Madagascar
Where is Madagascar located?
Madagascar is an island on the eastern side of Africa. It is also called 'the red island' and is 14 times larger than the Netherlands. Seeing the entire country in three weeks is not an option.
Of course you can book a very long trip, or just come back more often ;).
You can often fly from Amsterdam via: Paris, Addis Adeba, Nairobi or Istanbul.
A flight from Brussels to Nosy Be, northern Madagascar is also possible. Then you can take a wonderful trip to the North of Madagascar.
The capital of Madagascar
Antananarivo is the capital of Madagascar. One of the two international airports is also located here. It is a busy city with approximately 3.7 million inhabitants divided into different neighborhoods.
I like being there because there is a lot to do here. There are some museums, a bird park and many markets.
Climate and best time to travel in Madagascar
In Madagascar they have two seasons: summer and winter.
Summer is from May to September.
It rains occasionally in the summer, it is also called the 'rainy season'. This usually happens in the evening and certainly not every evening. It is much greener than in winter and it is warm to hot.
Winter is from October to the end of April. Depending on where you are, it is a lot colder. At the coast (around the entire island) it is still around 20 degrees during the day. Inland and in the mountains it is cooler during the day and a bit colder in the evening. A thick fleece sweater for the evening is really necessary.
People in Madagascar
As mentioned earlier, Madagascar is gigantic. For that reason I can only give a small description of how I experienced it. The Merina is the largest ethnic group that mainly lives in the area around Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar. As in many countries, people from outside the capital have quite strong opinions about people from the capital. Funny, right?
In short, in this country you travel a bit through Africa and Asia. In the highlands there are mainly Asian influences. More towards the coast you get more of an African feeling. Again, quite succinct. But definitely go and see it! Click below to view the sample trips.