Where to stay in Madagascar: hotels and lodges by region

Where you stay in Madagascar follows your route, because most trips here move on every night or two. In the towns and beside the main parks there are comfortable mid-range hotels and lodges, usually with an en-suite room and a hot shower, at roughly $50 to $100 a night. Most top-end places are in Antananarivo, on Nosy Be and on Sainte-Marie. In the west and the far north there are only a few lodges, and the power may come from a generator for part of the evening.

On our private trips we book the rooms for you, with breakfast, and the hotels can be upgraded or downgraded to match your budget.

What hotels in Madagascar are like, level by level

Rough Guides' 2025 prices for a room make a fair starting point:

• Guesthouses and budget hotels, about $10 to $40. A fan rather than air conditioning, often a mosquito net, and at the bottom end a shared bathroom.
• Mid-range hotels and lodges, about $50 to $100. An en-suite room, often a bungalow in a garden, a restaurant and sometimes a small pool. In the towns, usually air conditioning and wifi too.
• Top-end lodges and boutique hotels, about $120 to $400. More on the remote islands. Even here, Rough Guides warns, the infrastructure "can be on the rustic side".

Prices typically rise by 10 to 30 per cent in July and August and over Christmas, Rough Guides says, when places of every kind book out months ahead. Many smaller hotels prefer cash.

Hot water, power cuts, wifi and mosquito nets

• Hot water. Mid-range rooms usually have a hot shower, simpler places not always, and the highlands are colder than people expect: July nights in Antsirabe average around 7°C. We know which lodge has hot water, so ask us about any night on your route.
• Power. Power cuts affect towns as well as remote stops. Mid-range hotels usually have a backup generator but don't always switch it on, and remote lodges often run theirs for part of the evening only. Sockets take European two-pin plugs (types C and E, at 220 to 230 V). Pack a headlamp and a power bank.
• Wifi. Usual in town hotels, and often slow. In remote lodges it may reach only the bar or reception, if it exists at all.
• Mosquito nets. The CDC lists malaria transmission across Madagascar, with rare transmission in Antananarivo, and the CDC advises sleeping in an air-conditioned or screened room, with a bed net where the room is open to the outdoors. Many lodges hang nets or screen the windows. Check yours for holes before dark.

Most lunches and dinners aren't in our trip prices, and at remote stops such as Kirindy, dinner is usually at your lodge. Our trip cost guide puts figures on meals.

Returning to your hotel after dark

The UK Foreign Office advises against walking alone in city centres after dark: ask your hotel to arrange transport. Ask, too, whether it runs a generator. Check whether hot water and room lighting depend on the generator, especially for a late arrival.

Down the RN7: Antsirabe, Ranomafana, Ambalavao and Ranohira

The Classic South, from €1,730 per adult, changes hotel most nights: once it turns south, one night in Antsirabe, two in Ranomafana, one in Ambalavao and two in Ranohira, then two by the sea at Ifaty.

• Antsirabe. The old spa town of the highlands, at 1,500 m, with no shortage of good hotels, says Rough Guides. From June to August it's usually the coldest night on the route, so ask for an extra blanket.
• Ranomafana. The park entrance comes about 7 km before the village, and places to stay are split between the village, near the hot-spring pool, and the road up to the park (Ranomafana guide).
• Ambalavao. One night, for the Antemoro paper workshop and the ring-tails at Anja. If your night there is a Tuesday or a Wednesday, the zebu market runs from before dawn on Wednesday until Thursday morning.
• Ranohira. The village is strung out along the RN7 by the park office, and some bigger lodges are about 20 minutes' drive from the park entrance. After a day in the canyons, a pool earns its keep (Isalo guide).

Ifaty, at the end of the road

Ifaty is about 25 km north of Tulear, and Rough Guides calls its beach hotels the main attraction. The Classic South ends here, and you fly back from Tulear. The UK Foreign Office warns of violent robberies on isolated beaches north and south of Tulear, even in daytime, so get current local advice about where to walk and use arranged transport after dark.

Camping on the Tsiribihina

The 10-day West Adventure and the 20-day Ultimate reach the west by river, camping on the bank: three nights on the 10-day trip, two on the Ultimate. The camping equipment and river crew are arranged for you, and on the Ultimate the river meals are in the price too. Expect a tent, simple meals and no power.

At the time of writing, the UK Foreign Office says armed criminals have boarded boats on the Tsiribihina and robbed passengers, and advises seeking alternative routes. We can reshape either trip without the river, for example by flying to Morondava for the west (safety guide).

The north: Diego Suarez and Ankarana

The 11-day Northern Madagascar trip, from €1,790 per adult, flies you to Diego Suarez and spends four nights there, with day trips to the Three Bays and Montagne d'Ambre, so you unpack once. Some hotels are in town, others by the beach at Ramena, about 18 km out. From April to November it's windy most days, which pleases the kitesurfers.

Then come two nights at Ankarana, where several lodges are near the Mahamasina entrance, 108 km south of Diego on the RN6. Ask about power hours at the lodge in your actual quote, rather than relying on another hotel's arrangements.

Nosy Be hotels: where to stay on the island

Ambatoloaka, a fishing village turned resort, is the liveliest beach, with its bars and its mid-range to top-end hotels. Hell-Ville, the main town, has markets and budget guesthouses but is far less about the beach, and several small islands offshore have lodges of their own. Both our north trips give Nosy Be four nights, and the days out to Lokobe and Nosy Iranja start and end at your hotel, so pick one you'll like coming back to. If all you want is a week at one beach hotel, book it directly.

The UK Foreign Office warns of violent robberies on isolated beaches, Nosy Be's among them, even in daytime, so take hotel transport after dark and don't walk empty beaches alone. More in our Nosy Be guide.

Sainte-Marie and the Pangalanes Canal

The Eastern trip, from €1,620 per adult, has the most varied nights: two at Andasibe, two at Ankanin'ny Nofy on the Pangalanes Canal, one at Mahambo and three on Sainte-Marie.

Ankanin'ny Nofy is a boat ride along the canal. At the Palmarium's hotel there, the bungalows have nets and power points, but the power is off at night. On Sainte-Marie, Rough Guides suggests Ambodifotatra, the main village, for guesthouses and small hotels, and the southern beaches for boutique bungalows. Île aux Nattes, off the southern tip, has no cars and its own places to stay. Some hotels on this wet coast close between January and March, for the heaviest rains and the cyclone risk (Sainte-Marie guide).

How we book your rooms

Every set trip includes accommodation with breakfast, in the places listed day by day, and any hotel can be upgraded or downgraded to match your budget, with the price following. You get a written itinerary, the final price for your group size and the hotels we've held, and only then pay a deposit.

Tell us what matters: a double bed every night, a sea view on Nosy Be, or the simplest rooms so the money goes on extra days. Couples will find more in our honeymoon guide. For July, August and Christmas, ask early. Send your dates on the booking page or on WhatsApp, and a real person in Antananarivo replies, usually within 24 hours.

Photos: Stefano Intintoli, Brent Ninaber and Sandy Ravaloniaina on Unsplash.