Money in Madagascar: the ariary, cash, cards and tipping

Madagascar's currency is the ariary (MGA, written Ar). The central bank's 13 October 2026 reference rates were about 5,000 ariary to the euro and 4,540 to the US dollar. That makes 10,000 ariary roughly 2 euros or $2.20 before fees. Plan to obtain ariary after arrival, from a cash machine or a licensed exchange counter.

For travel around the country, plan to use cash. Cards work in the larger hotels and a few restaurants, often with a surcharge, and cash machines pay out only 400,000 to 800,000 ariary at a time (about 80 to 160 euros). On our trips the vehicle, driver-guide, hotels with breakfast, park fees and local guides are already paid, so your cash goes on meals, drinks and tips.

The ariary: notes, coins and the old franc

The ariary replaced the Malagasy franc in 2005, at five francs to one ariary. Check which currency an older quoted amount uses.

The notes are 100, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000 ariary, and you'll mostly handle notes. Change is often short, so keep 1,000s and 2,000s for taxis and tips, and break big notes at hotels and supermarkets. Some people, mostly older and in the countryside, still count in francs: if a market price sounds five times too high, ask which one it's in.

What the ariary is worth in October 2026

The central bank's reference rates for 13 October 2026 were about 5,000 ariary to the euro and 4,540 to the US dollar. Those are reference figures, not the amount an exchange counter promises to hand over.

For pounds, check your bank's conversion as well as the ariary rate. A British traveller buying euros before departure may pay one conversion at home and another in Madagascar, so compare the total cost with using a card for cash withdrawals.

Check the day's figure on the central bank's website and ask the bureau about commission. The useful comparison is the final amount of ariary you receive for the notes you hand over.

Euros, dollars or a card: what to bring

Bring euros. Banks deal mainly in euros and dollars, and Rough Guides says euros are easier to change and tend to get a better rate, so British travellers do better with euros than pounds. Euros are often accepted in tourist areas such as Nosy Be, but paying in ariary usually works out cheaper, because a price quoted in euros can use a rate that suits the seller.

Banks and bureaux change dollars too, and some places in Antananarivo and the tourist areas take them. Bring clean, undamaged notes, recent ones if you can. Smaller notes are easier to use than very large denominations.

Bring a card too, ideally a Visa and a Mastercard. Visa is the more widely taken, but some machines accept only one network. American Express is close to useless here.

Canada's travel advice says ariary may not be exported, so change any substantial surplus before departure. Foreign cash must be declared on arrival from 7,500 euros, says the UK Foreign Office, or it can be seized when you leave. Buying the visa at the airport? Carry the fee in euro notes as well as a card, as our visa guide explains.

Where to change money, and the receipt

• Ivato airport. Antananarivo's airport has an exchange counter and cash machines in the arrivals hall. Compare the displayed rate and fees, and change enough for the first day or two.
• Banks. Use a licensed bank in Antananarivo or a larger town, and check its exchange service and opening hours.
• Bureaux de change. In Antananarivo they often beat the banks. Hotels change money at a worse rate, fine for a small top-up.
• Not on the street. The changers who approach visitors in the capital can offer more, but miscounted bundles and fake notes are the risk.

Count the notes at the counter, and keep the receipt until you've left the country. You can change ariary back at Ivato and some banks in the capital, though not every bank will, and only in round amounts, since the counters have no euro coins. Do it before security: at the time of writing the law doesn't let you pay in ariary in Ivato's departure lounge.

Cash machines: which work, and what they give

Cash machines are in Antananarivo and the larger towns, among them Antsirabe, Fianarantsoa, Toamasina and Tulear, and Morondava, Nosy Be and Sainte-Marie usually have one or two. Outside the towns there are very few. Check the card-network logos and the fee on screen before accepting a withdrawal.

• A low cap. Usually 400,000 to 800,000 ariary a withdrawal. The limit depends on the machine, the notes available and your card. Some let you withdraw again straight away, others cap the day's total, and your own card has a limit too.
• A fee at some banks. The machine may charge a local fee as well as your own bank's charges. Read the screen before accepting.
• Machines that run dry. They run out of notes or go offline, so take out cash the day before a long drive.
• Pay in ariary. If the screen offers to charge you in euros, dollars or pounds, say no. That conversion usually costs more than your bank's.
• Inside, by day. Use machines inside a bank or shopping centre, in daylight, and walk away from anyone who offers to help.

What our trip prices already pay for

Every set trip is private and priced per adult, from two people. It includes your own vehicle and English-speaking driver-guide, accommodation with breakfast, and park entrance fees and local guides, which we book and pay directly. So there's nothing to pay at the park gate, and the rooms are already paid for.

On the 10-day West Adventure, from €1,540, the camping equipment and river crew for the Tsiribihina are arranged too. What's left for your wallet is lunches and dinners, drinks, tips and personal spending, plus any flight a trip leaves out, such as the one back from Tulear at the end of the Classic South, from €1,730.

Our trip cost guide puts meals, drinks and tips at roughly 25 to 45 euros a day each, so a couple on the 11-day Classic South needs about 550 to 1,000 euros between them, before souvenirs. We'd bring about half in euros and take the rest from cash machines on the way. Asking for a written quote on the booking page costs nothing.

Tipping: who gets what

Tips aren't included in our prices. Pay them in ariary, since euros and pounds are little use to most people on the island. Sources differ, so treat these as a starting point:

• Your driver-guide. Around 5 to 10 euros a day from the group on a multi-day trip, given at the end.
• Park guides. 2,000 to 10,000 ariary per person after a good day, and more after a great one.
• Porters and hotel staff. About 1,000 to 2,000 ariary a bag, and about 2,000 a day for housekeeping.
• Restaurants. About 5 per cent is normal and 10 per cent generous.
• Crews. After a river trip, the crew's tip is often handed over together at the end, with a few words of thanks.

How much cash to carry, and how to carry it

Plan where you'll keep bulky bundles of ariary.

• Split it. Keep a day's spending in a wallet you could hand over, and the rest in a money belt or the hotel safe. Bradt's advice is never to keep all your cash and cards in one place.
• Keep a reserve. Keep some euros apart for an empty machine.
• Top up in the big towns, except before a stretch like the river, where there's nowhere to.
• Check your change. Count the change before you leave the counter or stall.
• Hand it over if you're robbed. Don't resist a robbery.

For plugs, SIM cards and the rest, see what to know before you go.

Photos: Sitraka and Graphic Node on Unsplash.