Madagascar itinerary, day by day

From Antananarivo to the Avenue of the Baobabs, the indri of Andasibe and the beaches of Nosy Be, day by day: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 3, 7 or 14 days📍 3 stops☀️ Best time: April to November

Antananarivo · Photo Tsiandy Ramanitriniony / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Madagascar in 3 days

2 stops · 12 things to do · ≈ 150 km

1Antananarivo

Day 1

The capital, built across hills in the central highlands, with long stairways linking the upper town to the markets below. The Rova, the old royal compound, crowns the highest one.

🎟️ Worth booking

Upper town and the Rova palace, guidedHalf day · from €15
The royal compound of the Merina kings on the city's highest hill, burned in 1995 and still being restored, with the whole city spread below.
Book on GetYourGuide →
La Digue market and local craftsHalf day · from €10
A long row of craft stalls on the airport road: raffia, embroidery, carved wood and semi-precious stones.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The stairways and hills of the old city · Lake Anosy · The hillside neighbourhoods · The flower market

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Madagascar Underground (€15 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Sakamanga (€55 a night) · Luxury: La Varangue (€120 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

L'Arrivage ↗ ★ 4.6 · 187 reviews
Café du Musée ↗ ★ 4.6 · 160 reviews
La Plantation ↗ ★ 4.5 · 279 reviews
Restaurant Le CITIZEN ↗ ★ 4.5 · 241 reviews
La petite Brasserie ↗ ★ 4.5 · 220 reviews

Photo Chen Edison / Pexels

🚗 Car · 3h30 · 150 km

2Andasibe (lemurs)

Days 2-3

Rainforest about three hours east of the capital, home to the indri, the largest living lemur. Its call carries through the canopy every morning.

🎟️ Worth booking

Andasibe park and the indri, guidedHalf day · from €30
A morning walk with a local guide to find the indri families and hear them sing.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Night walkEvening · from €20
By torchlight, looking for mouse lemurs, frogs and chameleons asleep on the branches.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The rainforest · The call of the indri · Chameleons · Wild orchids

🛏️ Where to sleep · Luxury: Mantadia Lodge (€190 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

The Anja Reserve Lodge & Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.9 · 461 reviews

Photo Emilio Sánchez Hernández / Pexels

Madagascar in 7 days

3 stops · 18 things to do · car & flight

1Antananarivo

Days 1-2

The capital, built across hills in the central highlands, with long stairways linking the upper town to the markets below. The Rova, the old royal compound, crowns the highest one.

🎟️ Worth booking

Upper town and the Rova palace, guidedHalf day · from €15
The royal compound of the Merina kings on the city's highest hill, burned in 1995 and still being restored, with the whole city spread below.
Book on GetYourGuide →
La Digue market and local craftsHalf day · from €10
A long row of craft stalls on the airport road: raffia, embroidery, carved wood and semi-precious stones.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The stairways and hills of the old city · Lake Anosy · The hillside neighbourhoods · The flower market

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Madagascar Underground (€15 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Sakamanga (€55 a night) · Luxury: La Varangue (€120 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Chen Edison / Pexels

🚗 Car · 3h30 · 150 km

2Andasibe (lemurs)

Days 3-4

Rainforest about three hours east of the capital, home to the indri, the largest living lemur. Its call carries through the canopy every morning.

🎟️ Worth booking

Andasibe park and the indri, guidedHalf day · from €30
A morning walk with a local guide to find the indri families and hear them sing.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Night walkEvening · from €20
By torchlight, looking for mouse lemurs, frogs and chameleons asleep on the branches.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The rainforest · The call of the indri · Chameleons · Wild orchids

🛏️ Where to sleep · Luxury: Mantadia Lodge (€190 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

The Anja Reserve Lodge & Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.9 · 461 reviews

Photo Emilio Sánchez Hernández / Pexels

✈️ Flight · 1h · to Morondava

3Avenue of the Baobabs (Morondava)

Days 5-7

A dirt road near Morondava lined with Grandidier's baobabs, some several centuries old and around thirty metres tall. People come for the hour before sunset.

🎟️ Worth booking

Sunset on the Avenue of the BaobabsEvening · from €15
The hour when the trunks turn into silhouettes. Arrive early to find your spot before the light goes.
Book on GetYourGuide →
The Baobab Amoureux and Kirindy forestFull day · from €40
Two baobabs twisted around each other, then the dry forest of Kirindy, one of the best places to see the fossa, the largest predator on the island.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Avenue of the Baobabs · Sunset between the trunks · Sakalava villages · Outrigger canoes on the channels

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Chez Maggie (€35 a night) · Luxury: Baobab Café (€160 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

BLEU SOLEIL ↗ ★ 4.4 · 145 reviews
Le Corail ↗ ★ 4.3 · 202 reviews

Photo Herve Meftah / Pexels

Madagascar in 14 days

5 stops · 30 things to do · car & flight

1Antananarivo

Days 1-3

The capital, built across hills in the central highlands, with long stairways linking the upper town to the markets below. The Rova, the old royal compound, crowns the highest one.

