The checklist as a PDF
Entry, health, money, transport and safety, laid out for print, with their sources and verification date.
Madagascar
East Africa
Paradise islands, endemic animals and marine parks. The royal hill of Ambohimanga and contrasting island forests.
- On the map
CapitalAntananarivo
When to goApril to mid-December
Suggested length10 days min.
Currencyariary / ariary
LanguagesMalagasy, French
The Viafro verdict
For whom, and for which trip.
An editorial bearing, with no percentage and no rating: our criteria are written down, and every “good to know” links to its source.
- For which trip
- Tananarive · Île aux Nattes · Morondava · Antananarivo · Nosy Be
- Best season
- April to mid-December
- Length
- Allow at least 10 days for these 5 essentials, one stop every two or three days. (Viafro’s rule of thumb)
Best time to visit
Twelve months, in colour.
Hover or tap a month: its reading and its source appear. Bars measure rain, the figure is the capital’s mean maximum.
Ideal
November
Often recommended as the best month for wildlife.
- Mean maximum
- 27 °C
- Rain
- 117 mm
- Station
- Antananarivo
Source: Rough Guides
Before you go
The essentials, tab by tab.
Entry, health, safety, money and facts: dated official extracts, never paraphrased.
Visa, passport, customs
GOV.UK advice, written for British passport holders. French travellers: see France Diplomatie (https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/information-par-pays/madagascar/conseils-aux-voyageurs-entree-sejour).
- To enter Madagascar, your passport must have an ‘expiry date’ at least 6 months after the date you arrive. It must also have at least 2 blank pages. Check with your travel provider that your passport and other travel documents meet requirements. Renew your passport if you need to.
- You can visit Madagascar for up to 15 days without a visa. You must pay a 10-euro administration fee on arrival and be ready to show your onward or return tickets.
- To enter Madagascar, you must have a certificates to prove you’ve had: a yellow fever vaccination if you’re coming from a country listed as a transmission risk
Vaccines, malaria, water
This is not medical advice: talk to your doctor or an international vaccination centre before you travel.
- At least 8 weeks before your trip: Altitude sickness is a risk in parts of Madagascar. Read more about altitude sickness on TravelHealthPro.
- Although there are public and private hospitals in Antananarivo, they can only handle routine operations. For complex surgery, patients are flown to Mauritius, South Africa or Réunion.
Per the ministries
Viafro gives no safety rating: here are the zones and advice published by the French ministry (in French) and the official extracts, with their dates.
Vigilance zones published by France Diplomatie (in French) · page updated on 15 Sept 2026 · see the official map
- Zone · Anjozorobe
A la suite de plusieurs enlèvements survenus dans cette zone et de l’action des forces de l’ordre qui s’en est suivie, il est conseillé de faire preuve d’une prudence toute particulière en cas de déplacement dans cette…
- Zone · Nosy Be
Bien que la situation sécuritaire se soit améliorée, il convient de rester vigilant.
- Zone · Tananarive
Aucune zone n’est épargnée par la délinquance. Les lieux fréquentés par les touristes sont particulièrement visés (escaliers menant au Rova, avenue de l’Indépendance, marché d’Analakely, restaurants).
- Zone · Diego-Suarez
Dans la montagne d’Ambre et la montagne aux Français, faire systématiquement appel à un guide officiel malgache et rester vigilant.
- Zone · Région d’Anosy / Betroka (sud-est du pays)
Des vols de bétail organisés à grande échelle génèrent, de façon récurrente, des affrontements entre forces de l’ordre et bandes armées. Les déplacements dans la région sont à éviter.
L’excursion du Pic Saint-Louis est déconseillée en raison du risque d’agressions.
- Zone · Tuléar
Il est déconseillé de se rendre seul sur la plage de la Batterie, située au nord de la ville de Tuléar, et d’y passer la nuit.
- Zone · Massif de l’Isalo
Les randonnées dans les canyons de ce massif sont déconseillées, tout particulièrement l’après-midi, durant la saison des pluies.
- Zone · Tamatave
La baignade sur les plages de la ville est déconseillée compte tenu des forts courants occasionnés par les travaux d’extension du port.
- Robberies and thefts are commonplace throughout Madagascar. Foreigners are targets for pickpockets and muggers.
- There is a high threat of terrorist attack globally affecting UK interests and British nationals, including from groups and individuals who view the UK and British nationals as targets. Stay aware of your surroundings at all times.
