The island of Madagascar, situated off the east coast of Africa, is often considered to be the world’s eighth continent.

With a diversity of wildlife not found anywhere else on the planet, and a varied climate, each area of the island nation has something different to offer.

From the tropical rain forests of the north east to the spiny deserts of the south, and with mountains in between, Madagascar has something to offer everyone.

The only drawback for tourists is a lack of infrastructure; however this also ensures that crowds of foreigners are not overrunning the country.

Madagascar is made up of six provinces – Antsiranana, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Antananarivo, Fianarantsoa and Toliara – the capital city of each lending its name to the province.

Antananarivo, or Tana, as it is more commonly known, is the capital city of Madagascar and is situated in the central highland region of the island.

With an international airport and easy access to Toamasina on the east coast, and many locations in the south, Tana is where most tourists begin their visit to Madagascar.

An enjoyable journey is to follow national route number 7 from Tana to Tulear, which takes in the towns of Antsirabe, Ambositra, Fianarantsoa, Ambalavao, Ihosy and Toliara as well as providing access to scenic attractions such as Ranomafana National Park (lemur spotting and hot springs), Isalo National Park, the Fianarantsoa-Manakara Rail Journey, home made paper factories, spiny forests and world class diving at Ifaty.

Other popular destinations include the islands of Nosy Be in the northwest and St. Marie off the coast of Toamasina in the east, Morondava for its avenue of baobab trees in the west, the magnificent harbour of Antsiranana (Diego Saurez) in the north, and Port Daulphin (Taolagnaro) in the south.

For more travel tips, information about the towns and places mentioned in this introduction and further recommendations, please follow the appropriate links.

If you have recently travelled to Madagascar yourself and wish to drop us line or offer suggestions, please do not hesitate to do so.

Happy reading

Sean Lee (editor – Madagascar section, World66)

NB: Please note that I am currently updating the whole Madagascar section. Please refer to ‘last update’ situated at the start of each section to see if the page has recently been modified.