This is a travel diary from a group who spent five weeks touring Madagascar in rental 4x4s.
In Post 1 Madagascar Road trip. River boat to Tsingy.you can read about the trip from Tana (Antananarivo) by car and the two-day boat journey down the Tsiribihina River. Here you will find general tips on travelling in Madagascar.
Post 2 Madagascar Road Trip 2: Tsingy and 4×4 Adventure Along the West Coast.covers the visit to the unique Tsingy rock formations and the drive south along a roadless coastline dotted with small resorts.
Here in Post 3 you can read about the well-known tourist route RN7 from Toliara back to Tana.
In Post 4: Madagaskar Roadtrip 4. The East Coast– Ambila Lemaitso you can read about the coastline east of Tana, the beautiful resorts located here, the Indian Ocean and the quiet backwater region, and the Canal des Pangalanes.
Alle poster om Madagaskar fins her Madagaskar
After the rather shattering journey along the west coast from Tsingy to Toliara (see Post 2), we were looking forward to cruising smoothly on asphalt along RN7 to Tana. RN7 is Madagascar’s most frequently used tourist route. It gives you a real sense of the country’s varied landscapes.
But leaving Toliara, there was no cruising at all. The first 100 km were exceptionally bad, with massive potholes. The scenery was flat and dull: open, sun-scorched fields. According to our driver, all of this had once been forest. Now it has been cleared, mostly for firewood, as all cooking is done over open flames. Along the road we saw small stalls selling a few sticks of firewood and piles of charcoal. We even passed truck drivers cooking lunch in huge pots over roadside fires.
Eventually the landscape changed. Mountains appeared, interspersed with bright green terraced rice fields. Along the coast, houses are built of straw, but here they are made of brick. Odd-looking houses with a tiny footprint but two stories high. The difference in building style is simply about access to materials: the coast has sand and reeds; the interior has clay-rich soil that can be baked into bricks.
The bricks are extremely local. Where there are rice fields, you’ll also find brick kilns—though not real kilns. The clay is shaped into bricks and stacked into large square heaps with channels and firing chambers at the bottom. The bricks themselves are the kiln. Wood is stuffed inside and burned for a while. Then the finished bricks are transported by zebu carts to building sites, while rice is planted where the clay was dug out. A smart and efficient system.
Rum Distillery
Madagascar’s national drink is rum, made from sugarcane. Suddenly one of the many distilleries appeared around a bend. The facilities were right next to, and even across, the road. Fermentation on one side, distillation on the other. No walls—just a roof over hollowed-out tree trunks filled with water, cooling the distillate coming from wood-fired stills. Between the cooling logs, a man was sleeping off the effects of “quality control.”
The rum was sold in old water bottles. We bought one, but cannot recommend the product.
As the mountains appeared, the road thankfully improved as well, and stayed fairly decent all the way to Antsirabe. There was a lot of resurfacing work happening, so this road is clearly a priority. But overall you shouldn’t expect to average more than 40 km/h, so allow plenty of time for the 920 km journey.
Isalo National Park
There’s no reason to rush. For example, stop at Isalo National Park. There are several accommodation options; we chose Isalo Ranch and liked it a lot. The park covers an area of reddish sandstone formations, a bit like a lunar landscape. You can wander on your own among the rock outcrops rising from the sand, or join a guided hike through canyons and up onto ridges. We chose the latter and walked narrow paths along steep slopes, with small streams trickling below. It was dense with palms and shrubs—very jungle-like.
At the end of a canyon, two natural pools with waterfalls invited us for a swim. The hike finished with a generous lunch at a campsite. Cold beer had been carried up, and a traveling cook had prepared a warm lunch over a wood fire. And of course, lemurs bounced around in the trees or came down to inspect the tourists—no doubt hoping to snatch a bite.
Fianarantsoa
This historic city is worth a stop; it used to be a provincial capital. Sitting at 1200 m, it has an interesting old town on a hill in the center. You can stroll among old wooden and brick houses on cobbled streets.
In the evening, we walked from our hotel to the local Carrefour—the place where tourists can buy anything they miss from home. When we got there, we discovered the store had moved. At that moment, the skies opened. We ran back to the hotel but were soaked within seconds.
Moral of the story: never go out at night without rain gear.
If you have time, you can take the train down to Manakara on the east coast—a spectacular journey across countless bridges and through tunnels. The train runs three times a week and can take one to two days. Like most things in Madagascar, predictability is not its strong suit.
Ranomafana National Park
Closer to Tana, take a detour on RN45 to Ranomafana National Park. Here you’ll find rainforest, steep trails and slippery slopes. True jungle atmosphere, with bamboo and lianas to grab hold of. Not everything is suited for those with poor mobility, but the guides seem to judge their guests well.
We saw lemurs, and slid down ridiculously steep slopes to find the little creatures. Lemur spotters are stationed in strategic places and call guides when they appear. The result: sudden rushes and clusters of tourists snapping photos like crazy.
Ambositra
Also worth a stop. The town is known for its artisan traditions, with many shops selling local crafts. The Zafimaniry people are especially famous for their woodwork.
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Antsirabe
The last stop before Tana, which we also visited on the way west. The town has many colonial buildings, spa hotels, and an elegant railway station. You’ll also find plenty of places to buy handicrafts.
