11 days · North
Northern Madagascar: Beaches, Tsingy & Wildlife
The Three Bays, Montagne d'Ambre, the red Tsingy and a full day in Ankarana's caves, then Lokobe and the sand of Nosy Iranja.
Destination guide
Nosy Be: things to do, when to go and how to get there
Lokobe and its black lemurs, the islands you reach by boat, the dry months and the cyclone months, the flight or the boat from Ankify, and how Nosy Be fits on the end of a trip through the north.
Nosy Be (the name means "big island" in Malagasy) is Madagascar's best-known island, off the north-west coast. It's 30 to 45 minutes by fast boat from Ankify on the mainland, or under two hours by air from Antananarivo to Fascene airport. Go for beaches and boat days more than wildlife: black lemurs in Lokobe forest, snorkelling at Nosy Tanikely, the sandbar at Nosy Iranja and sunset from Mont Passot. May to October, the dry season, suits it best, and three or four nights is about right.
Both of our north trips finish with four nights here, after Diego Suarez and the Tsingy of Ankarana: the 11-day Northern Madagascar trip, from €1,790 per adult, and the 12-day Northern Madagascar Adventure, priced on request. Both are private and can be reshaped.
Is Nosy Be worth it?
For a few days at the end of a trip, yes. But it's the most developed tourist area in Madagascar, and most of what you'll do there happens on the water.
The wildlife is real but limited: black lemurs, chameleons, turtles around the smaller islands and, in season, whales and whale sharks offshore. If lemurs are why you're coming, the mainland forests matter more (see where to see lemurs), and the north trips give Montagne d'Ambre and Ankarana a full day each on the way.
The beaches on Nosy Be itself are pleasant rather than remarkable. Ambatoloaka is the busiest resort, and Andilana, in the north-west, tends to have the clearest water. The whiter sand and better snorkelling are out on the small islands, and the reef close to Nosy Be is degraded in places, so build the stay around the boat days.
We're a private-trip operator, not a resort seller. If all you want is a week at one beach hotel, booking it directly is simplest. Where we help is getting you here through the north, with Lokobe and the boat days arranged, or fitting Nosy Be onto the end of a longer trip.
Lokobe National Park and the black lemurs
Lokobe takes up the south-east corner of Nosy Be: 862 hectares of forest and sea, protected since 1927 and a national park since 2011. Madagascar National Parks calls it one of the last refuges of primary forest in Madagascar. Most visits start in the morning with a pirogue, an outrigger canoe, paddled past the mangroves to Ampasipohy, a small village a short walk from the forest. From there you go in on foot with a local guide.
The animal everyone comes for is the black lemur, and only the males are black. The females are chestnut to golden brown with white ear tufts, so a family can look like two species sharing a tree. They're Endangered. For reptiles there are panther chameleons, usually blue or blue-green here, tiny Brookesia leaf chameleons and tree boas.
Ask Madagascar National Parks which circuits are currently authorised at Lokobe, including any proposal to visit after dark. Confirm the guide, opening time and fee before arranging transport.
On both north trips day 8 is Lokobe: the canoe in, a guided walk, lunch near the park and a free afternoon. Park fees and the local guide are in the trip price.
The nearer islands: Nosy Komba, Nosy Tanikely and Nosy Sakatia
- Nosy Komba. A round island off the Lokobe peninsula, with no roads. Near Ampangorina, the main village, black lemurs protected by a local fady (taboo) have lost their fear of people, and visitors are often handed bananas to feed them. We'd say no: the IUCN's primate specialists advise against feeding or touching lemurs anywhere, since they can bite and diseases pass both ways.
- Nosy Tanikely. A small marine national park about 8.5 km south of Nosy Be, and the usual snorkelling trip, often paired with Nosy Komba. The park counts 154 fish species, 110 kinds of coral and two kinds of turtle. Touching the animals is forbidden, and it gets busy in high season.
- Nosy Sakatia. A small island off the north-west coast, with some of the most important turtle-nesting beaches around Nosy Be. On the 12-day trip it's the snorkelling day, and with a bit of luck you may find yourself swimming alongside sea turtles.
Nosy Komba and Nosy Tanikely aren't on our set trips. Every trip can be reshaped, so if you'd rather swap a day for them, or add a day or two of diving, tell us and we'll look at it.
