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Anonymous08/25/25, 15:18No.2816795
Hello anons.
I'm flying to Madagascar next week, for a month. Semi-work related, but will mostly backpack around. I'm landing in the capital, will visit Toamasina, Saint Mary's Island, loop around the north and go to Nosy Be.
Anyone been there? What to expect? How to prepare? What to see?
I speak fluent English, Spanish and my native slavic tongue. Will I be able to communicate with expats/some locals?
How dangerous is it in comparison to LatAm?
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Anon08/25/25, 18:22No.2816842
I was there 2013, a while ago. I went south from Tana though. When I was travelling there nobody was travelling during the night due to bandits. Never saw anything and maybe it was to scare us but that's what they said.
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Anon08/25/25, 19:12No.2816850
I don't know but that's cool as hell, will you be doing any eco-tourism? Please take pictures for us
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Anon08/25/25, 21:55No.2816892
Insane how straight that coastline is , ffs.
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Anon08/26/25, 02:38No.2816975
Tsingy De Bemaraha National Park was really interesting.
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Anon09/04/25, 10:55No.2820154
OP again. I wanted to loop around the north to Nosy Be after going to Ile Sainte Marie. Unfortunately I think I'll have to go back through the capital or go through the bush with some local, although idk if that's a good idea.
Pic related, lmao.
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Anon09/06/25, 08:27No.2820851
wow, interesting destination OP. Are you solo travelling?I just recently went to Johannesburg for a few days. Next time I catch that SYD-JNB flight I said I would go visit some of the interesting surrounding countries like Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Madagascar. Please keep us posted.> pick up 18yo prosties.
tell me more...
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Anon09/06/25, 15:03No.2820956
Today I went on a trip to the eastern side of the island - which doesn't have asphalt on the roads and only has wooden hut villages.
We noticed that all the villages are empty - but with people on the road walking in one direction. Finally we got to a village FULL of people. 1000 maybe. Children clapping and singing, women dancing, men drunk as fuck, drinking from rolled up leaves.
I was with the french guy I mentioned in the previous post - he translated all our driver said to us. Basically, when someone important dies and leaves inheritance, they organize a party and people from villages come around, they sacrifice a zebu and eat its meat, have a party and split the inheritance among the members. The "elders" sit in a slightly separate group, drinking a lightly hallucinogenic drink (I have no idea what it's made of) which is reserved only for them. Due to the one hour of sleep I got yesterday, I didn't have the balls to try even the alcohol they were pouring into leaves from gasoline canisters. When I said misaotra the guy just laughed and patted me on the back a couple of times.
Pic rel. I didn't take photos, only videos - this photo was taken by the french friend, hence the different filename.
Then we went on a kayak through the river to an exit into the ocean. Nice beach. One hour one way. On the way back to the accommodation we went through more villages, further from the capital than the previous ones - there children greeted us screaming and waving at us happily.
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Anon09/06/25, 15:11No.2820960
Don't wanna spam three posts in a row but just quick observations:
Western side of Sainte Marie has the best road I've seen in all of Madagascar. One pothole in the 30 km stretch I've seen, in comparison to the fifty potholes on each roundabout in the capital.
Barely any trash on the streets. Huts, houses and shops seem cared for.
I think the locals are a bit richer than main islanders? I've seen more phones with touchscreens here, while most of phones I saw in Toamasina/Tana were dumbphones. No beggars. Sellers of vanilla, pepper and other things leave you be after you say no once.
Locals seem friendlier, but speak almost zero English.
From what locals told me, you can walk alone at night in the capital without any issues whatsoever.
Nature is much nicer.
Honestly I like it much more than anything on the main island.
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Anon09/11/25, 06:40No.2822642
Due to weather conditions we've had a delay.
Leaving tonight for Sainte Marie -> Foulpointe -> Maroantestra -> Bush hike
Will follow anon's advice - the bush hike will take 6-8 days in total, as I'll visit the national park.
Then I'll have a couple of days in the north - but the main destination will be Tana, as my visa runs out on the 28th.
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Anon09/11/25, 11:53No.2822691
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Anon09/12/25, 19:51No.2823105
I'm stuck in Mahavelona/Foulpointe until Sunday. Any activities to recommend other than prosties? I went out today and it seemed pretty dead.
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Anon09/14/25, 10:54No.2823550
I'm slowly getting sick of this place.
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Anon09/22/25, 17:15No.2826303
Go hiking in the stone forest! Exciting times. Let us know how many minutes you survived.
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Anon09/26/25, 08:29No.2827418
Fucking hell, there's riots.
The entire city is pretty much shut down.
I'll look for a way to get out today so I can make it for my flight on the 30th from nosy be.
Fuck
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Anon09/26/25, 10:52No.2827438
Just wanted to say a big thank you to the OP. This thread is incredible, and it's stuff like this which makes /trv/ my favourite board.
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Anon09/26/25, 14:36No.2827486
Update: Hotel de Finance, which is the equivalent of the IRS (even though it's called "Hotel") on the street perpendicular to mine was set on fire. Windows broken with smoke coming out.
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Anon09/27/25, 08:36No.2827724
I seriously need to rediscover my love for adventure. Recently i've been the type of faggot who would would fly into the biggest city of Madagascar, spend all my time in the hotel eating hotel food and fly out just so I can tell bitches that I'm a RealTraveller to get some pussy.Also, what happens in picrel? There's a big airstrip but nothing else...?
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Anon09/28/25, 03:57No.2827975
Talked with some malgasy girl at the place I'm staying. She introduced me to her dad who speaks decent English. We shared some food, talked a bit about everything. They're going to a beach next to the port and I'll be joining them. In 3 hours I'll be on Nosy Be, where I plan to relax for the remaining two days, as my budget is running tight and supposedly everything is very expensive.
Will post some pics.
On an offtopic sidenote, I'd like to recommend a book I finished yesterday - Hundred Years of Solitude. Amazing stuff
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Anon09/28/25, 04:00No.2827977
Fren in Ankarana.
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Anon09/28/25, 04:01No.2827978
Tsingy - Ankarana as well.
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Anon09/28/25, 04:03No.2827979
Another fren.
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Anon09/28/25, 04:05No.2827980
Somewhere between Maroantestra and Masoala. Slept in a tent pitched next to a hut nearby.
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Anon09/28/25, 04:06No.2827981
Fisherman returning to the capital of Sainte Marie at sunset
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Anon09/28/25, 04:07No.2827982
Again, somewhere between Maroantestra and Masoala.
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Anon09/28/25, 04:09No.2827985
Biggest club on Ile aux nattes.
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Anon09/28/25, 04:10No.2827986
Screenshot of a vid of the arrival at Ile aux nattes. Might make a WebM and poast later when Ill be able to use my laptop.
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Anon09/30/25, 19:32No.2828661
Hello anons. My adventure has come to an end, for now.
Thank you all for participating in the thread, I hope you found it at least a bit interesting.
I will keep on visiting it until it goes down, so if you're curious about anything, ask.
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Anon10/01/25, 06:04No.2828854
If you’re still around I’d like to ask—how much of this did you plan? I read the the thread and see you sort of winged it at some points, and I see how unreliable a lot of transport is, so I’d like to know what you were able to successfully plan for.
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Anon10/12/25, 00:46No.2831858
Looks like anon left Madagascar just in time. The protests are only intensifying.https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/11/madagascar-soldiers-join-antigovernment-protesters-assembled-in-capital