When to go to Nosy Be?
→ The detailed month-by-month page, with real weather records
Best time: May to November
At a glance
Why go to Nosy Be?
Nosy Be packs into 30 km what Madagascar usually takes three weeks of dirt tracks to deliver: lemurs within arm's reach, primary forest, intact coral reefs and white-sand beaches. The island is a direct 1h30 flight from Antananarivo, which makes it the country's easiest gateway, and the only place where you can unpack for a week without changing hotel every night. The roads are paved, taxis are plentiful and French is spoken everywhere.
The sea is the real draw. The Mozambique Channel is warm and calm here from May to November, and the dry season coincides with two big events: humpback whales from July to September, which come to calve in the bay, then whale sharks from October to December, watched while snorkelling at the surface. In between, the green turtles of Sakatia graze their seagrass beds two metres down all year round. The dive centres are reliable, and the Tanikely reef can be explored with a mask and snorkel.
Then there is the island itself, often overlooked by those who never leave Ambatoloaka beach. Ylang-ylang plantations scent the roads of the interior, the eleven crater lakes of Mont Passot remain sacred, and Hell-Ville market sells pepper and vanilla by weight. On a scooter hired for the day, you can cross the island from north to south in an hour, stopping at distilleries and fishing villages whose rhythm has not changed in a long time.
Map of Nosy Be: what is where?
The map shows the 6 places covered in this guide, to picture the distances and plan your route.
- Nosy Komba
- Nosy Tanikely
- Nosy Iranja
- Mont Passot
- Lokobe National Park
- Ambatoloaka
How much does a trip to Nosy Be cost?
Nosy Be costs more than the rest of Madagascar because of domestic flights and boat excursions, but stays affordable once you are there: a simple room, tuk-tuks and a plate of fish fit within €40 a day. It is the sea trips and diving that push the bill up.
| Style | Per day | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | €40-60/day | Guesthouse in Ambatoloaka, gargotes, shared taxis, one combined excursion during the week |
| Comfort | €90-140/day | Beach hotel with pool, scooter, two or three excursions and a dive trip |
| Premium | €220+/day | Lodge on an islet, private boat transfers, daily diving and a whale shark trip |
The ariary is the only legal tender, but hotels and excursion operators display their prices in euros and accept them in cash. Three banks in Hell-Ville have cash machines, capped at around 400,000 ariary per withdrawal, or €80. Cards are only accepted in upmarket hotels. Arrive with euros in small notes and change as you go.
Is Nosy Be safe?
Nosy Be is safer than most regions of Madagascar, but a few precautions are in order. Avoid walking at night on the beaches and on the road between Ambatoloaka and Madirokely, where bag snatchings are reported, and take a tuk-tuk even for a kilometre. Leave nothing of value in your bungalow and keep your passport and money in the hotel safe. At sea, choose registered excursions with life jackets: the crossing to Iranja is on the open sea and the wind picks up in the afternoon. Malaria is present all year, so preventive treatment and an effective repellent are essential. Hell-Ville hospital handles routine cases; a serious emergency means evacuation to Antananarivo or Réunion, hence the value of repatriation insurance. Finally, prostitution is visible in Ambatoloaka in the evening, and the Malagasy authorities prosecute sex tourism severely.
What to see and do in Nosy Be
- Nosy Komba
- Nosy Tanikely Marine Reserve
- Nosy Iranja
- Mont Passot
- Lokobe National Park
- Andilana Beach
- Hell-Ville Market
- Nosy Sakatia
Nosy Komba
The island of lemurs, a 622-metre volcano twenty minutes from Hell-Ville, with no roads. In the village of Ampangorina, the black lemurs come down from the trees at the first banana, protected by an ancestral taboo. Behind the huts, a path climbs through vanilla, coffee and forest to viewpoints over Nosy Be. The village embroiderers sell openwork tablecloths on the beach. Most visitors stay two hours; those who sleep over, in one of the small lodges on the west coast, discover a quiet island once the boats have gone.
