Stay Safe and Travel Confidently: Security in Madagascar After Recent Unrest

  Extremely well planned and professional- fully recommend - Honestly I’ve not encountered a tour operator that is so well organized end to end, starting from the request for a customized itinerary to the last day at the airport.... read more Everyone is polite professional and competent. They don’t just “tick the checkboxes”. There is a whole team working in the background throughout the trip ensuring that we get to visit everywhere we requested, that there are enough buffer times in case of heavy traffic, that one is safe throughout the trip. All drivers are friendly, and put your enjoyment, comfort and safety as first priority. Madagascar is a wonderful country and I am truly glad I chose Dadamanga for travels- absolutely no regrets.

  Visit Madagascar with Dadamanga!!  - Wonderful experience with Dadamanga from start to finish. The team helped us plan our itinerary based on our interests and gave us wonderful alternatives for things that were not possible... read more with the amount of time we had in Madagascar. We were very impressed with the service, and quality of hotels and experiences and the country as a whole. Memories for a lifetime. I hope we can come back and visit other regions and if we are able we would definitely use Dadamanga again. Thank you!

  Wonderful custom tour of Madagascar  - The research for our Madagascar trip started about 10 months before our departure date. The TripAdvisor forum was a great source of information as was, of course, Google. We started... read more by contacting about 10 different tour companies and individual guides recommended in the forum and finally narrowed it to one company – Dadamanga – as they were the only company that really listened to our requirements and offered great solutions. They were fabulous with helping us achieve a tour that covered all of our main requirements of seeing fauna and flora. We were SO happy we chose them. The entire Dadamanga team is FABULOUS and their care and concern for their clients is second to none! At the start of our trip, Dadamanga set up a group WhatsApp chat with us and their whole team. This meant that throughout the trip, we had access to support from the team, including Brett himself. The reassurance of having someone available at all times was incredibly comforting – and unfortunately we had to use this contact very early on in our trip (more below!)

If you know anyone considering a trip to Madagascar, tell them to go no further than Dadamanga when getting someone to help organize their trip.

Our Madagascar tour started in the capital Antananarivo. We were met at the airport by an English speaking guide who helped us exchange money and drove us to our hotel for the first night. We then flew from Antanarivo to Tolanaro (Fort Dauphin) in the South of Madagascar to visit the Berenty Reserve which is approximately 80kms west of the town. Berenty Reserve is a private wildlife reserve, focused on lemur research. It comprises diverse habitats and is home to six lemur species including the ring-tailed and Verraux sifaka. It is known for being one of the best spots to view these confident and habituated lemurs at close range. And it didn’t disappoint, with multiple lemurs everywhere (including inside your room if you forget to close your door!

From Berenty we drove back to Tolanaro (Fort Dauphin) where we were scheduled to fly to Tana and next day fly west to Morondava. However we had a bit of an “experience” with our flights! Our flight from the south back to Tana was due to leave at around 8 pm so we arrived at the airport with plenty of time to check in. We then were notified that the flight was delayed until around 10 pm. Then it was announced that it had been cancelled! The next available flight was 3 am. Then within about 15 minutes, it was announced 3 am flight was now changed to 4:15 am! So we were sitting in the boarding lounge of the tiny domestic airport at 9 pm with a flight that wasn’t due to leave until 4 am. We managed to contact the wonderful Dadamanga team and they were fabulous. We had 3 people helping to sort out a solution for us not bad for that hour of night. They organised a driver to come and collect us. They organised a hotel for us for a few hours. They organised for the driver to then return us to the airport. They are such an amazing team! There’s simply no substitute for this kind of support and we are so lucky that we chose them.

Next morning, our flight to the west (Morondava) was on time (whew!!!) and we were met at the airport by our lovely driver Fano. From there we headed north about 60kms to our accommodation Akiba Lodge Marofandilia. We had been warned that Madagascan roads were bad but now we experienced our first one!

The area here is known for its majestic baobab trees and it also hosts a unique biodiversity of mammals including the elusive Fossa, Madagascar's largest carnivore. We did a night walk in the forest next to our accommodation and managed to see some mouse lemurs. Next morning we drove to Kirindy Reserve and saw even more lemurs and a few chameleons. However, we were unlucky and didn’t manage to see a Fossa, which is what the reserve is famous for.

