Day 1: ANTANANARIVO

After passport control, one of our staff members will be waiting for you at the arrivals terminal to transfer you by private car to your hotel in Antananarivo.
 

Day 2: ANTANANARIVO – ANTSIRABE

Breakfast at the hotel.
Departure for Antsirabe. Stop in Ambatolampy (68 km): visit to a small aluminium recycling workshop.
Continue through the beautiful highlands of central Madagascar, with landscapes of terraced rice fields and picturesque small villages.
In Antsirabe: visit to a miniature rickshaw workshop, an embroidery workshop, zebu horn craft workshop, and a lapidary shop where precious stones are cut.
 

Day 3: ANTSIRABE – AMBOSITRA

Breakfast at the hotel.
Pousse-pousse (the Malagasy name for rickshaw) tour in the historic city of Antsirabe, known as Madagascar’s "spa town."
Departure for Ambositra, the capital of Malagasy handicrafts. Along the way, enjoy rolling landscapes and scenes of daily life typical of the highlands.
 

Day 4: AMBOSITRA – RANOMAFANA

Breakfast at the hotel.
Ambositra offers an excellent opportunity to admire the richness of precious wood crafts such as rosewood and ebony. This is the region of the Zafimaniry ethnic group, whose woodcrafting art is listed as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Visit to local artisan workshops.
Departure for Ranomafana. The landscape will gradually change as we travel from the highlands to the lush eastern tropical rainforests of Madagascar.
 

Day 5: RANOMAFANA

Breakfast at the hotel.
Visit to Ranomafana National Park. This UNESCO World Heritage Site boasts dense vegetation (palms, orchids, bamboos, and ferns). It is also a sanctuary for many lemur species, including the famous bamboo lemur.

Suggestion:
The name Ranomafana means “hot water,” referring to the natural hot springs in the area. The Ranomafana thermal station spreads over a wooded area along the river. There are about fifteen private bathing rooms with tubs. These thermal waters have great healing properties and help with ailments such as rheumatism. Massage services are available. A large outdoor pool of about twenty meters, filled with natural ferruginous water at 38°C, is also available. (Entrance fee not included.)

In the afternoon, optional night walk with a local naturalist guide. Using flashlights, you can spot nocturnal lemurs (mouse lemurs), sleeping chameleons, tree frogs, etc. The tour takes place outside the park along the road bordering the forest. (Night walk not included.)
 

Day 6: RANOMAFANA – AMBALAVAO

Breakfast at the hotel.
Departure toward Ambalavao. On the way, visit the city of Fianarantsoa with a panoramic view of its beautiful old town. Continue to Ambalavao.
 

Day 7: AMBALAVAO

Breakfast at the hotel.
Visit to the workshop where the famous Antemoro paper is made. This paper is crafted from the bark of a tree called Avoho and is considered the "Malagasy papyrus."
Visit to the private Anja Reserve. A short 2-hour hike to observe ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur Catta), enjoy panoramic views, and discover endemic medicinal plants.

In the afternoon, walking tour of the town of Ambalavao, including a panoramic walk through the rice fields. We will visit the wild silk weaving workshop. To produce silk, the cocoons are treated with hot water or steam before the moth emerges, preventing the cocoon from breaking. Several cocoons are then combined. Because the natural silk glue binds the filaments, a raw silk thread is formed.
 

Day 8: AMBALAVAO – RANOHIRA

Breakfast at the hotel.
Departure for Ranohira. From Ambalavao, the landscape changes from mountainous highlands with massive granite boulders to the mid-altitude plateau of Ankaramena, then to the vast Ihorombe savannah before reaching Ranohira.
Do not miss the typical villages of the Bara tribe, surrounded by living cactus fences. Another highlight is the Bishop’s Hat, an enormous granite rock visible from 40 km away before reaching Ihosy, the main town of the region.
Sunset at the Window of Isalo, a natural rock opening.
 

Day 9: RANOHIRA

Breakfast at the hotel.
Visit to Isalo National Park. One of the highlights of the tour, the park offers breathtaking scenery. The hike takes you through beautiful landscapes of endless sandstone mountains shaped like ruins. The natural swimming pool, lemur canyons, and waterfalls make Isalo one of Madagascar’s top destinations. Lemurs often appear along the paths, and more than 75 bird species inhabit the forest and plains.

Suggested evening activity: step outside the hotel and admire the magical Milky Way and thousands of bright stars above Isalo National Park—one of the best stargazing spots in the country.
 

Day 10: RANOHIRA – TULEAR – IFATY

Breakfast at the hotel.
Departure for Tuléar, passing through sapphire-mining villages. First glimpse of baobab trees and the decorated tombs of the Mahafaly ethnic group.
Visit to the seashell market, where locals sell all kinds of decorative items made from shells. Continue toward the beautiful fishing village of Ifaty, where stunning beaches await along the Mozambique Channel, next to the world’s third-largest coral reef. Free afternoon on the beach.
 

Day 11: IFATY

Breakfast at the hotel.
Visit to the spiny forest of Mangily, inland from Ifaty. This 0.6 km² forest is filled with baobabs, endemic xerophytic plants, and several bird species. It is of great interest for both birdwatchers and botany enthusiasts. Two of Madagascar’s most endangered birds—the long-tailed ground-roller and the subdesert mesite—are often seen here during early morning birdwatching walks. There are two circuits: one lasting 45 minutes to 1 hour, and another lasting 1½ to 2 hours. There is also a lemur rescue center, where some animals are in enclosures and others in semi-wild habitats before being released.

Free afternoon.
Optional activities available: snorkeling or diving on the world’s third-largest coral reef; try a traditional wooden fishing canoe (pirogue) trip on Ifaty Bay; quad biking on the sand dunes; etc.
 

Day 12: IFATY – TULEAR – ANTANANARIVO (Domestic flight)

Breakfast at the hotel.
Free morning on the beach.
Transfer to the airport. Flight to Antananarivo. Pick-up and transfer to the hotel.
Visit to city markets; opportunity to buy souvenirs.
 

Day 13: ANTANANARIVO – RETURN FLIGHT (International flight)

Breakfast at the hotel.
Visit to the Queen’s Palace, built on one of the highest hills of Antananarivo and visible from almost everywhere in the city. It is a sacred place for the Malagasy people, containing the former residences of kings and queens, as well as royal tombs. Closed for 16 years after a fire in 1996, it reopened in June 2023 with a fantastic historical museum inside. The viewpoint next to the palace offers wonderful city views.
Transfer to the airport. Return flight.