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Travel guide
Nosy Be
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: May to November
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Welcome
Nosy Be, in a few days
A volcanic island off the north-west coast of Madagascar that smells of ylang-ylang and pepper from the moment you leave the airport. Around it, a string of islets is reached by motor pirogue: lemurs on Nosy Komba, coral at Tanikely, the sandbar of Nosy Iranja and whale sharks from October to December.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Nosy Komba · half a dayA roadless volcanic island twenty minutes by boat from Hell-Ville, where black lemurs, protected by a traditional taboo, come down for bananas.
- Afternoon · Lokobe National Park · half a dayThe island's last primary forest, usually reached by outrigger canoe, where guides find the Nosy Be sportive lemur, black lemurs, tiny frogs and panther chameleons.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Palm Beach Resort & Spa€90 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Hell-Ville market free · about 1 hThe covered market of the main town, Andoany, selling spices, vanilla pods, wild pepper and ylang-ylang, with fresh tuna and crab in the morning.
- Afternoon · Nosy Tanikely Marine Reserve · half a dayA small protected islet with a lighthouse and a fringing reef, where at five metres you meet green turtles, clownfish, stingrays and sometimes barracuda.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel La Caravelle€70 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Mont Passot · about 1 hA viewpoint above dark crater lakes, sacred and home to crocodiles, looking over the west coast and the islets of Sakatia and Iranja.
- Afternoon · Nosy Sakatia · half a dayA car-free island ten minutes off the west coast, where green turtles graze a seagrass bed you can snorkel straight from the shore.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Palm Beach Resort & Spa€90 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Andilana beach free · half a dayTwo kilometres of white sand at the north-western tip, lined with coconut palms, facing a shallow lagoon that stays calm when the wind rises elsewhere.
- Afternoon · Nosy Iranja · a full dayTwo islets joined by a 1.5 km white sandbar that appears at low tide; the larger has a fishing village and an old lighthouse.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel La Caravelle€70 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Romazava: a broth of beef or zebu with leafy greens, often called the national dish.
- Ravitoto: pounded cassava leaves, cooked slowly with pork.
- Rice: served at every meal, often three times a day, with everything else as its side.
- Zebu and seafood: grilled zebu inland, prawns, crab and fish on the coast.
- Vanilla: the island grows most of the world's supply, so it turns up in sauces as well as desserts, next to fresh juices of tropical fruit.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Distances on the map mean little: roads are slow, so allow far more time than you think.
- Drink bottled water only, and take the antimalarial tablets your doctor prescribes.
- After dark in towns, take a taxi rather than walk, and keep valuables out of sight.
- Buy crafts from local or fair-trade cooperatives, and never anything made of rosewood, tortoiseshell or other protected species.
- Respect the local taboos, called fady, which change from one village to the next: ask your guide what applies.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ Malagasy
| English | Malagasy |
|---|---|
| Hello | Salama |
| Thank you | Misaotra |
| Please | Azafady |
| Yes | Eny |
| No | Tsia |
| Excuse me | Miala tsiny |
| Goodbye | Veloma |
| Do you speak English? | Miteny anglisy ve ianao? |
| I don't understand | Tsy azoko |
| How much is it? | Ohatrinona? |
| Where are the toilets? | Aiza ny efitra fidiovana? |
| The bill, please | Ny faktiora azafady |
| Help! | Vonjeo! |
| Cheers! | Ho ela velona! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyMalagasy ariary (MGA)
BudgetAbout €85 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMay to November
PlugC/D/E/J/K · 220V
Tap waterBottled only
TippingAppreciated, above all by guides and drivers
Emergency117 / 124
EntryEU, 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.
HealthHepatitis A and typhoid are recommended. Malaria is present across much of the island, so antimalarial tablets are advised, and repellent is essential. A yellow fever certificate is only needed if you arrive from a country at risk.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/nosy-be
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.