After staying the night at Kirindy, we returned to Morondava and began our drive towards the east of the island. It's a long slow drive as the roads in Madagascar are VERY pot-holed! In places the bitumen has completely disappeared and all that's left of the road are giant holes that the driver has to navigate his way around. At times we average only about 10 km/hr as we weave around the holes. And this is a MAJOR HIGHWAY! It's the main road connecting the capital city with Morondava - Highway 34! The drive east is a scenic journey that traverses a variety of landscapes, from dry, arid areas to lush, highland terrain and passes through small villages of wooden or mud huts with thatched roofs, and small market towns. We stopped overnight half-way in a town called Miandrivazo and next day continued on our way through small villages and towns, along pot-holed roads and over large rivers with huge bridges. At one bridge Fano showed us the local people smashing the river rocks into powder to fill buckets. Evidently this river contains gold and people are paid around 10 cents per 20kg bucket of rock powder that they sell to the mining company for processing for gold.

Just before Antsirabe, we stopped to visit the beautiful Lake Tritriva. It lies within a dormant volcanic cone, which gives the lake its distinctive and striking appearance. Tritriva is considered one of Madagascar’s most beautiful volcanic lakes due to its almost perfectly circular shape and deep blue-green water.

Finally we reached Antsirabe, a chaotic, highland city which is a jumble of rickshaws, beggars and some of the best crafts in Madagascar. Many of Antsirabe’s buildings date back to French colonial times. We took a traditional "pousse pousse" rickshaw tour of the town to see its varied colonial buildings and colourful markets, which was fun.

From Antsirabe we continued to head east with wonderful views of the rural Malagasy highlands, the architecture of traditional houses, the rice fields and various farming techniques specific to the various places we passed. In the early evening we arrived at our stopover point, just outside Antananarivo.

Next morning we continued on our way to Andasibe. We made a stop along the way to visit the Réserve Peyrieras Madagascar Exotic where we saw (and hand fed banana!) a couple of Coquerel's Sifaka lemurs. However the highlight here is the variety of chameleons. They are AMAZING! We also saw a few iguanas, geckos, and frogs.

Finally we reached our next overnight stop in Andasibe, located next to the Analamazaotra National Park. On our first evening, we went for a short night walk along the road next to the national park, but didn't manage to see any lemurs. However we did see a very cute frog! Next morning we headed off into the park to try and locate some of the lemur species that live there, including the rare indri, Madagascar's largest lemur. We had an amazing time and saw a total of 5 lemur species thanks to our wonderful guide, Etienne.

After visiting the national park, we headed for another private reserve, Vakona Reserve to see even more lemurs.

The last stop of our trip was on the east coast of Madagascar - the Palmarium Reserve. To reach here, we drove to the coast and then caught a small ferry to the reserve. It was a sad time getting on the ferry as it meant saying farewell to our wonderful driver and guide, Fano, who had driven us from west to east across the island. Fano's depth of knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, the history, geography, culture, flora and fauna of Madagascar was amazing. He was the "icing on the cake" of our Madagascan adventure as we learned so much from him in our days spent travelling.

The isolation of Palmarium Reserve means it is one of the few places in Madagascar where it is possible to come very close to some of the least timid, free-ranging and tame lemur species on the island, including the largest lemurs, the Indri. In fact, you don’t need to go in search of lemurs at all they are all around the accommodation and restaurant areas and are very curious and not at all frightened of humans! We also managed to see the rare and endangered lemur species - the world’s largest and weirdest nocturnal primate, the Aye-aye. It has the face of a possum, teeth of a mouse, ears of a bat and very strange middle finger!

Misoatra to the entire Dadamanga team for an amazing holiday!

  Perfect trip with Dadamanga!  - We just returned from our 2 weeks tour of Madagascar. We decided to go with Dadamanga after reading positive reviews and we didn't regret our decision. Everything was beautifully orchestrated... read more and thought through. We had excellent guides and flawless pick up and transfer services. We are already thinking about a return trip and will definitely use Dadamanga services again. Thank you!