Nosy Iranja and its sandbar
Nosy Iranja is two islands south-west of Nosy Be, roughly an hour to an hour and a half away by speedboat: Nosy Iranja Be, which is inhabited, and tiny Nosy Iranja Kely. At low tide a sandbar about 1.5 km long surfaces between them and you can walk from one to the other. At high tide it's gone, so the day is planned around the tide. Sea turtles lay their eggs on the beaches.
The 11-day trip gives Nosy Iranja two full days, for swimming and snorkelling, with both nights back on Nosy Be, so each day starts and ends with that boat ride. The 12-day trip spends one day there. Ask Christian separately where any proposed whale-watching boat would operate and what is running on your dates. A Nosy Iranja sandbar visit does not establish a whale-watching location, and no wildlife sighting can be promised.
More things to do: Mont Passot, Hell-Ville and ylang-ylang
- Mont Passot. Nosy Be's favourite sunset viewpoint, over the Mozambique Channel, and you can drive up. On the way you pass some of the island's eleven crater lakes, where Nile crocodiles live, so look rather than swim. The 12-day trip ends its Nosy Sakatia day up here.
- Hell-Ville. The main town, officially Andoany, takes its French name from Admiral de Hell. It has markets, old colonial buildings and the port for the Ankify boats, and an hour or two is plenty.
- Ylang-ylang. Nosy Be's nickname, the Perfumed Isle, comes from the ylang-ylang grown here for perfume oil. The trade is struggling: in 2026 the Malagasy press reported falling incomes and idle distilleries.
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When to go to Nosy Be: rain, cyclones and whales
Nosy Be is hot all year, with average highs of 30 to 32 °C in every month. What changes is the rain (World Meteorological Organization averages, 1991 to 2020):
- May to October. The dry season: about 20 to 35 mm of rain a month, falling on three to five days. Nights drop to about 20 °C in July and August. This is the time for boat days.
- April and November. The shoulders, each with about 100 to 135 mm on nine or ten days. Showery, but it works.
- December to March. The wet season, and a properly wet one: about 300 mm in December and nearly 400 mm in January, on 16 to 20 days a month. The UK Foreign Office says cyclone season normally runs from November to April, and France's advice puts the violent storms between January and April. If you come then, be ready to change plans at short notice.
Our north trips list April to December as their season, which suits the mainland, but on Nosy Be December is already wet. The wildlife keeps its own calendar:
- Humpback whales. A 2018 survey off Nosy Be recorded humpbacks until mid-October. That regional record does not establish whale watching at Iranja or inclusion in either north trip. If whales are a priority, confirm the departure for your dates, provider, price and inclusion separately before booking. Madagascar's rules keep boats at least 100 m away, and swimming with whales isn't allowed.
- Whale sharks. Usually September to December. The swim code keeps you 3 m away, with at most six swimmers and a guide in the water.
- Black lemur babies. Born from late August to November.
More on the seasons across the island in the best time to visit Madagascar.
How to get to Nosy Be: the flight or the boat from Ankify
- By air. Madagascar Airlines flies from Antananarivo to Fascene airport on the island in under two hours. At the time of writing a few international flights land there too, from Addis Ababa and Johannesburg among others, but schedules change. Our prices don't include flights, and we can book the domestic ones.
- By road and boat. Ankify is the mainland port, about 20 km from Ambanja. The fast boats take 30 to 45 minutes to Hell-Ville. Slower boats take longer, and the car ferry two hours or more, which is why crossing times vary so much from one source to the next. Both north trips cross here on day 7, after the morning drive from Ankarana, and the 12-day trip lists its airport and boat transfers as included.
The UK Foreign Office says to get local advice on ferries, after accidents caused by overcrowding, poor maintenance and sudden squalls. Canada adds: check for life jackets, and don't board a boat that looks overloaded.
How many days on Nosy Be, and where it fits in a trip
Three or four nights suits most people: a day for Lokobe, one or two boat days, and a day with nothing planned, which doubles as the spare if the sea moves a boat day.
- At the end of a north trip. Both give Nosy Be four nights, include food and excursions for three days there, and leave the afternoon you arrive free. The 11-day trip ends with a flight from Nosy Be or via Antananarivo, the 12-day trip with a flight back to Antananarivo.
- Added to another trip. Adding Nosy Be at the end is one of the changes we offer on every trip. The Classic South and the Eastern trip both end with a flight back to Antananarivo, and from there Nosy Be is under two hours away. For a honeymoon, see our honeymoon guide. For Nosy Be against Sainte-Marie, on the east coast, see our Île Sainte-Marie guide.
