Madagascar holidays

Madagascar is the world's fourth-largest island and one of its strangest — separated from mainland Africa 88 million years ago, the island has evolved one of the planet's most distinctive endemic floras and faunas: 90%+ of its wildlife is found nowhere else on earth, including all 100+ species of lemur. Add the iconic Avenue of the Baobabs at sunset (Morondava region), the Tsingy de Bemaraha stone forest (UNESCO, knife-edged limestone karst you walk across on suspended bridges), the rainforest reserves at Ranomafana and Andasibe (the indri's territorial howl is unforgettable), and the offshore Indian Ocean beach island of Nosy Be — and you have a trip that's simultaneously safari, jungle expedition, and beach holiday.

A serious Madagascar trip takes 14-18 days — the country is vast, distances are real, and roads are slow. Classic route: Antananarivo arrival (1-2 nights — French-colonial capital at high altitude) → Andasibe rainforest (2 nights for indri lemurs) → southern Route Nationale 7 highlands by 4x4 (Antsirabe, Ambositra, Fianarantsoa — 3-4 nights with stops) → Ranomafana NP rainforest (1-2 nights) → Ifaty/Anakao Mozambique-channel coast (2-3 nights, optional swap to the spectacular dirt road north-west to Morondava and the Avenue of the Baobabs). Nosy Be tropical island beach (3-4 nights) is best added as a domestic-flight extension at trip-end.