Madagascan Discoverer

What a sensational trip! Broad in extent; deep in experiences in this fascinating country. Covering an amazing and surprising diversity of landscapes, wildlife, plant life, cultures and endless moments of 'what's next around the corner to amaze the senses?' Just immerse yourself and be deeply rewarded!

"Madagascan Discoverer" was a truly wonderful, very enjoyable, multi-faceted trip with a really excellent guide, Rija. I am writing this review to inform future customers about 1 less-than-good aspect because it might be a safety issue for some people booking this holiday. In addition, Exodus has failed to respond to the comments I made in my on-line post-holiday evaluation about this, so I do not know if Exodus has read the evaluation and is going to do anything to improve the situation. My criticism relates to the harnesses provided for the walk in the Grands Tsingy. Mine was too big for me, even when the smallest harness the company had was adjusted to the smallest possible size. This same problem also affected another person in the group. Both of us are slimmer than most other British adults. Fortunately, neither of us fell and came to any harm. If we had fallen and had had to rely on the harnesses to keep us safe, there would have been the potential for an accident or injury. If you are slim or if you have children who are intending to do the Via Ferrata in the Grands Tsingy, please consider bringing your or their own harness(es) that fits you/them. A harness that does not fit the wearer is of little use. I climb regularly and know how important this piece of equipment is and how a proper fit is necessary for safety. This deficiency on the part of Exodus is made worse because I had actually queried with Exodus BEFORE the trip whether I should bring my own harness to Madagascar. The reply that the Exodus rep gave me was that we would not be doing Via Ferrata and there was no need for the harness. This reveals that the Exodus representative does not know her product: we definitely did a Via Ferrata and we used climbing equipment. Other than this failing, and one or two things which were beyond the control of Exodus, the holiday was very good, hugely interesting and varied and I had a great time. I fully recommend this holiday and in particular, commend Rija for her excellent guiding.

A fantastic adventure holiday. Yes the days are long with a lot of travelling, but the rewards along the way more than make up for it. The spotters ability to find lemurs, chameleons, frogs, geckos, etc (even in the dark!) was unbelievable. Our guide, Claudia, was one of the best guides we've ever had. The landscapes are varied and the people are lovely.

Not so much a holiday, more an adventure of discovery! An island of contrasts, Madagascar is the gift that gives on giving – from the leaping lemurs in the rainforest to the giant baobabs of Morondava and the sandy beaches of Ifaty, there was always something new and exciting to experience and look forward to. As many have commented, the trip is dominated by long drives on poor roads, but the rewards at the end of each journey are exceptional and worth every mile. But don’t sleep through the drives as you’d miss the breathtaking ever-changing landscapes of Madagascar, from rainforest to stunning highlands, paddy fields, white sandy beaches, boulder-strewn deserts, spiny forests, rivers and of course the fascinating towns and villages of this incredible island – not forgetting the resourceful and welcoming Malagasy people. We were exceptionally lucky with our weather and wildlife spotting and the whole trip ran very smoothly due mainly to Sol, our superb guide, who made it all happen with charm and efficiency. If you want five-star accommodation and haute cuisine, this is not the trip for you. You’ll get a comfy bed and (generally) hot water at the end of each dusty day, a limited but well-cooked menu of zebu/chicken/fish for cheap lunches and dinners and the opportunity to experience the Malagasy culture at first hand, including the children who will wave from the side of the road, press you for ‘bon bons’ and delight in seeing themselves on the back of a camera. The unique wildlife and cultural melting pot make Madagascar an exceptional destination, and this varied and illuminating trip was better than I expected, such that it will take me some time to process the whole experience. I was also fortunate enough to be with lots of fun, like-minded people in the group who really added to my enjoyment of the trip.

I’ve wanted to visit Madagascar for some time, mainly to see the lemurs and to visit the giant baobab trees, but there is so much more to Madagascar, it has to be one of the most amazing and unique places I have ever travelled to! Everyday there was something new and exciting to experience. This is a fast-paced trip and you are always on the move, with quite a lot of long drives on poor roads, but I have to say it’s totally worth it, you just have to embrace it as part of the adventure. Even during the long drives the landscape is constantly changing, we travelled through cool rainforests, paddy fields, sandy beaches, canyons, deserts, spiny forests, rivers, and some really the fascinating towns and villages.

