Madagascar

[Joe Perez]

Hey,

Does anyone know the best place to xchange dollars in Mada? Which banks are best? Outside Tana, difficult to do?

I will have my ATM but was thinking of bring a small sum of cash along.

TIA

Good idea to bring some cash.

Socimad, in the international area of the airport in tana, it's the best I found. Skip (or at least be careful) the money exchange in the national arrive area in Tana. They try to give you less money (pieces of malagasy currency are very small so you will get a big amount of papers). Otherwise give a try to the several Indian shops in the different towns. Most of them make black change with a better rate than banks and. Are trustable

[Concarne]

Hey,

Does anyone know the best place to xchange dollars in Mada? Which banks are best? Outside Tana, difficult to do?

I will have my ATM but was thinking of bring a small sum of cash along.

TIA

[Trevor2522]

I'm trying to find 2 places, quiet with nice beaches, clean, warm in order to swim. Not many people. From the reviews I suppose morondava and diego suarez seems good.

Apart from Nosy Be there are no places with poon and plage (beach) on site. Diego Suarez has no strand, only Ramena beach 30 Km away, so you'd have to bring your own girl from town if you wanted any sort of quality over and above room maids. Morondava's beach, having a rather shallow slope, is not that great for swimming.

Take a look at Tulear (Toliara) : plenty of eager poon in town, and some along the coast northwards towards Ifaty, which has decent beaches and a coral reef. If your budget stretches, and you find a girl you like in Tana, take her to Île Sainte Marie for a few days. However it's one of the most-expensive places for tourists; the western side of Madagascar is cheaper.

[Flipitiflop]

Thank you for your replies. I'm planning though to go to places that are not standard tourist places with big and expensive resorts, as I read like nosy be, I don't want the place to have many tourists. I have only 15 days and not much time to go to many places. I think 3, including tana at the end.

I'm trying to find 2 places, quiet with nice beaches, clean, warm in order to swim. Not many people. From the reviews I suppose morondava and diego suarez seems good.

Choises, I don't know. First time of course there.

[Trevor2522]

Hi guys. I'm planning a trip in September to madagascar. Everything ok about the tours and of course the nightlife and black magic women. I'd like to know though because I'm a beach guy which places you have been have nice and clean beaches (for example toamasiva, morombe, morondava, antsiranana, etc.) , I don't say quiet I suppose all of them are, because still I don't know where exactly to go apart from Tana of course. I've read in another site that the beaches and the sea waters are not so clean, is that true?

Also last question. In September does anybody know about the temprature? Is it hot enough in order to feel summer and get a tan? Because it's supposed to be my summer vacation so the hotter the better. The sea is warm enough or no possible to stay in the sea for long time because of cold water. Thank you for any reply.

Madagascar lies between 11 and 25 degrees of latitude south. So climatically the equivalent of Nicaragua to northern Mexico BUT with the seasons REVERSED. Plenty of sunshine and warm(ish) seas all year round, especially in the north.

If it's your first visit, and you want beaches with plenty of girls, then Nosy Be is an obvious choice. If you already have a girlfriend, Île Sainte Marie and the adjacent Île aux Nattes are quite beautiful with palm-fringed beaches. If you want exclusive sea-side solitude at a price, Google the resorts of Anjajavy and Tsarabanjina.

[Trevor2522]

I have some queries regarding Madagascar customs officers at the airport in Antananarivo.

1) Do they search through your luggage? Wondering whether the sextoys, condoms and stockings I bring for the girls may be classed as unusual.

Possible anywhere. Travel light; look smart and confident. It's NOT a sex-toy; it's a self-massage device. Condoms? Do you have a guilt complex? Stockings. Well, those winter nights can get quite cold in the highlands.

2) Is there a list of prohibited items apart from the obvious?

http://madagascar.visahq.com/customs/

http://www.iatatravelcentre.com/MG-M...ns-details.htm

3) Do you have to declare the foreign currency you have with customs?

