11-Days Classic Madagascar Safari

After breakfast, your guide will take you on a four-hour trip east to Andasibe, a beautiful rainforest area. Perinet Special Reserve and Mantadia National Park make up the park's protected areas. The Indri lemur, the world's largest living lemur species, can only be found in the wild on the island of Perinet.

On the way to Andasibe, you'll pass rice paddies, redbrick homes, and roadside stands selling fresh, locally grown produce for first-time visitors to Madagascar. Come see several habituated lemurs in the afternoon at Vakona Lodge's private reserve, Lemur Island. The bamboo lemur, the black-and-white ruffed lemur, the brown lemur, and the diademed sifaka are the four species that can be observed.

You will pack a picnic lunch and drive to Mantadia National Park (about 1.5 hours) after breakfast. The indri, diademed sifaka, grey bamboo lemur, red-bellied lemur, and white-ruffed lemur are just a few of the lemur species you can see in this beautiful park. The routes may be little more challenging, but the taller, wilder, less populated forest more than makes up for it. The scaly ground roller, the pitta-like ground roller, and the breasted coua are just a few of the many species of birds found here. Spending an entire day in Mantadia is necessary to see everything there is to see. This area is a veritable treasure trove for birdwatchers, reptile enthusiasts, and naturalists. Have a lunch near the Rianasoa Waterfall, then take a short hike back to your car and the resort. You can take another nighttime stroll with your tour guide if you like.

Enjoy a guided tour of the 810-hectare Perinet Reserve in search of the Indri after a hearty breakfast. This lemur is one of the few species that cannot thrive in captivity; its tail is so short that it is scarcely visible, and its black and white stripes give it a surprised teddy-bear face. While exploring the rainforest, you may come upon one of the other eleven species of lemur. A group of grey bamboo lemurs, brown lemurs, sifakos, or ruffed lemurs might be waiting for you. Among the many endemic bird species that visitors should keep an eye out for are the velvet asity, the blue coua, the Nuthatch vanga, and many others. Many of Madagascar's reptiles, insects, and the island's more than a thousand varieties of orchids can be found in Perinet. After lunch, you'll head back to Tana and check into your hotel.

The journey to Fort Dauphin begins today with a transfer to Ivato Airport. When you arrive in Fort Dauphin, a guide and car from Mandrare River Camp will pick you up and take you to a fantastic local eatery. The four-hour trip to Mandrare River Camp follows an early lunch. Relax in your tent as you take in the stunning scenery of the Mandrare River after you have arrived at camp. Plan on setting out for a stroll through the Zenavo Forest at 5:00 p.m. This is a great opportunity to observe the nocturnal lemurs awakening and the diurnal lemurs settling in for the night in the ancient and creepy Spiny Forest. Nightfall brings two types of mouse lemurs, sleeping birds, chameleons, owls, and now active sportive lemurs to the scene, in addition to the sifakas and sleeping white-footed sportive lemurs you saw before.

The beautiful sacred gallery forest is located to the south of the camp, and you will visit it after breakfast. To get to this mostly deciduous forest, you'll either have to walk or take a boat across the Mandrare River. The highlight of this trip is the opportunity to interact with curious groups of ring-tailed lemurs and the ever-entertaining Verreaux sifaka. Come back to camp for lunch and a chill afternoon by the water. In the late afternoon, you can go for a stroll in the sacred spiny forest, which is home to the ancestor tombs of the native Antandroy tribe and an extraordinary variety of flora and wildlife. An Antandroy tracker and your personal guide will brief you on the local way of life. After your tour, relax with a drink in hand on the banks of the Mandrare River.

Return to Fort Dauphin after breakfast, where a guide from Manafiafy Beach & Rainforest Lodge will meet you and lead you to lunch at one of the town's many excellent eateries. Travel to Manafiafy Beach & Rainforest Lodge (2.5 hours) in the early afternoon. Manafiafy, sometimes called Sainte Luce, is a stunning sandy bay surrounded by verdant mountains and teeming mangroves. After settling into your posh bungalow, set out for a stroll around the Coastal Rainforest at 4:30 o'clock.

Visit the southernmost section of Madagascar's coastal rainforest to look for lemurs, geckos, chameleons, and other reptiles. More than half of the bird species in this area are endemic. Nighttime lemurs, the Madagascar scops owl, satanic leaf-tailed geckos, and other expert chameleons await your observation.

Visit the Stitch Project and a nearby woodworking shop in Antanosy after a hearty breakfast of fresh fruit, pain au chocolat, breads, cereals, and eggs. Azafady, a non-governmental organization, founded Stitch to give local women access to job training in embroidery, English, and business. The women of Madagascar have a long history of using their embroidery skills to create exquisite handbags, belts, and other accessories.

After a three-course meal and some rest, it's time to visit the surrounding mangrove network for some birdwatching and photography at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. This 40-kilometer network runs from Manafiafy to Fort Dauphin, with the spectacular Anosy Mountain Range as a backdrop, and is perfect for botanists, landscape photographers, and adventurers. You will be motorboating through the mangroves today. Some of Madagascar's endemic avian species are the malachite kingfisher, pygmy kingfisher, harrier hawk, crested ibis, and blue coua

You will be transferred to the airport for your flight back to Antananarivo with Air Madagascar after a quick breakfast and a short (2.5-hour) drive back to Fort Dauphin. Your personal tour guide will be waiting for you at the airport and will take you directly to your hotel.