Visit The Islands & Beaches of Madagascar, Madagascar
Madagascar is fringed by a number of beautiful islands. The islands are perfect for relaxing after the adventurous experience of Madagascar’s rainforests. Once on the islands, days can be spent snorkelling and diving, pottering around on a bicycle or just lying on the beach.
Beach at Jardin Vanille, Nosy Komba
The Islands & Beaches of Madagascar
Madagascar
Madagascar is fringed by a number of beautiful islands.
Nosy Be is the best known, a relatively developed place with a number of boutique hotels. Though you can find quiet corners of Nosy Be, we prefer the sleepier islands such as Ile Sainte Marie on the east coast, Nosy Komba off northern Madagascar, or the private islands of Tsarabanjina and Nosy Iranja.
Deserted beaches
On these islands it is easy to Madagascar’s Islands find deserted beaches with soft sand and clear water. Ghost crabs scuttle across the sand and - particularly in the north - frigate birds can be seen soaring overhead. Many of the islands have villages on or nearby and you become accustomed to the daily sight of dhows sailing past, filled with thatching palms, grain and cows until they float just inches above the water. In villages breadfruit trees shade bamboo huts and zebu cattle graze in the fields.
Activities
The islands are perfect for relaxing after the adventurous experience of Madagascar’s rainforests. Flights go regularly from Antananarivo to Ile Sainte Marie while even more fly to Nosy Be, from where boats reach Nosy Komba, Tsarabanjina and Nosy Iranja. Once on the islands, days can be spent snorkelling and diving, pottering around on a bicycle or just lying on the beach.
Places within The Islands & Beaches of Madagascar
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- Baobab Beach is a remote stretch of coastline on the furthest tip of Anjanojano in northwest Madagascar. The forest is home to plenty of wildlife such as lemurs and many bird species.
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- Ifaty is a small Vezo fishing village on Madagascar's south eastern coast, on the shores of the Mozambique Channel. Passing through Ifaty in the early morning you'll see hands being warmed over cooking fires, later on people shelter under trees from the heat of the day.
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- Ile Sainte-Marie is a sleepy island off Madagascar’s east coast, ringed by deserted beaches, traditional fishing villages and just a handful of small lodges. As well as a colourful history of piracy in the old days, it now boasts some of the best whale watching in Africa.
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- Nosy Be lies off the northwest of Madagascar and has a near-perfect climate – sunshine with brief showers that are often at night. The beaches are ideal for swimming as they shelve gradually, staying shallow for miles out to sea.
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- One hour by boat southwest of Nosy Be, at low tide Nosy Iranja is a single island but splits into two as rising waters cover the connecting white sandbank. The islands are an important breeding site for hawksbill turtles and scientists are currently working on a turtle monitoring project.
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- Nosy Komba is a beautiful island a few kilometres away from Nosy Be, placed on the map for its population of habituated black lemurs. There are numerous deserted coves to explore as well as paths that lead through tavy farms and into the hills where you will find birds, chameleons and black lemurs.
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- The Nosy Mitsio Archipelago lies 70 kilometres north of Nosy Be and is only accessible by boat. You'll often glimpse bottle nosed dolphins amongst the tiny tropical islands.
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- Situated 55 miles south west of Nosy Be are the extremely remote and rarely visited Radama Islands. Most people have never even heard of these islands, let alone thought about trying to visit them. As so little is known about them, they remain quiet, forgotten and quite simply, paradise on earth.
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