Only if over €7500.

4) How well do cash machines work? I have a UK visa debit card. I don't know whether this is accepted by hotels.

Generally okay but may run out over the weekend. Stock up on Friday! They only dispense €75. €150 (in Ariary) per transaction but you can repeat up to your daily limit. Beware: transaction fees will mount up! ATM in Hilton hotel is very safe. Upmarket hotels will accept payment by plastic, as will the domestic airline.

5) Do I need to have proof of yellow fever immunisation to be able to enter the country?

Officially YES, if coming from a country where YF is endemic, e. G. Kenya. Unofficially: they're unlikely to check this as it means a lot of hassle taking you to the Pasteur Institute for the shot. Beware: all vaccines contain heavy metals and toxic adjuvants like formaldehyde and ether which may cause adverse reactions.

6) I have read about the water supply not being very good in some remote areas. Is there a particular brand of water tourists use when in Madagascar?

No, just check the seal is intact.

[Dee Donatello]

I have some queries regarding Madagascar customs officers at the airport in Antananarivo.

1) Do they search through your luggage? Wondering whether the sextoys, condoms and stockings I bring for the girls may be classed as unusual.

2) Is there a list of prohibited items apart from the obvious?

3) Do you have to declare the foreign currency you have with customs?

Other queries.

4) How well do cash machines work? I have a UK visa debit card (MAESTRO / SWITCH) I don't know whether this is accepted by hotels.

5) Do I need to have proof of yellow fever immunisation to be able to enter the country.

6) I have read about the water supply not being very good in some remote areas. Is there a particular brand of water tourists use when in Madagascar

[Amadeuss]

Also last question. In September does anybody know about the temprature? I.

No need to reply on the hunting grounds, because hundreds of reports here to read. Do your homework.

On the weather. Most reliable google it. Simply its winter in Mada. Tana can be cool. North perhaps some rain. East Toamasina / Foulpointe dry. Best for beach and swimming at that time is the south west, Tulear, Ifaty, Morondava.

[Flipitiflop]

Hi guys. I'm planning a trip in September to madagascar. Everything ok about the tours and of course the nightlife and black magic women. I'd like to know though because I'm a beach guy which places you have been have nice and clean beaches (for example toamasiva, morombe, morondava, antsiranana, etc.) , I don't say quiet I suppose all of them are, because still I don't know where exactly to go apart from Tana of course. I've read in another site that the beaches and the sea waters are not so clean, is that true?

Also last question. In September does anybody know about the temprature? Is it hot enough in order to feel summer and get a tan? Because it's supposed to be my summer vacation so the hotter the better. The sea is warm enough or no possible to stay in the sea for long time because of cold water. Thank you for any reply.

[Jazz123]

Exellent report and conclusions, indeeed many willing younger ladies around. Just got the 2011 edition of bradt which warnes the readers from the eager ladies at the bar in the village of morombe.

Thank you. The warning in Bradts is what made me interested haha.

But I must be doing something wrong when I try to search on Morombe here in the forum. All I get is the complete Mada-thread which takes too long to browse through; how does one get the individual posts with the word Morombe (or whatever) in them?

Air Mad flights tend to get fully booked in the high season of August. Try to make your flight arrangements as far ahead of time as possible.

I usually have plenty of time and not very much money when I travel so I go over land. Non stop Tana to Morondova would be too much for me it but it's doable from Antsirabe (some 12 hours including a one hour break). Or - as I will do if I get to Mada again - stop for a couple of days in the interesting town of Miandrivazo.

Yes, Morondava is low key, sometimes even boring. But it also has the authentic feel of the wild west.

That is true. What put me down was the temperature during daytime in early November, maybe it's less hot at this time of the year.

Off topic: I got charmed by the small town of Manakara. It does see quite some tourists but most come by train in the evening and leave the next morning when the train returns to Fianarantsoa. Lively at night around the market with both streetwalkers and (semi) pros + a very local disco in the weekend - couldn't monger there since I was already with a sweet little lady but plenty of non-pro girls. Good beach too but swimming not recommended because of sharks. High on the potential 'mongering scale' I think.

