs. This community had endemic ring-tails who, because of limited natural fruit trees, were raiding the villagers’ crops. Instead of fighting that, they started planting more trees that yield the lemurs’ preferred foods. The lemurs have prospered, and the community now gains some revenue, which they have used for community resources: school, clinic, etc.

The accommodations were incredible! By my standards, they were quite luxurious, with spacious en suite rooms, several with swimming pools, terrific chefs (with varying amounts of menu choice), and lovely grounds, little oases in the dry region of the country. Our final hotel, the Relais d’Ankarana, was the simplest of those arranged through Dadamanga. It was certainly adequate, and the family who own and staff it were absolutely delightful and accommodating, including an excellent chef. It just contrasted to previous hotels, like Hotel Au Bois Vert, the Moringa, le Relais de la Reine, Betsileo Country Lodge, Couleur Café Hotel, and the Nature Lodge, which were impressive.

While our initial focus had been wildlife, we were fascinated by the view into local culture, visiting spice production, craft industries like a paper factory, woodworking, and seeing how so many things are made by hand, including bricks and aluminum pots.

I can’t speak highly enough of Tsiory, whose English is very good, and who took all of our interests into account. Although we aren’t birders, that is his specialty, and he often leads bird-watching groups, so, if that is your interest, definitely request him as your guide!

Our last, shorter segment was with the guide Enyse. He was with a company that Dadamanga subcontracted with, and he was an excellent guide with good English. There was a separate driver, and I understand that Dadamanga normally uses a driver-guide. In our case, there were some problems with the vehicle, and Dadamanga completely supported getting the best situation possible to resolve it. I think it will influence how they arrange visits to that area in the future.

Seeing the incredible Red Tsingy was amazing! Additional lemur sightings included Sanford’s brown, crowned, Amber Mountain mouse, Amber Mountain dwarf, and northern sportive lemurs.

I can highly recommend Dadamanga and confirm their consistent high ratings!

  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!

  An Incredible Journey  - I coordinated a 3 week tour with Brett Massoud and Dadamanga travel to Madagascar. In all, the service provided by all members of team at Dadamanga was absolutely superb.... read more All communication was answered in a timely and efficient manner. Additionally, all our guides/drivers were professional andknowledgeable being acutely aware of our needs while playing particular attention to our safety; traveling in Madagascar can be difficult and pose many challenges but Dadamanga handled these challenges with relative ease. In addition to Brett, I would that to commend our Guides Naina, Rado and Fano for their superior service.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Dadamanga to anyone desiring to explore the wonders of Madagascar. Indeed, my wife and I would like to return and visit the northern regions of Madagascar and hope Dadamanga can again assist us in doing so.

Sincerely,

Tony Esposito

  Must see in Tana - worth the tour - Brett and Rado have organised this one-day trip in just a few hours. They were reactive, efficient and friendly. The trip was well organised and really interesting. The royal palace... read more is well worth the visit, and the Museum of Photography as well. The local guides and Rado were knowledgeable. And to top it all, we had an excellent Malagasy lunch at Haka Fy. Highly recommended.

  Madagascar Adventure  - We planned our Madagascar tour with Dadamanga. We highly recommend them as they did a great job! The process started with us completing a questionnaire about what we like to... read more do or see while on the island. From there, they proposed three different itineraries. One had more museums and historical stops; another took us to one spot and let us relax in place for many days and the other had us moving around the island to see and do as much as possible. After some massaging, we choose the last itinerary.

The trip with all of our stops, private charter flights, guides, car drivers, hotels and guides at the parks were very well coordinated. Everyone was where they were planned to be on time. Their choice of parks and hotels was fantastic.
Everyone we worked with from the managing director, to the finance person, to the guides and car drivers and pilots was awesome. They have a great team of people who were professional, knowledgeable and extremely helpful.

  I would thoroughly recommend Dadamanga for any trips in Madagascar.

I was initially impressed by how much Brett helps people on the forum boards regardless of whether they... read more book with him or not. After getting a few quotes we decided to go with Dadamanga due to their knowledge & Bretts helpfulness on TA and we booked a 3 week itinerary. I was highly impressed but their speed, responses, willingness to adjust the itinerary and overall communication.
The tour was fantastic and it was reassuring to know we had the team available if we needed them.
Roberto met us at the airport and helped us getting a SIM card for the phone, and then the following day we met Aina and Angelo who accompanied us for the trip. Both Aina (tour guide) and Angelo (driver) were fantastic, they knew when to let us sleep and relax in the car and when to talk to us and give us facts. They were always smiling and willing to help.
The hotels and arrangements all went smoothly which i think is pretty amazing for Madagascar where anything can happen!
The driving times were all longer than we expected and something to be aware of, but the scenery along the way is great.
Towards the end of the trip I think the travelling and food caught up with me and I felt very unwell and wasn't sure what to do, Brett was able to offer some options and it was very reassuring to know that the Dadamanga team were there.

  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!

  Dadamanga were 1st class! - Dadamanga were 1st class

Great, prompt and proactive Communication and recommendations

Would highly recommend to anyone travelling to Madagascar

We went to the west coast,... read more Andasibe, Nosy Be and spent a day in Tana - all fabulous

  Madagascar - Country of wonder!  - We have just completed a four week trip through Madagascar organised from being to end by Dadamanga and we could not recommend them more highly - they were exceptional!
From... read more our initial contact with Brett in 2019, through many emails, to finally arriving at Antananarivo where we were met by Roberto, to our travels to the west with Theo, the glorious beach breaks at Anakao and Nosy Komba to our travels with Stephan in the east everything was extremely well organised. The hotels were great considering the remoteness of some of the locations, the wildlife from Lemurs, chameleons, snakes, frogs, birds were incredible, the landscapes constantly changing, and the warmth and hospitality of the Malagasy truly enriched the experience.
Madagascar is not an easy country to travel within and we had days of long drives on very bad roads but we always knew at the end of the day we would arrive somewhere unique and special which made the long dusty roads worthwhile.
The local guides used at the National Parks and in our Tana site seeing days were all very good with lots of local knowledge and the ability to spot wildlife that we would never have seen on our own.
Many reviews will advise not visiting Antananarivo as it is a big crowded city with bad traffic but our few days there were worth it especially the cooking class at Tana Kitchen which was an absolute highlight.
We cannot thank our two wonderful drivers Theo and Stephan enough for their patience with endless questions, their excellent driving in very tough conditions and their friendly and caring manner which made it hard to say goodbye at the end of our trip.. The Dadamanga team were contactable if needed and quickly responded with a couple of queries during the four weeks of our adventure.
This was a trip of a lifetime with many memories created and the trip was made as easy and stress free as possible due to the care and attention of the entire Dadamanga team. We intend to adapt the Malagasy saying when we get home “Mora Mora” - take it easy!