Madagascar

[QUOTE=La Isla; 1143079]So, in October, I can get to Nairobi from JFK for $800US with Iberia. Not bad.

I emailed Air Mada and they wrote back and said that the Nairobi-Tana leg was 493Euros or $700US. Flights are Wed and Fri. So it looks like the NY-Tana roundtrip flight can be done for $1, 500US plus I can still get the inter-Mada flights for half price with Air Mada. If I plan this right, maybe I will spend 3 days in Nairobi also just for a new experience. [/QUOTE]Disadvantage is you will (officially) need a yellow fever injection to enter Madagascar from Kenya. Plus Air Mada may stop in the Comoros to pick up passengers; they turn off the aircon on the apron. Not pleasant. But you will get your 50% domestic discounts.

Have you tried Air France for the whole trip? They might even offer a hotel for the transit in Paris if you time it right which would break the journey nicely. October is a quiet period for air travel after the brats go back to school. Getting to Ile Ste Marie is relatively easy by road & ferry and you are out of the typhoon season then.

[QUOTE=Trevor2522;1142927]This site depicts 3 types of outlet in Madagascar, 2 of which are grounded but in different configurations. If taking a laptop which type of socket is most-commonly encountered?[/QUOTE]How about buying a $25 travel adaptor?

[QUOTE=Blackwhite99;1143260]How about buying a $25 travel adaptor?[/QUOTE]I fit a plug for the destination to travel ultra-light. Maybe you haven't seen how big and clunky British fused plugs are!

Good price, but October is not peak season (although there are fewer tourists with the current clown in power). June-August (even September) rates tend to be crazy high.

[QUOTE=La Isla; 1143079]So, in October, I can get to Nairobi from JFK for $800US with Iberia. Not bad.

I emailed Air Mada and they wrote back and said that the Nairobi-Tana leg was 493Euros or $700US. Flights are Wed and Fri. So it looks like the NY-Tana roundtrip flight can be done for $1, 500US plus I can still get the inter-Mada flights for half price with Air Mada. If I plan this right, maybe I will spend 3 days in Nairobi also just for a new experience. [/QUOTE]

Hallo everybody. I am new here. Actually it's my first post on this page, not only on this thread.

I've been visiting Mada twice, in 2008 and 2010, both times for 3 month. Believe me, I liked the lemurs, but the native inhabitants without any tail I liked the most. In 2008 I went east (Tamatave, St. Marie) , northwest (Nosy Be, Mahajunga) , middle (Antsirabe, Fianarantsoa) , and southwest (Belo-sur-Tsirbihina, Morondava, Tulear). Last year I went only north (Diego, Ramena, Ambilobe, Nosy Be (basically Hellville) , and Mahajunga). And of course always some time in Tana. I am a 'Glacier'-edict!

2008 I took that combi-flight St. Marie-Tana / Tana-Nosy Be (you manage two flight in one day, you pay only the more costly one. But there are not many possible combinations!) , and later I bought another flight from Morondava to Tulear. Each time it cost about 120€ (hey you guys in the US, you better get used to prices in €uro. So not really cheap, but good carriers they are. Don't worry about non existing security measurements at the small airports. Nobody ever tried to bomb AirMada. That year I actually visited 3 National Parks. 2 years later I couldn'd care less, all I saw were boobs and bumps, and that lovely color of them.

By reading through the last 20-30 pages of this thread I came along prices that made my hair stand up. Are you guys nuts? Yes, the first month in 2008 when I was staying in Tana (Anjary) , and was totally new to that business (and I mean totally new!) , picking my girls from 'Le Glacier' (or sometimes rather being picked, green as I was) , I payed once or twice 50. 000Ar for a night with unlimited shots (exept my personel limit). But than I learned, and in Belo I even managed 10. 000Ar (4€) , but not for a nighter. Of course very often you have additional costs, like drinks, cigarettes (for her and all her friends) , taxi in the morning, some late night snack p. P, but I always tried to keep this reasonable. I don't mind at all to treat and pay the girls correct, but I hate.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]149490[/ATTACH]

To be scamed and fooled. I am an European living in India, so all the f. And' time I am a (rich) 'Whitie' who is just waiting to be milked. You understand what I mean?

