Madagascar by bike

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 'hard-core' 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 White lightening self-cleaning chain lubricant 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 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.. 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. Nowadays, a smart phone with a GPS app would be best.

ROADS: The Tana-Tulear (except 40 km just west of Ihosy) and Tana-Toamasina-Soanierana Ivongo roads were paved and in surprisingly good condition. The main highways north are probably similar. Traffic was 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.

WHAT WAS HOT AND WHAT WAS NOT

Tana: most will agree that it is a dump. Minimize your time there. We did not have good luck with accommodation. The Indonesian restaurant (in front of the zoo) was very good. The zoo was disappointing and somewhat depressing (we visited it to see Malagasy animals).

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.