🎟️ Worth booking

Upper town and the Rova palace, guidedHalf day · from €15
The royal compound of the Merina kings on the city's highest hill, burned in 1995 and still being restored, with the whole city spread below.
Book on GetYourGuide →
La Digue market and local craftsHalf day · from €10
A long row of craft stalls on the airport road: raffia, embroidery, carved wood and semi-precious stones.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The stairways and hills of the old city · Lake Anosy · The hillside neighbourhoods · The flower market

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Madagascar Underground (€15 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Sakamanga (€55 a night) · Luxury: La Varangue (€120 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Chen Edison / Pexels

🚗 Car · 3h30 · 150 km

2Andasibe (lemurs)

Days 4-6

Rainforest about three hours east of the capital, home to the indri, the largest living lemur. Its call carries through the canopy every morning.

🎟️ Worth booking

Andasibe park and the indri, guidedHalf day · from €30
A morning walk with a local guide to find the indri families and hear them sing.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Night walkEvening · from €20
By torchlight, looking for mouse lemurs, frogs and chameleons asleep on the branches.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The rainforest · The call of the indri · Chameleons · Wild orchids

🛏️ Where to sleep · Luxury: Mantadia Lodge (€190 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

The Anja Reserve Lodge & Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.9 · 461 reviews

Photo Emilio Sánchez Hernández / Pexels

✈️ Flight · 1h · to Morondava

3Avenue of the Baobabs (Morondava)

Days 7-9

A dirt road near Morondava lined with Grandidier's baobabs, some several centuries old and around thirty metres tall. People come for the hour before sunset.

🎟️ Worth booking

Sunset on the Avenue of the BaobabsEvening · from €15
The hour when the trunks turn into silhouettes. Arrive early to find your spot before the light goes.
Book on GetYourGuide →
The Baobab Amoureux and Kirindy forestFull day · from €40
Two baobabs twisted around each other, then the dry forest of Kirindy, one of the best places to see the fossa, the largest predator on the island.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Avenue of the Baobabs · Sunset between the trunks · Sakalava villages · Outrigger canoes on the channels

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Chez Maggie (€35 a night) · Luxury: Baobab Café (€160 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

BLEU SOLEIL ↗ ★ 4.4 · 145 reviews
Le Corail ↗ ★ 4.3 · 202 reviews

Photo Herve Meftah / Pexels

✈️ Flight · 1h30 · heading north

4Nosy Be (islands)

Days 10-13

An island off the north-west coast, scented by its ylang-ylang plantations. Beaches, coral around the smaller islands, and whale sharks offshore in season.

🎟️ Worth booking

Boat trip to Nosy Komba and Nosy TanikelyFull day · from €45
Black lemurs around the village on Nosy Komba, then snorkelling in the marine reserve around Tanikely.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Swimming with whale sharksFull day · from €90
A day at sea looking for them off Nosy Be, roughly from September to December. Good operators limit the numbers in the water and keep their distance.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Andilana beach · Hell-Ville market (Andoany) · Mont Passot at sunset · The ylang-ylang plantations

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Hôtel Gérard et Francine (€30 a night) · Mid-range: Ravintsara Wellness (€150 a night) · Luxury: Constance Tsarabanjina (€480 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Les siciliens ↗ ★ 4.7 · 108 reviews
Bambou Restaurant Ambatoloaka ↗ ★ 4.7 · 105 reviews
Le Papillon ↗ ★ 4.6 · 123 reviews
Beach Klub22 ↗ ★ 4.6 · 115 reviews

Photo Macedo Fotografo / Pexels

✈️ Flight · 1h30 · return

5Antananarivo

Day 14 · return

The capital, built across hills in the central highlands, with long stairways linking the upper town to the markets below. The Rova, the old royal compound, crowns the highest one.

🎟️ Worth booking

Upper town and the Rova palace, guidedHalf day · from €15
The royal compound of the Merina kings on the city's highest hill, burned in 1995 and still being restored, with the whole city spread below.
Book on GetYourGuide →
La Digue market and local craftsHalf day · from €10
A long row of craft stalls on the airport road: raffia, embroidery, carved wood and semi-precious stones.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The stairways and hills of the old city · Lake Anosy · The hillside neighbourhoods · The flower market

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Madagascar Underground (€15 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Sakamanga (€55 a night) · Luxury: La Varangue (€120 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Chen Edison / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

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.

⚠️ What to avoid

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.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Madagascar guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Madagascar, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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