The best time to visit Madagascar, month by month

The best time to visit Madagascar is usually May to October, the dry season. The roads are firm, the highland days mild, and the Tsingy de Bemaraha, which closes for the rains, is usually open. September to November adds lemur babies and birdsong, with fewer people about. From December to March the rains close much of the west and can bring cyclones, though it's also when the chameleons are at their most active.

The right month depends on where you're going and what you most want to see, and a route that's perfect in October can be a slog in February. We're Malagasy and we drive these roads every season. This is the year as we plan around it.

Madagascar weather and wildlife, month by month

Lonely Planet's caution applies to every line below: the rains sometimes start in October and sometimes not until December, and in a damp year they run on into April.

• January. The heart of the rains. Antananarivo averages about 310 mm and 17 rainy days, the Tsingy de Bemaraha is usually closed, and cyclones are possible: Fytia came ashore on the west coast on 31 January 2026. The forests are green and quiet, and frogs and reptiles are at their most active. The short Andasibe trip works. The west doesn't.
• February. Still deep in the rains, and in the middle of the likeliest stretch for cyclones, January to March. Most hit the east coast: Gezani made landfall at Toamasina on 10 February 2026 and killed at least 59 people. Bradt suggests February for botanists, when many orchids flower, but long road trips are a gamble. We'd rather tell you honestly that a route doesn't work in February than sell you a bad week.
• March. The rain eases in the highlands and the west, but the east coast is at its wettest, about 450 mm at Toamasina. Cyclones are still possible. France's travel advice warns against walks in Isalo's canyons in the rainy season, especially in the afternoon, because of flash floods.
• April. The turn of the season. Antananarivo is down to about four rainy days, the countryside is still green, and the north starts to dry out. Cyclones are still possible. The Tsingy de Bemaraha usually opens around mid-April, but the date moves with the rains, so don't hang a trip on it this early.
• May. Still green, and quiet before the July crowds: Lonely Planet calls it an exceptional month. The dry season has reached everywhere except the east coast, and trekking season starts. The western tracks are usually open, though parts of the Grand Tsingy can stay shut until about June.
• June. Winter sets in, with clear days and cold nights. The first humpbacks reach Sainte-Marie, and 26 June is Independence Day.
• July. High season and the coolest month, with Europe on its summer holidays. The highlands and the west are bone dry, but the east coast is in its winter rains: Sainte-Marie averages about 290 mm and 22 rainy days in July, which is also a prime whale month there. Verreaux's sifakas give birth in the western dry forest, and in the highlands it's the season for famadihana, the "turning of the bones" ceremonies. Book early.
• August. Peak season, like July, and Bradt's advice is to avoid both if crowds bother you. Whales are off Sainte-Marie and the south-west coast, and from late July off Nosy Be. Ring-tailed lemurs give birth in August and September, so look for babies at Anja and in Isalo.
• September. The crowds thin as Europe goes back to work. It's dry nearly everywhere, though Bradt notes it's often windy in the south. Whales are still about, birds start breeding and calling, brown lemur babies begin to appear, and whale sharks usually arrive off Nosy Be.
• October. Bradt's favourite month, with November, for the fine weather, the jacarandas in flower and the lemurs with babies. Birding is at its best, and it's the fossa's mating season (roughly September to December), though you'd only see one with luck, on a night walk in Kirindy. Inland it's hot, about 31 °C by day around Isalo. A caution: one UK specialist no longer recommends the Tsingy de Bemaraha after mid-October, since the early rains of 2022.
• November. The season turns. The first storms reach the highlands, and the Tsingy de Bemaraha closes when the rains set in: in 2022 Madagascar National Parks shut it on 16 November after the Manambolo river rose early. Reptile season starts, birds and baby lemurs are still at their best, and Bradt adds lychees on the roadside stalls of the east. Sainte-Marie has its fewest rainy days of the year.
• December. The rains reach the highlands and the west, and Nosy Be averages about 300 mm. The south-west stays mostly dry. Christmas and New Year are busy, divers rate December for visibility, and golden bamboo lemurs are born at Ranomafana. Cyclones can come this early: Belna hit the north-west on 9 December 2019.

When to go for lemurs, whales, birds and reptiles

• Lemurs. Any month, because they don't migrate. Our Lemur Safari page puts the best window at May to mid-November, when it's cooler for walking and the lemurs are active and easy to see. One catch for night walks: from June to September dwarf lemurs, giant jumping rats, tenrecs and some reptiles are less active, Bradt notes, so there's less to find.
• Lemur babies. Verreaux's sifakas, the dancers of the western dry forest, are born mostly in July, ring-tails in August and September, Nosy Be's black lemurs from late August and common brown lemurs from September, both until November, crowned lemurs in the far north from mid-September to October, and golden bamboo lemurs in December. So September to November gives one trip the best chance of babies of several species. Our guide to where to see lemurs says which forest holds which.
• Humpback whales. Off Sainte-Marie, July to September, with the first whales from June. The channel is a calving ground, and groups with calves become more common after the first month. Along the south-west coast whales pass from about June to October, and the waters off Tulear are a recognised breeding area. Off Nosy Be, a 2018 survey logged them from late July to mid-October. Under Madagascar's 2023 whale-watching rules, boats keep at least 100 m away, and swimming with whales isn't allowed.
• Birds. Mid-September to early December, when many species breed and sing. The forest ground-rollers in particular are hard to find outside that window. Our birdwatching page says September to November, and specialist birding operators stretch it into early December.
• Chameleons and other reptiles. November to March, in the warm rains, when they're most active and brightly coloured and newborn chameleons cling to the leaves. The catch is the rain: the west is shut and the drives are slower. The 2-day Andasibe trip, with the Peyrieras reserve on the way, runs all year, and in the north Montagne d'Ambre and Ankarana are superb for herping before the heavy rains of January. Our reptiles and insects page has more.

Trekking, beaches, crowds and prices

• Trekking. May to October, as on our trekking page. Pack warm for Andringitra, where nights go below freezing from April to September, and start at first light in Isalo, which is hottest in October and November.
• Beaches. Around Nosy Be and on the south-west coast it's dry from about May to October. Sainte-Marie's driest months are September to November, after the whales. Whale sharks usually visit Nosy Be from September to December, and the kitesurfers' wind blows steadily at Diego's Three Bays from May to October.
• Crowds and prices. July and August, and the fortnight around Christmas and New Year, are the busiest weeks, when the best-known lodges fill first. April and May, and September to November, are quieter. Flights and hotels are cheapest in the rains. Our prices are per adult and indicative: season is one of the things that moves the final quote, and we confirm it in writing before anything is booked.