- The cyclone season in Madagascar normally runs from November to April. Coastal areas are particularly at risk. Storms can cut access to remote parts of the country and contaminate water supplies.
What the country’s law provides
Photography, alcohol, drugs, relationships: the rules published by the ministries, quoted as they stand, without comment.
- Drug smuggling is a serious offence. Punishments can be severe and prison conditions are harsh and life-threatening.
Currency
ariary / ariaryViafro publishes no price or budget range without a source: amounts will come from our own expenses recorded on the ground, dated and itemised.
- There are strict rules about goods you can take into or out of Madagascar. You must declare anything that may be prohibited or subject to tax or duty.
Express card
Structured data from Wikidata and the CIA World Factbook, re-checked at every site update.
- Population · 2025
- 32,740,678
- Time zone
- +2 h from Paris
- Plugs and voltage
- Type C, E, G and K plugs · 127 V and 220 V
- Driving side
- Driving on the right
- Calling code
- +261
- Languages
- Malagasy, French
- Area
- 587,295 km²
- Highest point
- Maromokotro, 2,876 m
- Main religions
- Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar/Malagasy Lutheran Church/Anglican Church 34%, Roman Catholic 32.3%, other Christian 8.1%, traditional/Animist 1.7%, Muslim 1.4%, other 0.6%, none 21.9%
Getting there and around
Airports, roads and transport.
- TNRIvato AirportAntananarivo890,632 passengers
- NOSFascene Airport184,000 passengers · official site
- TMMToamasina AirportTamatave80,781 passengers · official site
- SVBSambava AirportSambava80,170 passengers
Direct flights from Paris are to be checked on the airport’s or airline’s website.
On the road
- If you are planning to drive in Madagascar, see information on driving abroad. You need to have both the correct version of the international driving permit (IDP) and your UK driving licence with you in the car. You cannot buy an IDP outside the UK, so get one before you travel.
Destinations
The essentials.
Tananarive
Île aux Nattes
Île aux Nattes (also officially, but less commonly, called Nosy Nato) is a small island south of Île Sainte-Marie, an island off the east coast of Madagascar.
Morondava
Morondava ([murunˈdav̥], from Malagasy: morona lava "long coast") is a city located in Menabe Region, of which it is the capital, in Madagascar.
Antananarivo
Antananarivo (Malagasy: [antananaˈrivʷ]; French: Tananarive, pronounced [tananaʁiv]), also known by its colonial shorthand form Tana (pronounced [tana]), is the capital and largest city of Madagascar.
Nosy Be
Nosy Be (Malagasy pronunciation: [nusʲ be]; formerly Nossi-bé and Nosse Be, lit.
Activities
What to do, sheet by sheet.
Starting point, season, tips and sources: each sheet says only what its sources say.
Madagascar
The Avenue of the Baobabs
Along 260 m of the unpaved Road No. 8, between Morondava and Belon’i Tsiribihina, stand 20 to 25 Grandidier’s baobabs about 30 m tall.
Madagascar
The Tsingy de Bemaraha
Near the west coast, razor-sharp limestone needles rise above the cliffs of the Manambolo River.
Madagascar
The canyons of Isalo
In the south-west, wind and water have carved Isalo’s sandstone into outcrops, plateaus and canyons up to 200 m deep.
Madagascar
The indris of Andasibe-Mantadia
About 150 km east of Antananarivo, this 155 km² rainforest park is home to eleven lemur species.
Madagascar
The Ranomafana forest
Created in 1991 after the discovery of the golden bamboo lemur, Ranomafana protects over 41,600 hectares of tropical rainforest.
Madagascar
Nosy Be island
A volcanic island of 320 km² off the north-west coast, Nosy Be — “the big island” — is Madagascar’s largest and busiest tourist destination.
Madagascar
The whales of Île Sainte-Marie
Off the east coast, Île Sainte-Marie, or Nosy Boraha, covers 222 km².
Madagascar
The royal hill of Ambohimanga
About 24 km north-east of Antananarivo, the fortified hill of Ambohimanga is the best-preserved monument of the precolonial Merina Kingdom.
Madagascar
The caves and tsingy of Ankarana
In the north of the island, the Ankarana reserve, created in 1956, covers a plateau of 150-million-year-old Jurassic limestone.
Madagascar
The Masoala peninsula
Madagascar’s largest protected area, created in 1997, Masoala protects 2,300 km² of rainforest and 100 km² of marine park.
Allée des Baobabs
ZigomarMust-try food
Four dishes, and where to taste them.