[Vahaza Be]

John Palmer . a walking joke who can't read a simple French website and has to go crying to a travel agent to book his overpriced air tickets. BTW Air Madagascar domestic tickets are fixed-price, smartypants!

No need for a pissing contest.

Still waiting for the "on-the-ground" report of your visit to Madland.

Any pics, SVP?

V be.

Ps. Air Mad flights tend to get fully booked in the high season of August. Try to make your flight arrangements as far ahead of time as possible.

Pps. Yes, Morondava is low key, sometimes even boring. But it also has the authentic feel of the wild west. And easy to meet "nonpros" at the market, in the shops, on the beach, etc. During the day if you have a few words of French and / or Malagasy to share. Some local rastas can score some rongony for you if you're so inclined. They can pimp for you too if you just ask. My advice is to get off the tourist strip of Nosy Kely once in a while and into town. There used to be a more local night club away from the beach too, but can't remember its name. Ask around. Taxi drivers can be quite "helpful" too.

Enjoy.

Tulear is bloody hot and dry, but is also loaded with dark-skinned coastal girls and rastas. Just be careful down there. Try to make a trustworthy local friend to help with negotiations and introductions.

[Trevor2522]

Another mada expert that never been there before.

Are you a walking joke?

John Palmer ... a walking joke who can't read a simple French website and has to go crying to a travel agent to book his overpriced air tickets. BTW Air Madagascar domestic tickets are fixed-price, smartypants!

[Member #4178]

Exellent report and conclusions, indeeed many willing younger ladies around. Morondava is not mombasa and its part of its charm. Better to bring a tablet with movies and music and some lingeries. Just got the 2011 edition of bradet which warnes the readers from the eager ladies at the bar in the village of morombe.

I have visit several other places in mada but somehow disapointed. Fliying all the way to diego seems too expensive so while visiting morondava its better to explor the south. Last trip I spent only 5 days in morondava and was rushed. This time I will try to adapt and spend more time.

[Jazz123]

i was there early november after having read the many reports praising the place.

i guess there is a high and a low season for tourists (and thus girls) and early november is near the low season. there were girls indeed but the selection wasn't too impressive. some very cute young girls at the beach during daytime but i feared that they were **** so i didn't 'do' anything. one night (must have been friday or saturday) i visited a couple of clubs but they didn't impress me and i got tired of girls asking 'donnez moi' whatever they wanted to drink.

i did find a sweet 19 year old chick who took care of my needs but i found the place boring in general. nothing to do but get a tan, drink, eat, smoke and fuck. hey, in retrospective it could have been a lot worse haha

i had planned to stay some 10 days (had a plane back to tana) but got so bored that i arranged a river trip from miandrivazo back to morondova and that was great fun though no pussy for the 3 days it took. unfortunately i only had one night in miandrivazo and we'd leave for the river early next morning but the place rocked on what must have been a tuesday night. all the action is at the taxi brousse station by the way and i stayed in a cheap decent bungalow close to the scene. a place worth exploring for a couple of days if you ask me and a convenient stop if you go to / from morondava by taxi brousse.

i hope to visit mada again this year and will probably do the river trip again including the tsingys. my plans are vague but going south from morondava to morombe (i think there's a fast boat connection) and then to tulear sounds interesting; anyone knows about morombe as a mongering place?

and some non-mongering info: right now kenya airways have flights from london at reasonable prices in october-december. if i go i will also stop over in kenya on my way back; doesn't cost extra. best prices i've found are around £650 at www.lastminute.com

oh, and please keep this forum polite and friendly.

[Vahaza Be]

Yikes, all my research is being palmed off by one of the johns!

Easy to fix.

How about some juicy stories and exciting pics from your last trip?

Misaotra,

V-be