Bicycle Guide to
Madagascar
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OUR EXPERIENCE: We spent 2 months in Madagascar
(Oct-Nov 1999). We were disappointed with our 4 weeks south of Tana but really
enjoyed the following 4 weeks cycling east from Tana and staying on Ile Sainte
Marie. It was not a 'serious adventure' trip because we stayed close to the main
roads so we are not 'experts' but it did give us insight into cycling in
Madagascar.
TO CYCLE OR NOT TO CYCLE? If we were to do it
over again, we would have left our bikes behind to visit the south and would
have cycled (as we did) to Ile Sainte Mairie. Drawbacks to keep in mind about to
cycling include; distances are large (especially in the south), temperatures (no
shade) are high in the south and west, more time is spent cycling than actually
in the reserves/national parks, it means not having a backpack to do overnight
hiking in places like Isalo and it is very difficult (if not impossible) to take
bikes on as luggage on the smaller domestic airplanes. Advantages include the
physical exercise, little traffic outside of Tana, taking it slow, not relying
on taxi-brousse, having wheels for around town and the freedom of the open
road.
EQUIPMENT: We had inexpensive mountain bikes.
Touring bikes would actually be O.K. if you were to stick to the main paved
highways. Semi-slick tires are fine unless you plan to do a lot of dirt/sandy
roads. We used an American self-cleaning chain lubricant (White Lightening
www.whtlight.com) that worked very well in the dust and sand of Madagascar. We
had complete camping gear (tent, sleeping bags, stove, etc.). It is very
possible to tour without camping equipment (we might recommend it), particularly
on the eastern side of Madagascar where there is far more accommodation
available. We found a water filter/pump to be very useful for purifying water
from streams and it paid for itself as compared to buying bottled water which
was not always available ('Pur' brand worked well for us). A portable folding
basin (e.g. Ortlieb brand) was useful for clothes washing, etc. We did not bring
a mosquito net as most (not all) hotels supply them where mosquitoes are a
problem.
MAPS: A 1:2,000,000 map is sufficient for most
trips. We used the 'Cartographia' map purchased at Stanfords in London. The FTM
1:500,000 maps would be essential for off-the-main-roads and they are available
in Tana at places like Hilton hotel bookshop, Champion and even at the Airport
bookshop.
ROADS: The Tana-Tulear (except 40 km just west
of Ihosy) and Tana-Toamasina-Soanierana Ivongo roads are paved and in
surprisingly good condition. The main highways north are probably similar.
Traffic is light and moderate approaching Tana. Drivers are sometimes reckless
(plenty of car and truck wrecks) and they take wide turns but they were almost
always courteous to vazaha (foreigners) on bicycles. Dirt roads can be
incredibly bad and not to be underestimated; a German cyclist we met said his
toughest day was 12 kilometres long.
LANGUAGE: A few words of Malagasy goes a long
way. French is widely understood and there is always someone around that
understands it. English is not. Most tourists are French.
LOCAL TRANSPORTATION: Bicycles are easily taken
on buses, mini-vans and taxi-brousse. Most of the time we paid 50% of the fare
for the bicycles (sometimes nothing). Bicycles can be taken on the larger Air
Madagascar planes (e.g. we flew from Ile Sainte Mairie). Excess baggage (over 20
kilo) fees on flights are around 1USD/kilo, depending on the distance (ours were
waived).
GETTING TO MADAGASCAR: We flew Air Madagascar
from Johannesburg (about 2,200 Rand for a 1 month return and 3,300 Rand for a 2
month return ticket). Not cheap. Flying in with Air Mad entitled us to a one
third discount on domestic flights. The best deal from Europe is with Corsair
from Paris.
BIKE SHOPS: We saw plenty of bike shops
(kiosks) and repair shops throughout Madagascar. Low-end (emergency) tires and
parts seemed widely available for mountain bikes. We had our wheels very
competently trued at a roadside bike kiosk.
GUIDEBOOK: We were very disappointed with the
Bradt Guide to Madagascar. The various editions seem to rely mostly upon
reader's letters for up-to-date information and thus it lacks completeness and
consistency. The Lonely Planet guide was more accurate and more
complete.
FOOD : 'Supermarkets' in the larger towns were
a good place to stock up on some things. French bread is widely available. The
Tiko Camembert cheese is quite good for sandwich making. Bananas and fruit were
good for early starts. Tourist restaurants serve generally very good grub.
CLIMATE: There are all sorts of seasonal
variations for the various regions so study a Guidebook. We had only a few days
of rain in October and November. Early starts were important to beat the heat.
We found light rain in the lower tropical areas was better for riding than sunny
days as the sun is really intense.
ACCOMMODATION AND CAMPING: We stayed mostly in
hotels (decent rooms available for 10 USD or less). We camped in national parks
and a couple of nights we discretely camped 'wild'.
COSTS: We averaged about 80,000 fmg/day/person
(12.50 USD) and a little more at the beach where we ate more and better. A real
shoestring budget would be under 10 USD/day and living very will could be twice
what we spent.
POSSIBLE ITENERARIES: We are only familiar with
the south and east. It is a big country!
1.
Tana to
Fianaratsoa/Ambalavao: Higlands, up & down, reasonably scenic,
enjoyable.
2.
Fianaratsoa-Mananjary:
slow going on 25 km dirt section above Ranomafana. Plenty of broken asphalt
sections to Mananjary. Moderately scenic. No hotels between Ranomafana and
Mananjary.
