Welcome to Madagascar. We are warmly met at Ivato airport and transferred to our hotel in Antananarivo. Balance of the day is free. Perhaps, depending on your arrival time, you may want to visit the handicrafts market.

Overnight: Palissandre Hotel & Spa/Radisson Water Front Hotel, Antananarivo (1 night)

In the morning, we will start our journey with a drive to Andasibe through the green and luxuriant vegetation of eastern Madagascar. This brings us to a very humid part of the country, with many primary forests and lakes. Along the way, we will see Merina villages spread in the rocky mountains. We arrive at Andasibe. In the afternoon, visit VOIIMA community reserve. Here, we’ll come across a variety of wildlife, ranging from brown lemurs and indri to geckos, chameleons and birds. The reserve provides a livelihood for local communities through reforestation projects. Afterwards, continue to hotel. This evening, embark from our hotel at approximately 6:00 PM (depending on the season) on a night walk to observe active lemurs and other nocturnal animals.

Overnight: Mantadia Lodge/Andasibe Cyperus Hotel, Andasibe (1 night) (B)

Morning we take an interesting excursion to the Special Reserve of Andasibe to look for Indri indri, the largest type of lemur. We may also have the chance to spot many other species, such as the beautiful golden crowned diadem Sifaka, Black and White ruffed lemurs, reptiles, insects and batrachians. This primary forest includes ferns, lichens, epiphyte orchids, medicinal plants and precious woods. In the afternoon, we transfer back to Antananarivo.

Overnight: Palissandre Hotel & Spa/Radisson Water Front Hotel, Antananarivo (1 night) (B)

We head south to Antsirabe, across the highland landscape with its beautiful rice fields on display. The spectacular eroded hills called “lavaka” remind us of the Far East with its rice fields and green landscape with vegetables and fruit trees. We stop in Ambatolampy for a quick visit to this huge agricultural city, also recognized as the capital of aluminum recycling. Arrival in Antsirabe in the late afternoon. “The place of salt” is an elegant city known as the centre of the beer industry - we can smell the Star Brewery as we enter the town! Founded by Norwegians in 1856, it is the only place in Madagascar which really feels and looks like a European city.

Overnight: Plumeria Hotel/Arotel, Antsirabe (1 night) (B)

Another culturally rich day as we journey to Ranomafana with a stop in Ambositra, the capital of Malagasy handcrafts and the mecca of Savika, a spectacular traditional bullfighting. Ambositra is above all a reflection of the Zafimaniry culture, known as the “people of the forest”. En route, look out for architecture featuring ornately carved wooden balconies and shutters with bright colours. Afternoon, we continue to Ranomafana village and check-in at our hotel. The landscape en route is dominated by rice fields, pine forests, eucalyptus trees and rocky mountains.

Overnight: Setam Lodge/Hotel Thermal, Ranomafana (2 nights) (B)

Covering approximately 40,000 hectares, Parc National de Ranomafana is widely regarded as one of Madagascar’s standout national parks, prized for its rainforest-covered hills and exceptional wildlife diversity. Located about 7 km from Ranomafana village, the park rises from 800 to 1,200 metres in elevation and is shaped by steep forested terrain, crisscrossed by small streams that tumble into the scenic Namorona River. Although some surrounding areas were logged in the past, the park’s eastern reaches still protect significant areas of primary rainforest. Today, guided walks through the park provide opportunities to spot a variety of endemic species, including lemurs, chameleons, and other forest-dwelling wildlife, making it a highlight of any visit to Madagascar. (B)

Returning on the road we came on, we leave Ranomafana and visit a local wine farm for wine tasting near Fianarantsoa, “the city where one learns good things”. Note that visits to the wine farms may not be possible over weekends. The city is the gate to the South, the capital of the Betsileo tribes and the centre of the Catholic religion.
We then head southwards to Ambalavao and visit the Anteimoro Paper Factory, which is a vestige of the Arabian civilisation on the island. Afterwards, we partake in a community-based silk weaving project run by the women's association Soalandy.

We pass through the mountain chain of Andringitra, which serves as a transition between the dry south and green highlands. Along the way, we will see from afar a spectacular huge granite dome with twin rock towers called the Gate of the South, which in fact marks the end of the highland and the beginning of the south. The Bishop's Hat is another noticeable, imposing formation and a sacred location for the local people - a place where their ancestors chose a collective suicide rather than to give in to the Merina tribes. We then continue to Ihosy, the capital of the Bara tribes, who are shepherds of Zebu, and further on through the huge Plateaux de Horombe, with its very deep red soil, before arriving in Isalo.

Overnight: Isalo Rock Lodge/Jardin du Roy, Isalo (2 nights) (B)

Today, we will visit and hike in the Isalo National Park. Along the way, we will see vegetation like Uapaca bojeri, Pachypodium rosulatum or “elephant's foot”, and Aloe isaloensis, a native species of aloe endemic to Isalo. The eroded mountains also served as a place where the Bara kept their dead before they could bury them in their actual tombs.

After climbing for about 20 minutes, we will have a spectacular view of the huge sandstone mountains with their beautiful colours and strange formations. We see small streams of water, and rivers which are marked by lines of brilliant green. Along the way, there may be sifakas, brown lemurs and ring-tailed lemurs, as well as fifty-five species of birds, lizards and snakes. (B)

After breakfast, we continue to Tuléar. This part of our journey brings us to new scenery among the dry forests of the west and the spiny desert of the south. On the way, we admire the different Mahafaly tombs and the Antandroy tombs. After a short visit of Tuléar we drive to Ifaty, which lies in the driest part of the country. Situated in the Deep South, the landscape is dominated by the cactus-like, spiny forest of different euphorbiaceous. We cross the dry and sandy soil where the local people battle to find drinking water. Mangrove trees line the coast alternated by Vezo communities which earn their living from fishing. We will see many small pirogues with men who go out fishing twice a day, while children and women wait on the coast to collect the fish before taking them to Tuléar for sale.

Overnight: Hotel Vovotelo/Dunes d’Ifaty, Ifaty (2 nights) (B)

Ifaty lies on the beach and is an ideal place for diving and snorkeling. It is also a popular place for birdwatchers. Here, we can also experience the Vezo fishermen's life. Many excursions are possible on this leisure day. Visit the Reserve Domergue, a communal conservation area where one can see two kinds of baobabs, spiny bush, and reptiles like boas, geckos and the Chameleon parsoni, which is one of the largest chameleons in the world. In the afternoon, we can walk to the village of Mangily to visit a local school and experience the Vezo fishermen's way of life, especially as they return from fishing. (B)

Early in the morning, we are transferred to Tulear’s airport and fly back to the Antananarivo. Upon arrival, we are transferred to our hotel. The afternoon is free to explore Madagascar’s capital.

Overnight: Radisson Water Front Hotel/Palissandre Hotel & Spa, Antananarivo (1 night) (B)

After an enlightening journey traversing the cultural heritage, wildlife and scenic beauty of Madagascar, we are transferred to the airport for our departure flight. (B)