  An Unforgettable Journey with Dadamanga!  - What an incredible experience! I travel quite a bit, but I’ve never experienced such professional preparation and support throughout a trip. The Dadamanga team took care of everything — super... read more quick responses, smooth organization, and great communication the whole way through. Honestly, five stars all the way! ⭐️

Madagascar itself completely blew me away — stunning landscapes, unique wildlife, amazing plants, and such a rich culture.

Experiencing it with Dadamanga made it even more special. I’m deeply grateful for the memories and can’t recommend them highly enough! 🙏

  Madagascar adventure - My friend and I took a 2 week trip through Madagascar with Dadamanga. It was an excellent itinerary with an opportunity to see a large selection of the diverse and... read more beautiful country. The hotels were great and our driver Tojo was fantastic- not only a very safe and conscientious driver but an excellent companion to share our adventure. I would highly recommend it.

  Amazing travel planning! Our trip was full of site seeing with many moving parts that Dadamanga perfectly organized.  - If you’re looking for a great team of people to work with for planning a trip to Madagascar, they’re amazing! We had many destinations in a small amount of time.... read more Having their expertise in transportation was such a huge factor in making our trip go smoothly. Our main Guide named Malala was the absolute best!! She was extremely knowledgeable and was a true delight to be with. Our drivers were all excellent. The private plane was also great. We felt safe our entire trip. I appreciate that they made sure our trip was as perfect as it could be. We couldn’t be happier! Thank you to the Dadamanga Team you all are awesome!

  15 -Days- Journey through the very Best of Madagascar  - After 2 weeks in east Africa mesmerized by the beauty of the Masai Mara, the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro, and super excited by our Gorila Trekking in Rwanda, we jumped to... read more the island country of Madagascar to start our 2- week- Journey -more than 3000 km through out Madagascar. We have contacted Brett, the owner of Dadamanga, back in 2023. From the very beginning his relied to our emails were flawless: attentive, informative and prompt. He created a fabulous itinerary including all the must see places and ending our trip up north in the God- country of Nosy Be, specifically in Nosy Komba where we relaxed and recharged before flying back home to California.
On September 2, 2025 we arrived to Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, and then flew to the west coastal town of Morondova to start our journey where we met our driver( guide- travel companion and friend) Mr. Tojo. He is not only an excellent super safety-driver, but he is an excellent person who made the long notoriously precarious Madagascar's Road a little bit easier to endure and easier to forget once you arrive to your destination! He is humble, respectful, funny and a good ambassador for his beloved country of Madagascar ! Our lodges along the way were top-high-end accommodations providing top services and gourmet quality foods,
If you are an adventurous traveler, who want to see the most amazing endemic plants and animals as well beautiful scenery and insanely beautiful whites beaches, and crystal blue ocean , please come to Madagascar You certainly won't be disappointed Get in touch with Dadamanga and you will be in good hand with Mr. Tojo on the driver seat! You will be well- taken care off. But don't forget to pack a pinch of positive attitude and a big smile as well!

  Cannot imagine a better trip!  - The drop down list for what we did doesn’t show it. We did a 9 day private tour of 4 National Parks and more for the 2 of us. ... read more /> We couldn't imagine a more perfect visit to Madagascar!
Our guide Herijaona (John) was amazing. His knowledge of the flora, fauna, National Parks, local culture and history was expansive. Our drivers and park guides were all excellent. This was a 9 day private tour for the two of us and small airplane flights were recommended and were so worth the cost! We spent 1-2 hours in each flight and saved many days of driving. The lodges were great and ranged from rustic to luxurious (Relais de la Reine near Isalo National Park is not to be missed and we enjoyed two nights there). Our days were extensively planned and full (the detailed itinerary was unlike I have ever seen). We saw Baobab "Alley" by day as well as sunrise and sunset and the photos are unbelievable.
This was our first trip to the country and after an extensive search of tour providers I found DadaManga. their multi page intake form made me know they would tailor the trip to our needs. We didn't know what to see in the country and left it to DadaManga and it was perfect. We saw lemurs within 10 minutes of visiting our first park and continued to see them often in all parks. Tsingy Park with the limestone pinnacles was otherworldly. The Malagasy people were welcoming and wonderful. Truly a memorable trip and we had just spent the 3 wks prior on safaris in Kenya!
I am tempted to one day see other parts of the country and would definitely use DadaManga.