The average monthly salary for a restaurant waiter, a salesperson, a maid, . In Madagascar is less than 20€. So, if you pay that same amount for a quickie of 30 minutes, what do you expect them to think. You think the (very) young chicks of +6/10 will bother to find a mean job? You bet they won't.

So, guys, please come and visit Madagascar and the beautiful and willing Madagirls, they are desperately waiting for you, but PLEASE don't spoil the prices. Whenever you visit or live abroad, in a less developed country, you have to adjust all your payements (be it salaries of your maid, gardener or driver, be it tips in the restaurant, or be it hooker-money) you have an responsebility towards the local market. If you overpay you bring a delicate, economic system out of balance. I mean it!

We will always be the 'Richies' merely by having the money for a ticket and for the Hotels, and by having the luxury of 'going holiday'. I think it finally expresses more respect towards these underprivileged people if we haggle over the price asked, particularly for 'special services'.

[QUOTE=Vahaza Be; 1129498]There is an ample supply of poontang all over Madagascar, but it's not like Thailand, the Philippines or Indonesia. There aren't any real brothels, although the massage joints seems to be filling that niche of late. The scene is late night, and always has been as long as I can remember. So take a nap before heading out to the discos. Glacier and Buffet still have daytime barflies but low quality and some just too young. Any night with live music at Glacier usually produces a wide range of pros, semi-pros and newbies in search of vazaha money (and love) by 10pm.

Take time to make some Malagasy friends, chat with taxi drivers, gain some trust. And ask for introductions or referrals. Gifts for sex is the norm, even with nonpros. Patience and time, if you have it, will usually pay off.

Streetwalkers may not be everyone's thing, but Tsaralalana is usually full of cheap treats just after dark- some are awful, others are gems (including "students" and single moms trying to get by or feed their family). Walk through with a flashlight to have a closer look. Just let them shower before banging them. [/QUOTE]Hi, do you know of any friendly & honest taxi driver that I can book for the whole day?

[QUOTE=Paulos21;1144945]Hi, do you know of any friendly & honest taxi driver that I can book for the whole day?[/QUOTE]What city or area?

Yes, I contacted them and they are nuts quoting prices of $2700+. South African Airways is quoting $2100. The crazy part is that the airfare is only $1350 Rt NY to Tana. But there is another $650 in taxes!

I found a Kenya charter company here in the US that flies direct JFK to NBO for $837 all taxes included. Air Mad will get me from there to Tana for 542Euros or $783US for a total of $1624US. That's about $500 cheaper than SAA and $1000US cheaper than Air France. Plus I still get the discount in Mada with Air Mad. I may take a few extra days and see Nairobi. Also, at least it'll pay for a flight or two around the country. I definitely will go to Ile Ste Marie and maybe one more city.

Yes, the train ride sounds like its a blast and a great way to see some of the countryside. I am definitely going to look into it. And hiring a driver is not a bad idea either. I found one on the web for $50US a day plus gas.

I am VERY excited about visiting Mada.

[QUOTE=Trevor2522; 1142664]=====================================================

Have you contacted Air France for any deals or advance booking? It's the shortest route.

For not much more than renting a big bike you could hire a car with driver and let him take ALL the risk.

You could get to Ile Ste Marie (Nosy Boraha) with Madasmiles.

[url]http://www.madacamp.com/Madasmiles[/url]

They also link to the only railroad (Fianarantsoa. Manakara) which looks a hoot on YouTube.

=====================================================[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Vahaza Be;1145106]What city or area?[/QUOTE]For both Tana and Diego?

[QUOTE=Paulos21;1145772]For both Tana and Diego?[/QUOTE]Check out this site:

[url]http://www.tonga-soa.com/[/url]

[QUOTE=Inovaovao;1144940]I've visited Mada twice, in 2008 and 2010, both times for 3 month. Believe me, I liked the lemurs, but the native inhabitants without any tail I liked the most. In 2008 I went east (Tamatave, St. Marie) , northwest (Nosy Be, Mahajunga) , middle (Antsirabe, Fianarantsoa) , and southwest (Belo-sur-Tsirbihina, Morondava, Tulear). Last year I went only north (Diego, Ramena, Ambilobe, Nosy Be (basically Hellville) , and Mahajunga). And of course always some time in Tana. I am a 'Glacier'-addict![/QUOTE]Thanks for your interesting Mada experiences. 2 x 3-month trips is a long time! But very sensible given the expensive flights. I'm not interested in the national parks : hot, expensive and the animals don't even want us there! You can see them much better in a zoo or documentary.

