{"id":3771,"date":"2017-10-23T07:58:09","date_gmt":"2017-10-23T12:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marcyyu.com\/?p=3771"},"modified":"2021-09-11T04:15:57","modified_gmt":"2021-09-11T09:15:57","slug":"marcy-yus-guide-to-madagascar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marcyyu.com\/en\/marcy-yus-guide-to-madagascar\/","title":{"rendered":"A Guide to Madagascar"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hey strangers!!! Hope your week is starting well. Today I\u2019m finally sharing my diary about my adventures in Madagascar where I had the opportunity to explore this beautiful country for a month and a half, discovering amazing places with the tourism board of Madagascar @my_madagascar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In my previous post I mentioned that this destination became super popular since the film was launched where we all imagine another beautiful country in Africa with its wild life right?<\/p>\n

Well let me confess that from the first time I visited Madagascar during March of this year this turned out to be completely different than the movie. Although it is considered an African country, this is a totally opposite country in terms of its culture and its neighboring countries. For starters people have influence from Southeast Asia, so you will find many rice fields all over the country.<\/p>\n

Wild life like in other African countries you will not see here, instead it has a unique mix of endemic wildlife and plant species in a variety of rainforest habitats. This destination is famous for being the home of the adorable Lemurs. It is the fourth largest island on Earth and also has a number of small, outlying islands on its coast.<\/p>\n

Although Madagascar is considered to be one of the poorest countries in the world, this is not an obstacle for you to visit. The truth is that many people (bloggers, influencers and travelers) are used to visiting the classic countries saturated throughout Instagram, but why not leave your comfort zone and visit different and unique places like this beautiful country.\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Many people have this belief that when a country is poor there is much danger because it is not safe and there is nothing to explore, but let me confess that sometimes it turns out to be totally the opposite like in Madagascar. To this day I believe that Madagascar is one of the countries with the greatest potential that I have visited and if its economy comes to improve, for sure it would be the most visited country in Africa because it offers truly unique, paradisiacal destinations that no other country could offer. All the destinations I visited really were out of this world. The culture, the gastronomy and the people are truly amazing!<\/p>\n

If any of you are thinking of exploring this beautiful island I would like to share some things you need to know before you visit:<\/p>\n

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  1. Plan to stay a lot of time: many people say that they visited a country when they really only went to one small part of the country. If you really want to explore a country take your time to explore it and see its beauty with your naked eyes. Madagascar is a huge country and even though there are many undiscovered destinations, the distances are really long to reach them. My recommendation is at least stay 3 weeks as minimum if you really want to see the popular destinations only. Robert and I stayed six.<\/li>\n
  2. There are no 5-4-3 star hotels in the interior of the country: this is something I have to admit that I struggle with a bit. But I would not have done it if I had not traveled with someone like Robert who is an experienced traveler and always says this is how a real experience should be lived. Visiting the interior of the country sometimes required sleeping in small villages or mini hotels near the National Parks that we wanted to visit. Even so, they are not big or famous hotels these were quite clean and provided us with a place to rest and continue with our journey around the country.<\/li>\n
  3. The best time to visit is around June to December: In our case we had to return again because the first time we visited was in March and it was rainy season so many national parks were closed. Avoid going from January to May.<\/li>\n
  4. Try to carry enough money: Although you will find ATMs in the capital or in Nosy Be, in more remote areas there are no ATMs. In these areas people only accept cash. If you find an ATM also these have a limit that in the end you end up having to draw out of them several times.<\/li>\n
  5. Be patient about transportation: the best method of transportation is car. Rent a car to visit some of the best national parks. There are flights with Air Madagascar that is the national airline, but these do not go every day, there are some that are only once or twice a week depending on the destination. In all the month and a half that I was exploring this country I only caught a flight 3 times. If you do not have a lot of time my best recommendation is to rent a car because if not you will end up waiting more time for the flights for many days and for sure with the car you will explore more and it will take you faster. When it comes to renting a car this always comes with your driver so do not be surprised because that’s how they handle it across the country.<\/li>\n
  6. Forget about staying connected: Only the capital and Nosy-Be can find places with good Wi-Fi, it is still difficult to stay connected in the rest of this country.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    As I mentioned I visited Madagascar for almost a month and a half, but I did in 2 periods of time. The first time I came in March where I was around 3 weeks and then in August I also came back around 3 weeks. During my entire journey, I always visited a different place so would like to make a quick guide of the places that should definitely visit:<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>Antananarivo:<\/strong> the beautiful capital of Madagascar known as Tana. Without a doubt after visiting East Africa when I made my first trip to Madagascar this destination made me feel like a mini France. Super quaint with its cute colorful houses, croissants and coffee everywhere. Failing to visit this charming capital would be a mistake, you can learn about its history and culture in various excursions that you can do in the day time. Take into account the traffic that is quite heavy, but you can also distract yourself by visiting colorful markets, nice restaurants or cafes.<\/p>\n

    Where to stay? Tana has a great variety of amazing hotels some of my recommendations are:<\/p>\n