Is Nosy Be safe? What the advice says (October 2026)
- The UK. The FCDO warns of violent robberies and assaults on isolated beaches, even in daytime, and names Nosy Be, Ankify port and Ambanja among the places where this could happen. It says to get local advice, or use an experienced travel operator, for any beach.
- Canada lists the same three places among those where violent assaults have been reported, and warns of robberies by people posing as "guides" on beaches. It says not to visit parks and beaches alone, and to ask to see an accredited guide's badge.
- France says security on Nosy Be has improved, but to stay vigilant.
- The US rates Madagascar Level 2, "exercise increased caution", and Nosy Be isn't among its six Level 3 areas.
In practice: don't walk empty beaches alone, take hotel transport after dark, and go out with the guides your hotel or operator has booked, not someone who walks up to you on the sand. Canada also warns that riptides are common off Madagascar's coasts, so ask locally where it's safe to swim. For crime, roads and health across the country, see Is Madagascar safe?
Tell us your dates, and whether you want the north first or just the island, on the booking form or WhatsApp. A real person in Antananarivo replies, usually within 24 hours, with a written itinerary and a firm price.
Photos: Hannova Beats, David Bruyndonckx, Sandy Ravaloniaina and Alessandro Zanini on Unsplash.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How do you get to Nosy Be?
By air or by sea. Madagascar Airlines flies from Antananarivo to Fascene airport on the island in under two hours. Overland, you drive to the port of Ankify, about 20 km from Ambanja, and the fast boat to Hell-Ville takes 30 to 45 minutes. Both of our north trips arrive by boat.
When is the best time to go to Nosy Be?
May to October, the dry season, with only 20 to 35 mm of rain a month on average. April and November are showery, December to March is wet (nearly 400 mm in January), and cyclone season normally runs from November to April. Humpback whales arrive from late July, and whale sharks usually visit from September to December.
How many days do you need on Nosy Be?
Three or four nights: a day for Lokobe and its black lemurs, one or two boat days to islands such as Nosy Iranja or Nosy Komba, and a free day in case the sea moves a boat trip. Both of our north trips give Nosy Be four nights.
Can you see lemurs on Nosy Be?
Yes, black lemurs, though no one can promise a sighting. You look for them with a local guide in Lokobe National Park, reached by pirogue in the morning. Only the males are black: the females are chestnut to golden brown with white ear tufts. On Nosy Komba, the black lemurs near the village are used to people. For more species, Montagne d'Ambre and Ankarana on the mainland are the better bet.
Is Nosy Be safe for tourists?
Mostly, with care. As of October 2026 the UK warns of violent robberies on isolated beaches, even in daylight, and names Nosy Be, Ankify and Ambanja among places where they could happen. Canada lists the same three for reported violent assaults, and France says things have improved but to stay vigilant. Don't walk empty beaches alone, take hotel transport after dark, and use guides your hotel or operator has booked.
What language do people speak on Nosy Be?
Malagasy, the national language, and French, which is Madagascar's other official language. French goes further than English, which across the country is mostly limited to tourism and business. On our trips your driver-guide speaks English, and you can plan the trip with us in English, French or Spanish.
Our trips
Trips that take you there
Private trips with your own vehicle and driver-guide. Every one can be reshaped around your dates.
12 days · North
Northern Madagascar Adventure
Twelve days from Antananarivo: Amber Mountain, Ankarana, Lokobe, Sakatia snorkelling, Mont Passot and an Iranja day trip. Flights extra.
Keep planning
More guides for your trip
The best time to visit Madagascar, month by month
Month by month and region by region: dry roads, cyclones, the Tsingy's short season, whales, lemur babies, birds and chameleons.
Planning a Madagascar honeymoon
Three private routes that end on a beach, the months to pick and avoid, how long, rough costs, and an honest comparison with Mauritius and the Seychelles.
Nosy Komba: the lemur island off Nosy Be
The black lemurs that come close and why not to feed them, the boat from Hell-Ville, crafts, snorkelling at Nosy Tanikely, half a day or a night, and Nosy Komba against Lokobe.
Nosy Iranja: the sandbar island and how to visit
Two islets joined by a sandbar at low tide: the boat from Nosy Be, timing the tide, turtles, the lighthouse walk, and whether to stay the night.
Ready when you are
Tell us what you want to see
Send your dates and a rough idea. We reply within 24 hours with a written itinerary and a firm price. No deposit to ask a question.