Comments on: Madagascar Travel: 25 Experiences to Get You Started

By: Daniel Noll

Daniel Noll — Sat, 08 Jun 2019 11:18:19 +0000

In reply to Nicola. Thanks, Nicola. Glad to hear it. Hoping this proves useful for your travels in Madagascar!

By: Nicola

Nicola — Tue, 30 Apr 2019 02:38:02 +0000

Thank you so much for your helpful information, Audrey! We are looking forward to our trip to Madagascar. Greatly appreciate you and Daniel sharing super helpful info in this blog. Really enjoy it!

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Sun, 28 Apr 2019 18:53:17 +0000

In reply to Nicola.

Nicola, great to hear that you and your husband are headed soon to Madagascar! I’m sorry it didn’t work with your schedule to go with an organized group tour, but I’m sure you will still have a great experience.

As for fees for exchanging US dollars at TNR airport, I’m afraid I don’t know this exactly as we chose to get local money out at the airport by ATM. We usually do this as this avoids exchange office fees and unfavorable exchange rates. We have heard, however, that the exchange rates at the airport are usually better than at banks so I imagine the fees will be low if you choose to do this.

Regarding tipping, this is obviously a personal choice and is based on the quality of service you receive as well. The guidelines our group used was $2/day for drivers, $25/week for the guide, $1-3 for a local guide (e.g., national park ranger or community guide), and around 10% at restaurants. Hope this helps and fits with your experience and trip!

By: Nicola

Nicola — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 23:42:52 +0000

Thank you so much for sharing very helpful information. Could you please provide some information on the fees for exchanging US dollars that the TNR airport? Also, any suggestion on tipping? My husband and I will be in Madagascar for 16 days in June. We wanted to go with organized group tours, but none of the dates work. We ended up booking our independent tour with a UK travel company. There will be a guide with us the whole time and different drivers depending on where we go. We did not realize that the UK travel company sub-contracts our tour to a South Africa company who makes the arrangement with the local guide/drivers in Madagascar. We have no idea how much our guide/drivers will be paid. We would like to tip our guide and drivers for their service at an appropriate level, but we also do not want to break our bank given how much we have to pay for the tour already. Would you give some advice on tipping? Many thanks!

By: Audrey Scott

Audrey Scott — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 16:53:59 +0000

In reply to Steven.

Yes, Madagascar does have quite a mix of experiences and landscapes to enjoy. As for safety, we did not have any issues and we didn’t meet others who had safety problems. However, it is always important to stay aware of your surroundings, especially in cities. And, to be careful walking around Antananarivo, the capital city, at night. While it’s good to check government travel safety warnings, it’s also wise to do additional research with locals to find out a more accurate situation. More on how to do that here: https://uncorneredmarket.com/danger-map-world-fear-awareness/

By: Steven

Steven — Fri, 10 Aug 2018 08:38:10 +0000

I always wanted to travel to Madagascar for its wildlife! There’s a lot of exotic animals and incredible landscape, and also pretty beaches to relax to… Unfortunately I’ve been quite warned by some people about safety issues for tourists in some parts of the island. But I’m glad to see everything went well during your trip!