Romazava
Romazava is the national dish of Madagascar, consisting of greens, zebu meat, tomatoes, and onions, typically accompanied by a portion of rice. An integral component of the stew is brèdes mafana, called anamalaho in Malagasy; the plant holds an acid amide call
Koba
Koba is a sweet made from ground peanuts, brown sugar and rice flour. It is a traditional food of Madagascar, especially in the highlands. In marketplaces and gas stations one may find vendors selling koba akondro, a sweet made by wrapping a batter of ground p
Laoka
Le laoka est un des deux éléments essentiels de la cuisine malgache, avec le riz (vary). Ce mot désigne les plats salés qui accompagnent le riz à chaque repas puisque ce dernier est considéré comme étant toujours le plat principal. (summary in French)
Mofo gasy
Mofo Gasy, translated as "Malagasy bread", is a Malagasy traditional recipe typically eaten as a breakfast. It consists mainly of rice flour and sugar fried within a specific mold. Mofo gasy can also be made with coconut milk. Variations of the recipe occur ba
Culture and etiquette
Customs, dress, useful words.
- Bonjourhello
- Mercithank you
- S’il vous plaîtplease
- Entries checked on Wiktionary.
- Religions: Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar/Malagasy Lutheran Church/Anglican Church 34%, Roman Catholic 32.3%, other Christian 8.1%, traditional/Animist 1.7%, Muslim 1.4%, other 0.6%, none 21.9%.
- Languages: Malagasy (official) 99.9%, French (official) 23.6%, English 8.2%, other 0.6% (2018 est.).
Festivals and events
The big dates.
- National holiday
Independence Day, 26 June (1960) ; independence: 26 June 1960 (from France).
Fixed dates and moveable events, each with its source; moveable dates change every year and are to be checked on an official calendar.
Did you know?
Three things to remember.
The country’s highest point, Maromokotro, reaches 2,876 m.
32,740,678 inhabitants in 2025 on 587,295 km², about 56 per km².
Independence on 26 June 1960 (from France).
Gallery
See it before you go.
Real photographs: free images under a verified licence and Viafro images. Never a generated image. Credits in the footer.
Share your trip with #viafro: the best images will join this gallery, with your credit.
Live, work, invest
A few key figures.
Sourced data (World Bank). No investment advice.
GDP per capita (current US$)599World Bank · 2025GDP growth3 %World Bank · 2025Inflation (consumer prices)8.1 %World Bank · 2025Unemployment (ILO estimate)3 %World Bank · 2025International tourist arrivals87.1World Bank · 2020
World Bank data (World Development Indicators), consulted on 28 Oct 2026. Tourist arrivals are the latest year published.
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Sources and verification dates · 19 sources, checked on 28 Oct 2026
Travel advice · GOV.UK (FCDO)Entry, visa, safety: the official page, kept up to date by the ministry. Travel health · US CDCVaccines and precautions from a reference medical source. World Heritage · UNESCOThe country’s inscribed sites and tentative list. WikidataCapital and currency, verified structured data.
- Wikidata · Madagascar (Q1019)
- World Bank · World Development Indicators
- GOV.UK (FCDO) · Madagascar · Foreign travel advice · Entry requirements (page updated on 19 Oct 2026)
- GOV.UK (FCDO) · Madagascar · Foreign travel advice · Health (page updated on 19 Oct 2026)
- GOV.UK (FCDO) · Madagascar · Foreign travel advice · Safety and security (page updated on 19 Oct 2026)
- Rough Guides · Best time to visit Madagascar
- Wiktionary · Checked entries (French)
- Wikipedia · Romazava
- Wikipedia · Koba (pâtisserie)
- Wikipedia · Laoka
- Wikipedia · Mofo gasy
- Wikipedia · Île aux Nattes
- Wikipedia · Morondava
- Wikipedia · Antananarivo
- Wikipedia · Nosy Be
- CIA World Factbook · Madagascar (public domain) (page updated on 29 Oct 2026)
- France Diplomatie · Madagascar · Travel advice · Security (zones, in French) (page updated on 15 Sept 2026)
- Wikidata · Airports of the country (IATA code, traffic) (page updated on 29 Oct 2026)
- Wikipedia (climate normals) · Antananarivo · monthly normals (NOAA (sun, 1961-1990){{cite web) (page updated on 29 Oct 2026)
Information checked on 28 Oct 2026. Check the official source before you travel. Viafro gives no safety rating and publishes no price without a source.