3.
Ambalavao-Isalo: Warm, not
much accommodation in-between, scenic. Despite rave reviews in the Bradt
guidebook, we were a little disappointed with the scenery.
4.
Isalo-Tuléar: Hot, not
overly scenic.
5.
Tana-Toamasina:
Recommended, good balance of highland scenery then long descent to the coast.
Plenty of uphill for the first 40 kilometres out of Tana. The 100 km between
Brickaville and Toamisina is up and down; we took the
taxi-brousse.
6.
Toamasina-Soanierana/Ivongo: very pleasant, lots of
seaside accommodation. Relatively easy.
7.
Ile Sainte Mairie: good
place to have a mountain bike. The east coast road/track was
nice.
8.
Fianaratsoa-Manakara-Tolognaro-Tuléar: we met a French
couple who did this and they really enjoyed it.
WHAT IS HOT AND WHAT IS
NOT
Tana: most will agree that it is a dump.
Minimize your time there. We were unimpressed with the Relais des Pistards Hotel
(grubby, mosquitoes, disinterested owner). The Indonesian restaurant (in fronT
of the zoo) was very good. The zoo was disappointing and somewhat depressing.
NOTE: a relative of the Relais des Pistard wrote me: "It is unfortunate that you
had a bad experience when you stayed there, but obviously you must comment as
you found the hotel. It is also unfortunate that when I search on Yahoo for Le
Relais, only 1 site appears and with your comments as a heading, which obviously
does not help their image!! All I can say is that at that time, both Jojo and
Florent were going through a bad spell and both had been unwell for some time.
In addition, there had been considerable stress related to trying to run a small
hotel in Tana. They are trying to do their best on a very limited budget. They
have now opened an annexe a few kms away from Tana and more in the countryside.I
do hope that when you visit again you will be able to give a more favourable
report about Le Relais, since many people find Jojo's hospitality, in
particular, the reason for regular stays at the hotel."
Antsirabe: Nice town. Good Chinese food at
Imperial Hotel. The Villa Nirina (hotel) was a little over-rated by the
guidebooks.
Ranomafana National Park: Nice campsite at park
entrance. Hotel Manja (6 km downhill in the town) was well run and had good
food.
Manajary: O.K. town but nothing really special.
Hotel Jardin de la Mer was very good. The people at the hotel can help you find
a boat going north on the Pangalin canal.
Fianarantsoa: O.K/ town. Le Panda restaurant
was very good. Arinofy Guest House was fine (terrible food, eat elsewhere). The
Tsara Guest House looked incredibly nice but call ahead for a budget room as
they are often full.
Isalo National Park: The Isalo Ranch (hotel) is
recommended (5 km south of Ranohira). The campsite at the Piscine Naturelle
makes a good base camp for day walks. Getting out on the plateau is what Isalo
is all about.
Tulear: Nothing special about the town. Chez
Alain had good food but the rooms were full of mozzies (mosquito nets are
provided).
South of Tuléar: We went as far south as St
Augustin bay and were not too impressed though we had good seafood at a Malagasy
restaurant in St Augustin.
Ifaty: Nice beach though swimming was awkward
(high tide only). It was not as nice as Madagascar's East Coast. Hotels were
over-priced. The Vovotelo Hotel and Restaurant had excellent food and best value
bungalows.
Moramanga (east of Tana): Emeraude Hotel was
good value and recommended. Very good Chinese food at the Guangzhou
Restaurant.
Périnet: Very enjoyable national park. The
nearby Mantadia National Park was also worthwhile (nice bike ride too). Hotel
Feon'Ny Ala is very good but phone ahead as it is sometimes
full.
Ambila-Lemaitso: Les Alizés had nice bungalows
and excellent food. We had our best meal there.
Toamisina: O.K. town. Eating at Hotel Joffre is
atmospheric (good food too). We were told that the Le Relax is a good place to
stay (along a river, crocodiles, etc). Zoo Ivoloina (16 km north) is well worth
a visit.
Mahevelone (Foulepointe): Hotel Generation
Annexe has nice bungalows and good food. The beach is O.K.
Mahambo: We later found that Le Récif bungalows
is worth a stopover.
Fénérive Est: Paradias Kely has a great beach,
good bungalows, food is ok and there is a nice island excursion (bring bananas
for the lemurs). The next-door Girofla Beach Hotel has a great beach but the
food was poor and the bungalows were grubby and full of mozzies.
Ile Sainte Mairie: A worthwhile 2-3 week
stay.
·
Hotel Atafana was the best
overall with its nice beach, snorkeling, good food and nice staff. It is often
full. There are two Hotel Atafana's on adjoining beaches (same family). We refer
to the southern hotel, run by the father.
·
Mini-Resto Chez Emillienne
is 1 km north of the Hotel Atafana and serves the best food on the
island.
·
La Baleine was
disappointing, almost depressing. It was over-priced, no swimming; we would stay
elsewhere.
·
Chez Vovate: nice
atmosphere and views, good base for exploration. Food was disappointing but
OK.
·
Paradise D'Ampinihy:
slightly inland, nice bungalows, good 2 night base to explore the far eastern
beaches which are accessed by pirogue.
·
La Crique: beautiful to
look at. Booked out by tour operators. Sometimes there are cancellations. People
we met who had stayed there were slightly disappointed with the food and
atmosphere.
·
Les Lemuriens (south end
of Ile aux Nattes): we had an excellent lunch there. It might be worth a couple
of nights stay.