Top 10 Tips for Visiting Madagascar: Lemurs, Safety, and Everything In Between

1. Embrace the Weird and Won­der­ful Mada­gas­car isn’t your aver­age trop­i­cal get­away. It’s an island of evo­lu­tion­ary oddballs—lemurs that leap like bal­leri­nas, baob­a­bs that look like they were plant­ed upside down, and chameleons that change col­or like it’s their day job. Expect the unex­pect­ed, and you’ll fall in love with its quirks.

Near­ly 90% of its wildlife exists nowhere else on Earth, so don’t be sur­prised if you’re gawk­ing at a bug-eyed aye-aye or danc­ing sifa­ka and think­ing, “Is this real life?” Yes, yes it is. Mada­gas­car is like nature’s secret exper­i­ment gone wild.

2. Wildlife Watch­ing Needs Patience—and a Guide Want to see lemurs up close or find that tiny leaf-tailed gecko hid­ing in plain sight? You’ll need a local guide. Not only do they know where the ani­mals are, but they’ll help you spot species you wouldn’t believe were right in front of your face.

Guid­ed night walks are espe­cial­ly rewarding—you’ll hear rustling, glow­ing eyes, and the noc­tur­nal world wak­ing up. Bring binoc­u­lars, a good zoom lens, and a sense of won­der. And don’t for­get to ask your guide about con­ser­va­tion projects—they’re often direct­ly involved.

3. Safe­ty First—Don’t Be a Tar­get Mada­gas­car is gen­er­al­ly safe, but pet­ty theft and scams can hap­pen, espe­cial­ly in cities like Antana­nari­vo. Keep your valu­ables out of sight, avoid walk­ing alone at night, and skip flash­ing your lat­est tech around.

If you’re tak­ing a taxi or tuk-tuk, agree on the price before­hand. Watch your bag in crowd­ed mar­kets. And while the coun­try­side is peace­ful, it’s best to stick with rep­utable accom­mo­da­tions and hire dri­vers or guides who come rec­om­mend­ed.

4. Tim­ing is Everything—When to Go The best time to vis­it is dur­ing the dry sea­son from May to Octo­ber. This is when lemurs are most active, roads are more pass­able, and the risk of cyclones drops to almost zero. June and July are espe­cial­ly lovely—lush land­scapes, cool­er temps, and great wildlife sight­ings.

The wet sea­son (Novem­ber to April) turns many roads to mush, some parks close, and the humid­i­ty sky­rock­ets. If you’re a hard­core her­p­er or bird­watch­er, though, this is when you’ll see breed­ing activ­i­ty and vibrant species.

5. Trav­el Takes Time—And Then Some Mada­gas­car looks small on a map, but dis­tances are decep­tive. Roads are rough, traf­fic is unpre­dictable, and delays are inevitable. A 200-kilo­me­ter dri­ve can eas­i­ly take 8+ hours. Plan accord­ing­ly.

Fly­ing between regions is often the most effi­cient option, espe­cial­ly if you’re tight on time. Domes­tic air­lines like Tsara­dia are your best bet—but book ear­ly, and con­firm your flights (and re-con­firm). Patience is not option­al in Madagascar—it’s essen­tial.

6. Pack for the Planet—And for Prac­ti­cal­i­ty You’ll want light­weight cloth­ing for hot days, a warm lay­er for chilly high­lands, and sol­id hik­ing shoes for park treks. Add sun­screen, insect repel­lent, and a good first aid kit to your essen­tials. Wet wipes, head­lamps, and pow­er banks also come in handy.

Bring cash—ATMs are scarce out­side major towns and don’t always work. Euros are wide­ly accept­ed, and small denom­i­na­tions are use­ful. Oh, and pack a sense of humor—things won’t always go to plan, and that’s part of the charm.

7. Where to Go for Lemurs, Beach­es, and Beyond If you want to hang out with lemurs, head to Anda­sibe-Man­ta­dia or Ranomafana Nation­al Park. For spiny forests and alien land­scapes, go south to Ifaty or Beren­ty. And for beach bliss, Nosy Be and Île Sainte-Marie are your trop­i­cal dreams come true.

The Avenue of the Baob­a­bs is an Instagrammer’s pil­grim­age, while Tsingy de Bemara­ha (if you sur­vive the jour­ney there) rewards with lime­stone cathe­drals straight out of a fan­ta­sy nov­el. Choose 2–3 regions and explore deeply—don’t try to do it all in one go.

8. Food: Unex­pect­ed­ly Good and Very French Mala­gasy cui­sine is a mix of French, African, and South­east Asian influ­ences. You’ll find zebu steak, coconut cur­ries, and shock­ing­ly good baguettes in even the small­est towns. Road­side snacks like mofo (fried dough balls) are addic­tive, and fresh fruit is every­where.

Just be care­ful with uncooked veg­gies, tap water, and any­thing that looks like it’s been sit­ting in the sun too long. If in doubt, go for the grilled option and chase it with a shot of local rhum arrangé. Your stom­ach will thank you.

9. Respect the Culture—and the Fady Mada­gas­car is a mosa­ic of trib­al tra­di­tions, and many regions have “fady”—taboos that vary from place to place. These might include not point­ing at tombs, not wear­ing red, or not enter­ing sacred forests with­out per­mis­sion.

Always ask your guide about local cus­toms, and when in doubt, err on the side of respect. A smile, a “misao­tra” (thank you), and a small gift go a long way. The Mala­gasy peo­ple are warm, wel­com­ing, and proud of their heritage—being a respect­ful trav­el­er opens doors to deep­er con­nec­tions.

10. This is Not a Quick Trip—Savor It Mada­gas­car rewards slow trav­el. The more time you spend, the more it reveals—hidden water­falls, impromp­tu music, late-night lemur calls, and sun­sets that stop you in your tracks. It’s not about tick­ing box­es; it’s about soak­ing it all in.

So take that extra day in the rain­for­est. Stop for a dusty road­side soc­cer game. Linger over cof­fee in a tiny vil­lage. Because in Mada­gas­car, the best sto­ries come from the unplanned moments—and the more open you are to the unex­pect­ed, the more mag­i­cal your adven­ture will be.

Lemurs, baob­a­bs, beach­es, and a lit­tle chaos: Mada­gas­car isn’t just a destination—it’s a beau­ti­ful­ly strange expe­ri­ence. And once you’ve felt it, it’s not one you’ll ever for­get.