Nosy Tanikely
A national park since 2011, this 200-metre islet has a century-old lighthouse on top and a fringing reef all around. Turtles, rays, clownfish and shoals of fusiliers glide between three and ten metres down, a few strokes from the beach. Visitor numbers are capped and fishing is banned, which explains the density of marine life. Excursions stop here in the morning, when the water is clearest, before heading on to Nosy Komba for lunch. The climb to the lighthouse takes a quarter of an hour and gives a 360-degree view over the archipelago.
Nosy Iranja
40 km to the south-west, two islets joined by a 1.5 km white sandbank that emerges at low tide. The larger island has a fishing village and a metal lighthouse dating from 1909, the smaller one a hotel and nesting sites for hawksbill turtles. The crossing takes an hour and a half by speedboat. It is Nosy Be's postcard image and the most popular trip, which explains the higher prices. Check the tide times before booking: without the sandbank showing, the day loses much of its appeal.
Mont Passot
The island's high point, 329 metres, in the middle of a plateau of eleven crater lakes. The viewpoint overlooks the whole west coast and is the place to be at sunset, when the light falls on the islets of Sakatia and Iranja. The sacred lakes are home to crocodiles and are not for swimming. A two-hour waymarked trail circles them through savannah and plantations. The road is paved from Hell-Ville, 20 km, and can be done by scooter, taxi or tuk-tuk. In the morning, the mist in the craters is also worth the trip.
Lokobe National Park
The 740 hectares of primary forest left on the island, in the south-east, reached by outrigger canoe from the village of Ambatozavavy. The Nosy Be sportive lemur, endemic and nocturnal, can be spotted by day asleep in a hollow trunk. The village guides also find boas, panther chameleons and the country's smallest frog. Paddling through the mangroves takes 45 minutes, and the outing ends with a meal in a local home. Allow half a day, early in the morning for the cool and the animals' activity.
Ambatoloaka
The resort village on the south-west coast, 10 km from Hell-Ville, where hotels, dive centres, restaurants and bars cluster. The beach is decent without being the island's finest, but this is where most excursions and dive trips leave from. Madirokely, just to the north, extends the resort with quieter addresses. In the evening, the single street stays lively until late, with a visible share of sex tourism that the authorities are trying to curb. A tuk-tuk to Hell-Ville costs less than €3.
How many days, and which itinerary?
A week allows three sea trips, a forest day at Lokobe, Mont Passot and two beach days without rushing. Five days is still doable by stringing excursions together, while ten days leave room for a night on Nosy Komba or Sakatia and a dive trip to the Mitsio islands.
🗺️ Day-by-day itinerary · 📓 Free printable Nosy Be guide (PDF) · 🌍 All of Madagascar
The essentials (5 days)
Day 1: arrival, Ambatoloaka beach and sunset. Day 2: Nosy Komba and Nosy Tanikely on a combined excursion. Day 3: Lokobe in the morning by canoe from Ambatozavavy, Hell-Ville market in the afternoon. Day 4: a day trip to Nosy Iranja, timed for low tide. Day 5: scooter to Andilana, an ylang-ylang distillery, sunset on Mont Passot. A single base at Ambatoloaka or Madirokely.
Nosy Be in depth (1 week)
The same core as the essentials, plus a morning snorkelling with the turtles at Sakatia, a try dive or two dives on the Tanikely reef, and a night on Nosy Komba to see the island without the day boats. Between July and September, add a humpback whale trip; between October and December, a whale shark outing offshore. Keep a free day at the end of the stay for Andilana beach, a grilled fish lunch and Hell-Ville market with no clock to watch.
Nosy Be and the north (2 weeks)
A week on Nosy Be in the format above, then a 30-minute boat transfer to Ankify and the road north by 4x4 with a driver: the tsingy and caves of Ankarana, Diego Suarez and the Emerald Sea, the rainforest of Amber Mountain and its waterfalls. Fly back from Diego Suarez to Antananarivo. The most complete format for seeing dry forest, tsingy, sea and lemurs in one trip, keeping the beaches for the first week.