Like you I'm very conscious of being the whitey ripoff target in poor countries. It's the national sport, and don't the beggars know it! Even so Madagascar has some of the cheapest sex in the world. A good looker in Tana can earn MGA 60,000 ($30) for all-night from a foreigner which is not expensive by South-East Asian standards. That figure drops sharply in the provinces: 30-40k in tourist resorts. 20-30k in quiet towns. And short-times can even be had for the locals' price of 5k. One curiosity of Mada is that amateurs like waitresses exploit vazaha (50k ST 100k LT) because they claim not to be pros, and should therefore be paid more! Being a younger guy and speaking French or Malagasy obviously helps avoid these situations.

Worth remembering is the 2008 law against tourists paying adult prostitutes. If the police rigorously applied it, the foreign mongers would go elsewhere. It leaves the vazaha vulnerable to greedy girls who demand extra and threaten to call the police (or a tough), although this can happen anywhere and is usually a bluff.

So, having been everywhere in Madagascar, where are your favourite places for girls in terms of facilities, safety, attitude and service? Did you ever use a pimp or taxi driver? It's not an easy country to travel on-the-cheap (like Asia) so a savvy monger might just rent a place in a pleasant town and let his lady pimp bring in the goods.

Here's a website with nice photos, an article on Nosy Be girls, and how Rajoelina takes illegal Chinese timber money to pay for his government.

[url]http://www.mada.org.uk/index.html[/url]

[QUOTE=La Isla; 1145248]Yes, I contacted them and they are nuts quoting prices of $2700+. South African Airways is quoting $2100. The crazy part is that the airfare is only $1350 Rt NY to Tana. But there is another $650 in taxes!

I found a Kenya charter company here in the US that flies direct JFK to NBO for $837 all taxes included. Air Mad will get me from there to Tana for 542Euros or $783US for a total of $1624US. That's about $500 cheaper than SAA and $1000US cheaper than Air France. Plus I still get the discount in Mada with Air Mad. I may take a few extra days and see Nairobi. Also, at least it'll pay for a flight or two around the country. I definitely will go to Ile Ste Marie and maybe one more city.

Yes, the train ride sounds like its a blast and a great way to see some of the countryside. I am definitely going to look into it. And hiring a driver is not a bad idea either. I found one on the web for $50US a day plus gas.

I am VERY excited about visiting Mada. [/QUOTE].

What about going NY to London via cheapest airline and then using Kenya airways to go from London-nairobi-Antananarivo

Been planning on visiting Mada for a while. They are just a couple of things I'm unsure of before booking my holiday.

1) How easy is it to communicate if one does not speak french or malagasy language. Don't know if a pocket dicktionary will help. My second holiday option is Costa rica but I don't speak spanish either.

2) What are the costs of renting good apartments near the nightlife in Tana.

3) Has anyone had any experience of hiring drivers / cars and what are the costs involved plus any other tips.

4) Internal flights. Is it best to have these included on your ticket or is it better to just buy when in the country.

Bad choice!

Boring as hell without ladies.

Instead, take a plane directly to Morandava. Hang around the beach and the nightclub. The babes will approach you.

[QUOTE=John Palmer; 1147822]Bad choice!

Boring as hell without ladies.

Instead, take a plane directly to Morondava. Hang around the beach and the nightclub. The babes will approach you. [/QUOTE]Mmmmm. Sounds like my kinda place! You mean the L'Aqualimba nightclub, or are there others?

Why particularly Morondava? Aren't the babes in Majunga, Diego, Tamatave & Toliara equally forward?

Breaking news: EU bans Air Madagascar's two B-767s on safety grounds. Report says fares to Mada likely to increase.

[url]http://www.air-valid.co.uk/air-madagascar/air-ticket.html[/url]

[url]http://www.eturbonews.com/22413/eu-bans-air-madagascar-b767s[/url]