Madagascar Travel Tips

These are my own top ten tips for travelling in Madagascar. There's no guarantee that these will help you survive there, meaning you should consult an official travel guide in addition to this. Also, some of it (e.g. the money estimates) may vary according to your preference and lifestyle.

  1. Forget about the super-comfortable trip in an airconditioned bus that takes you to all major sites in Madagascar. Forget about public transit and roads without holes. You will sit among thirty to fifty Malagasy in a small truck that's fully packed, going from A to B on dirty and bumpy roads for hours. You will encounter all kinds of bad smells - but don't worry, at 35°C, you will develop your own very bad smell. This being said, I believe you will have a great time.
  2. Madagascar is not cheap. Given that you try to find cheap but good hotels, don't eat too much, but still want to see something, you may spend US$300-400 per week if you're alone and US$250-300 per week per person if you're travelling with someone else (that you can share a room with).
  3. Don't drink tap water and don't buy any deep fried food offered in the streets, unless you want to be knocked out by diarrhea for two days. Take some medicine with you for that case (e.g. Mexacaps).
  4. To avoid Cholera, always wash your hands before eating. Do not drink river water or anything you don't know. You can buy water (e.g. Eau Vive, Olympico, etc.) in almost every store. If you have diarrhea and your pills don't work, go to the closest hospital immediately.
  5. Try to minimize chances to catch Malaria. We took Paludrine every day and Resochin (Nivvachine) once a week (ask your doctor about this). Try not to be stung by mosquitos, i.e. wear long sleeves in the evening and put some anti-mosquito sutff (e.g. Autan) on all exposed body parts at night. If you get strong fever, go to a local hospital.
  6. Try to arrive in a town early so you can find a place to stay (unless you already have one).
  7. Be aware of women who want to wash your feet (kidding!).
  8. You must learn to refuse and say "No!". People will ask you for money everywhere, some will pretend to be your friend. If you can't refuse, there goes your money and the people will expect it from the next tourist.
  9. Learn French.
  10. Have fun!