This is not a trip for anyone seeking a rest. The days are long and you aren’t going to get a nap on the bus unless you nab a front seat or can sleep literally anywhere. However, you will get to see some absolutely amazing creatures in the wild that you will not see anywhere else, see the magnificent baobabs, fake baobabs and fake fake baobabs and find yourself in more different landscapes and climates than you can reasonably expect in one country. So many people have told me Madagascar is on their wish list but, until you have been there, you can not imagine it. They need all the tourism they can get in order to help more locals understand how conservation can actually benefit them and, with the rarity of species that Madagascar has, the sooner you go, the better.

This trip gives you a glimpse of an incredibly varied country rich with unique wildlife and landscapes. Yes the roads maybe a bit bumpy :) but you soon forget that when every day you see so many endemic lemurs, sifakas, chameleons and, if you are lucky, a fossa. The tour leader Rija is the best that I have ever met on an Exodus trip. Her vast knowledge and infectious passion made the trip even more special and memorable.

HotelsThe hotels were clean and the staff were friendly. Some of the hotels were run on solar power or generators which were turned off around 22:00/23:00. Turned back on about 5:00, remember to take a torch with you. All the rooms were a good size. Some hotels did not have hot water, although a bucket of hot water could be provided. The hotels provided bars of soap, some of which had been used by the previous occupants. Net curtains were provided in some of the hotels. I would recommend always wearing mozzie spray at all times, and taking sufficient toiletries for the duration of your trip.The roads are awful, making all journeys long and uncomfortable. Arriving at the hotel after an early start, given our room keys and told we needed to order dinner. I understand the need for ordering as they needed to freshly cook the food. There was no time to wind down before eating.FoodBreakfasts were simple, bread, jam, fruit, and eggs. There was enough food provided to start your day.Lunch was non-existent on many days. Several days we had chips and cereal barsOn the occasions we did stop for lunch then it was a tourist type restaurant where the food was more like a main meal. There were no light lunches and we ended up with a plate of chips (French fries). For the majority of our journey there are no places to buy snacks. At least 4 of our journeys resulted in a picnic lunch of the bus. One hotel offered us a packed lunch of omelette or sardine sandwiches which are not to everyone's taste.Dinner. All bar one was taken in the hotel as there are very few restaurants around, and none outside the main towns. There was a limited choice of food in the hotels and most people on our group had upset stomachs. The food was overcooked and the meat/fish was tough.RoadsAre terrible, potholes that you could fit a car in. The journeys on the 4x4 and the bus were very uncomfortable and the proposed journey time in the trips notes were under estimated. We had three journeys of 12 hours. The state of the roads means that after your early start to the day that you are unable to have a ‘nap’.TransportThe bus and 4x4 were in a good condition, albeit that our bus needed to change a tyre and to fix a slow puncture. The tread on the tyres would not pass a MOT. As we were a small group (8) then we could spread ourselves around. It did however make slow progress due to the road conditionsWe had sufficient room in the 4x's however we were thrown around due the road surface, which was mainly mud. The drivers were very mechanically minded and could fix problems on the cars and quickly change tyres.The very long days did detract from the overall experience of the tripWildlife There is abundant wildlife which our guides managed to find for us. We were able to take many, many photographs. The wildlife and in particular seeing lemurs in the wild was the main reason to go to Madagascar. There were a lot of them and we saw many different types. The mouse lemur is the cutest. WalkingThere is a lot of walking on uneven ground as the animals are living in their natural habitat. Be prepared to scramble through the undergrowth to get ‘that’ picture. BeggingMadagascar is a poor country and not set up for mass tourism. Be prepared to see a lot of children begging for sweets and money as you travel through the countryside.

I loved this trip and would even rate it as excellent, but future travelers need to understand that Madagascar is a third, possibly 4th world country. So there are, as some others have said, days of long drives on bad roads and heavy dust, and days with limited electricity, but it is all worth it to discover the beauty of Madagascar and its wildlife and people. This is a fascinating place, albeit being slowly destroyed, and my hope is that her future can be secured by people interested enough to tour there.

Madagascar doesn't fail to delight. From the rain-forests to the spiny-forests and the beaches to the highlands there is something to interest everyone. Each of these unique environments harbour their own specialised family of wildlife and the smallest of insects is as fascinating as the the largest of lemurs. It truly is a special place.