Madagascar holidays from the UK: how to plan one

There are no direct flights to Madagascar from the UK, so a holiday there starts with one change, usually in Paris or Addis Ababa, and 15 to 22 hours of travel from London. Allow two weeks if you can, with May to October a useful starting window. You can buy a package from a UK tour operator, book direct with a local operator like us, or go on your own, and the protection depends on what you buy and who sells it.

Madagascar is only two or three hours ahead of the UK, which keeps the time difference small. We're a small, Malagasy-owned operator in Antananarivo, and our private trips run from two days to three weeks, from €320 to €3,070 per adult.

Three ways to book a Madagascar holiday from the UK

A UK tour operator's package. You book the arrangements through one seller. If it includes flights, check the ATOL holder and the certificate for that booking. On one big UK listings site in October 2026, tailor-made Madagascar trips of 10 to 21 days started at about £2,500 to £5,000 per person, without flights. Beach packages to Nosy Be are a resort stay rather than a tour (see our all-inclusive guide).

A local operator, booked direct. That's us. You deal with the people who run the trip, and you buy your own flights. Our Classic South, 11 days down the RN7, costs from €1,730 per adult with your own vehicle and driver-guide, hotels with breakfast, park fees and local guides. Inclusions differ between companies, meals and hotel standard above all, so compare like with like.

On your own. You arrange each vehicle, hotel and park visit separately. Compare the full cost, including fuel and local park guides, and check insurance and driving conditions before choosing a self-drive plan. The FCDO says to avoid taxi-brousse minibuses, and to use a recognised tour operator in parts of the south and west. Our trip cost guide adds up the rest.

ATOL and your money: what to check before paying

ATOL is a UK scheme protecting qualifying flight bookings and flight-inclusive packages if the travel company fails. Ask the seller for its ATOL number, check it, and read the certificate for your specific booking. A logo on a website isn't the certificate.

The Civil Aviation Authority says the rules can also apply to overseas businesses selling flight-inclusive packages to UK consumers. The company's address alone doesn't decide whether a booking is protected.

When you buy the international flight separately from a land itinerary, don't assume the two form one protected package. Ask each supplier what protection applies to its own booking, and check cancellation terms and insurance for supplier failure. Payment-card rights depend on the payment arrangement, so confirm those with your card provider before relying on them.

For a quote from us, check the same practical things: the day-by-day route, named hotels or agreed equivalents, what flights and meals are included, the deposit and cancellation terms, and the final price for your group. You get the written itinerary and price before paying a deposit.

If you want a single flight-inclusive booking with ATOL protection, start with a seller that can issue that certificate. If you prefer to choose the flights yourself, compare a land itinerary on its own terms.

How a booking with us works

• Send your dates. One of our trips or your own idea, your dates and how many of you, on the booking form or WhatsApp. Any start date, from two people.
• Get a plan and a firm price. A real person in Antananarivo replies, usually within 24 hours, with a written itinerary, the final price for your group size and the hotels we've held. Our published prices are indicative, and we confirm the figure in writing before anything is booked.
• Pay the deposit. Only then.

Confirm the route and check domestic availability before paying for international tickets, then send us the times, and we'll fit the first and last days around them. Domestic flights aren't in our prices, but we can book them. You can plan in English, French or Spanish, and a WhatsApp sent on a London lunch break reaches us mid-afternoon.

Flights from London and the rest of the UK

In 2026 a London return to Antananarivo usually costs about £600 to £950, with January the cheapest month (around £590 on average) and July the dearest (over £1,100).

• Ethiopian via Addis Ababa. Compare Heathrow connections and look for a daylight arrival.
• Air France via Paris. Compare connections from your UK departure airport through Charles de Gaulle. It lands late in the evening, so plan a night near the airport.
• Emirates via Dubai. Compare your local UK departure airport, and check the Seychelles stop in the flight details.
• Kenya Airways via Nairobi. Check Madagascar's health entry rules against the full routing with your airline before paying.

Madagascar keeps East Africa Time all year, three hours ahead of GMT. That's three hours ahead of the UK from 25 October 2026 to 28 March 2027, and two during British Summer Time. Our flights guide has the detail.

The visa, money and the FCDO's advice

The visa. For stays over 15 days, British visitors need a tourist visa. Official sources disagree on shorter arrival stays: the FCDO describes visa-free entry with a 10-euro charge, while the eVisa portal lists 30 euros and says arrival prices match. Confirm before travelling. The embassy in London also issues visas before you travel, at £12 for 15 days or £19 for 30 on its January 2026 fee sheet. Your passport needs six months' validity after you arrive and two blank pages. See our visa guide.

Money. On 16 October 2026 a pound bought about 6,000 ariary and a euro was worth about 84p, so take roughly a sixth off our euro prices for pounds. Day to day you pay cash in ariary, and cash machines usually give 400,000 to 800,000 ariary at a time, about £65 to £135. Bring euros rather than pounds, since banks deal mainly in euros and dollars (money guide).

The FCDO. It stopped advising against all but essential travel on 21 October 2025, and in October 2026 it doesn't advise against travel anywhere in the country. It warns of frequent armed robberies on main roads, particularly at night, and asks you to use a recognised tour operator in parts of the west and south. On the Tsiribihina River, where armed criminals have boarded boats, it says to seek alternative routes. Read the FCDO page before you book, and our safety guide. The CDC recommends malaria tablets outside Antananarivo too (vaccinations and malaria).

UK school holidays: what the weather's doing

Madagascar's best months suit the summer holidays and October half-term. Easter is harder.

• Summer. School dates differ by council and school, so use your own calendar before asking for flights. It's the dry season, with firm roads, cold nights in the highlands and whale season off Sainte-Marie from July to September, though the east coast is wet even then. It's peak season too, so book early. June, for Scottish families, is quieter.
• October half-term. Check your school's exact week. October is often drier than the summer on the east coast and hot inland, with lemur babies and the jacarandas in flower. A week only fits one region, such as Andasibe and the Pangalanes Canal, our Eastern trip cut short before the beaches. Skip the Tsingy, where early rains can arrive in late October.
• Christmas. The rains have reached the highlands and the west, cyclones are possible and fares are high. Keep it short: the rainforest at Andasibe is open all year.
• Easter. Good Friday 2027 falls on 26 March, at the tail of the rains. Cyclones are possible until April and the Tsingy de Bemaraha usually opens around mid-April, so keep to Andasibe and the highlands.

Our month-by-month guide covers the rest of the year.