Visas
Most travellers will require a visa to enter Madagascar. These can be obtained upon arrival at the airport for a payment of €10 (stays under 15 days) or €20 (16-30 days). Your passport will need to be valid for six months after your exit date from Madagascar, and you will need to show a return plane ticket / booking to obtain the visa. Visa regulations can change and so we recommend that you contact your nearest embassy, or us, for the most up to date information.
Health and vaccinations
We are not medically qualified and so we recommend that you speak to your doctor or nearest health professional for advice concerning recommended vaccinations. For more advice on vaccinations you can also visit www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk.
Insurance
It is a condition of joining our tours that you have suitable travel insurance in place, and we cannot accept travellers without insurance. All policies differ in terms of what they will cover, but as a minimum you need medical and health cover, which will cover you for the whole time that you are away. Most policies will also include cancellation cover, which will cover you if an unforeseen circumstance obliges you to cancel your trip. We recommend that you obtain your insurance as soon as you book your trip.
Please note that government travel warnings often affect the validity of your travel insurance, and you should check this with your insurance company.
Money
The local currency in Madagascar is the ariary, which is not readily obtainable outside of the country. It is best to bring Euros for exchange purposes.
It’s not difficult to change money in Madagascar either at banks or the hotels and your guide can assist with this. There are also an increasing number of ATMs in larger towns. However these are not always reliable and so it is best to think of them as a back up rather than a main means of obtaining money.
Credit cards are accepted in larger hotels and better restaurants (usually in Antananarivo only) but are not commonly accepted elsewhere.
Local conditions
When travelling to some of the destinations we offer you need to bear in mind that things won’t always work here as we’re used to them working at home. Travelling in underdeveloped and untouristed destinations requires both patience and a sense of humour. There may be problems with infrastructure, attitudes may be different, and maintenance may not be as high a standard as we would always like, but this is very much part and parcel of travelling in such a place. We aim to resolve any issues as quickly as possible, and thank you for your patience.
Madagascar is now becoming a relatively popular destination and it is easy to assume that with this comes a greater understanding among local service providers – hotels, restaurants etc – as to what tourists will require. This isn’t always the case, and deeply ingrained cultural norms often mean that things here just won’t be done the same way as they would be at home. This can mean meals arriving late, simple information not being given (because it just isn’t seen as important) or a host of other things. Your tour leader will of course do their best to ensure that things run as smoothly as possible, but do bear in mind that the polished experience of more established African destinations such as Kenya won’t always be found here.
You should also be aware that in the more remote destinations, some hotels will not have mains electricity and will rely on generators for electricity. Typically these operate at fixed times in the mornings and evenings and so in the middle of the day you may not have access to power.
In addition to this, Air Madagascar sometimes changes the schedule of its flights, often at short notice. Should this happen we will do our best to manage your itinerary as efficiently as possible, with minimal disruption, but please bear in mind that this is very much beyond our control and it is usually not possible to change hotel bookings close to departure, so this may result in minor changes to your trip.
Travel advice
We keep a very close eye on the travel advice issued by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office so that we can keep you up to date with any warnings. At the time of writing the FCO does not advise against travel to any of the parts of Madagascar that we visit.
This relates to advice from the British government – other nationalities need to check the stance of their own governments.
Please note that the information contained above is highly susceptible to change, and while we endeavour to keep up to date we recommend that you use this as a guide only. Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Updated July 2023