Description

Experience the rustic beauty of Madagascar’s coastline with this leisurely Dhow cruise. Snorkel in the warm tropical waters and relax on palm fringed beaches. Camps are rustic but comfortable and the skipper and his crew prepare fantastic island meals and make sure you have a wonderfully relaxing time.

Sample Itinerary

Day 1:
Arrive Madagascar (Nosy Be or Antananarivo) Depending of the flights schedule you may be able to route directly onto Nosy Be or alternatively spend one night in Antananarivo. If you connect onto Nosy Be you will be met by the captain of the dhow, and transferred to your overnight accommodation in Hellville. The quaint B&B is set high up on a hill, with great views of the bay. Helville is a lively town and the evening is at leisure to explore and have a meal at one of the local restaurants. If overnighting in Antananarivo, you’ll stay in a guesthouse near the airport so that you can get your flight connection early the next morning

Day 2-7:
Transfer to the Helville port where you will board the dhow and set sail. The days are spend at leisure as you cruise along. At times the Dhow will stop so that you can snorkel or explore the islands and local villages and craft markets. The actual route followed will depend on prevailing weather and tidal conditions at the time. Some of the places visited are Russian Bay, Mahalina, Nosy Iranja, Nosy Kombo, Nosy Tanikely and Lokobe reserve on Nosy Be.

Day 8:
Returning to Nosy Be, disembark from the Dhow and transfer to the airport for your flight to Antananarivo and on to your home destination.

More information on the island destinations:

Nosy Tanikely is an uninhabited marine reserve not far from Nosy Be. It offers superb snorkeling in warm waters with great visibility. The aquatic life is colourful, varied and abundant and you are quite likely to spot an amazing variety of marine life including starfish, triggerfish, parrotfish, stripeys, anemones and even rays and turtles. When landing on the island you may be able to spot the ring tailed lemur.

Nosy Komba is a short sail away from Tanikely and is a colourful inhabited island that has a superb craft market and a festive beach bar.  

Mahalina is located on the mainland and is a beautiful beach location. It’s great for relaxing under the palm trees or kayaking up the mangrove swamps. There’s excellent snorkelling, fishing and spear-fishing just off the beach.

Russian Bay is a beautiful and remote bay on the mainland opposite the Nosy Be archipelago. There’s excellent snorkeling on the reefs and the tropical forests are great for exploring. Taking a leisurely walk you should encounter many birds, chameleons and lemurs.

Nosy Iranja is the larger of the two islands, Nosy Iranja and Nosy Iranja Kely which are connected by a 1.5 km long sand bar which can be crossed at low tide. Nosy Iranja is a peaceful and remote island with crystal clear waters, good fishing, wonderful walks and fantastic opportunities to sea kayak and explore on foot. Nosy Iranja is also a breeding reserve for hawksbill turtles.

Lokobe is a protected reserve on Nosy Be where you can take guided walks with the opportunity of spotting several lemur species, chameleons and birds in the forest.