Getting there and getting around
Air France and Ethiopian fly to Antananarivo, followed by a 1h30 domestic flight to Fascene, the island's airport. On certain days Ethiopian also offers a connection in Addis Ababa straight to Nosy Be, which avoids the capital.
On the island, yellow shared taxis cost under a euro per ride in town, tuk-tuks €2-3 between Hell-Ville and Ambatoloaka, and scooters can be hired for €15-20 a day. The main roads are paved; the tracks to the north-east beaches much less so.
The islets are reached by motorised pirogue or speedboat from Ambatoloaka, Hell-Ville and Sakatia beach. Expect €40-60 for a combined Komba-Tanikely day and €60-80 for Iranja, with a grilled fish lunch included.
For the mainland, a boat links Hell-Ville to Ankify in 30 minutes, from where bush taxis and 4x4s head to Ambanja and Diego Suarez. The crossing costs around €5 by shared speedboat, more if you charter it.
Where to stay in Nosy Be?
Guesthouses and small hotels in Ambatoloaka and Madirokely, €25-45 a night, often with a fan only. This is the best starting point for excursions and the only area with any nightlife.
Beach hotels with a pool, €70-120, in Madirokely, Andilana or on the west coast facing Sakatia. Breakfast is included, and half board is often offered given the lack of restaurants outside the resorts.
Lodges and resorts at €150-300, in Andilana, on Nosy Komba or on Sakatia. The price usually includes boat transfers, sometimes excursions, and peace and quiet once the day visitors have left.
There are no organised campsites on the island, and wild camping on the beaches is not advised. Homestay bungalows on Nosy Komba, €15-30 a night with a fish dinner, make a better alternative to a tent for a night or two off the beaten track, with no hot water or round-the-clock electricity.
Our places to stay, stop by stop, at three budgets →
What to eat in Nosy Be?
Grilled fish, squid and mangrove crab on the beaches and in the gargotes (local eateries), €4-8 a plate with rice. Romazava, a zebu broth with leafy greens, and ravitoto with pork are everyday Malagasy dishes.
The island's spices find their way onto the plate: wild pepper, vanilla in desserts, prawn curry with coconut milk. The restaurants of Ambatoloaka and Madirokely serve Franco-Malagasy cooking at €8-15 a dish.
Rhum arrangé is sipped everywhere, infused with vanilla, ginger or lychee, for around €1 a glass. The local THB beer sells for €1.50 in bars, and fresh fruit juice beats imported fizzy drinks.
At Hell-Ville market, mangoes, lychees in December and passion fruit cost a few cents. Imported products such as cheese or wine are expensive and scarce, so best to do without them here.
Entry requirements
EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports all need a tourist visa, for up to 15, 30 or 60 days: buy it online at evisamada-mg.com before you fly, or at the airport on arrival. Your passport must be valid for six months after arrival, with two blank pages, and an onward or return ticket.
Rules change: check your own government's travel advice before you go.
Frequently asked questions about Nosy Be
When is the best time to visit Nosy Be?
From May to November, during the dry season: calm seas, clear skies, 28-32°C. July to September for humpback whales, October to December for whale sharks. From January to March, the rains are heavy and cyclones are possible, and several hotels close in February.
How many days should you spend on the island?
A week is the right length: three sea trips, a day at Lokobe, Mont Passot and two beach days. In five days, you will have to string the excursions together. Beyond ten days, combine it with northern Madagascar, reached by boat and then by road from Ankify.
Can you see whale sharks and whales?
Yes, and it is one of the reasons to choose Nosy Be. Humpback whales pass through from July to September and are watched from the boats. Whale sharks frequent the open water from October to December and are seen while snorkelling at the surface. Expect €70-90 per trip, with no guarantee of a sighting.
Is there malaria on Nosy Be?
Yes, all year round, peaking during the rainy season. Preventive treatment prescribed before departure, an effective repellent in the evening and a mosquito net are essential. No vaccine is compulsory, except yellow fever if you are coming from a risk area, and hepatitis A and typhoid are recommended.
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