Guided tours
Discover Madagascar's unique regions with expert guidance. From Andasibe's rainforests to Nosy Be's beaches, we offer tours tailored for every type of traveller.
Everything your Madagascar trip needs, arranged by one team
From the first idea to the ride back to the airport: your own vehicle and driver-guide, hotels, transfers, domestic flights and park guides. We handle the moving parts so you can pay attention to the island instead of the logistics.
Our services
What we do
Customised itineraries
Your travel, your way. We create personalised itineraries that match your interests, whether it's wildlife, adventure, cultural immersion or pure relaxation.
Accommodation booking
Enjoy handpicked accommodation, from luxury resorts to cosy eco-lodges, ensuring comfort and character in every stay.
Transportation services
Private transfers, car rentals and domestic flights, booked for you and timed around the rest of your trip.
Special experiences
Enrich your trip with unique experiences like lemur night walks, Malagasy cooking classes and visits to local artisans.
Travel assistance
Full support from visa help to travel insurance and 24/7 customer service, making your trip worry-free.
Why choose us
Four reasons travellers pick a local operator
Experienced guides
Deep knowledge of Madagascar's history, culture and ecology.
Flexible options
Tours and services adaptable to your preferences and budget.
Safety first
Prioritising your safety with reliable transportation and accommodation.
Eco-friendly practices
Promoting sustainable tourism to protect Madagascar's natural treasures.
Where we go
The places we know best
These five appear in most of our itineraries, and we can build a trip around any of them.
Andasibe-Mantadia National Park
Eastern rainforestThe easiest rainforest to reach from Antananarivo and home of the indri, the largest living lemur, whose haunting call carries across the valleys at dawn. Black-and-white ruffed lemurs, diademed sifakas, chameleons and orchids live along its trails, and night walks reveal mouse lemurs and tree frogs.
Avenue of the Baobabs
Morondava, west coastA red dirt road lined with giant Grandidier's baobabs, some of them hundreds of years old, just outside Morondava on the west coast. Come at sunset, when the trunks glow red and gold, and stay for one of the clearest night skies in Madagascar.
Tsingy de Bemaraha
UNESCO World Heritage SiteA stone forest of razor-sharp limestone pinnacles in western Madagascar, listed by UNESCO since 1990. Suspension bridges, ladders and narrow canyons lead through the Great and Little Tsingy, home to Decken's sifakas and plants found nowhere else on Earth.
Nosy Be
Islands of the northwestMadagascar's best-known island, set in warm, calm water off the northwest coast. White beaches, snorkelling in the Nosy Tanikely marine reserve, ylang-ylang plantations, black lemurs in Lokobe forest and boat trips to the smaller islands around it.
Ranomafana National Park
Southern highland rainforestMisty mountain rainforest on the road south, part of the Rainforests of the Atsinanana World Heritage Site. The park was created after the golden bamboo lemur was discovered here in 1986. Expect rivers, waterfalls, hot springs in the village and night walks full of chameleons.
And plenty more
Tell us where you want to go
Questions
What we can arrange
Can I hire a vehicle and driver-guide for my own route in Madagascar?
Yes. Send us the route you have in mind with your dates, and we'll plan it as a private trip with your own vehicle and driver-guide, which is how every trip we run works. Car rental, private transfers and domestic flights are part of our services too, so you can mix road and air where the distances are long.
What is the difference between a driver-guide and a park guide?
Your English-speaking driver-guide travels with you on the road, in your private vehicle, so you set the departure time each day and stop where you want to stop. Park guides are local guides who walk the trails with you inside the national parks, where a guide is required. Tongasoa Mada Tours trips include both, and park guides and community reserves are booked and paid directly.
Can you book hotels and lodges for my trip?
Yes. Accommodation booking is one of our services, from cosy eco-lodges to luxury resorts. Our set trips include bed and breakfast accommodation, and the hotels can be upgraded or downgraded to match your budget. When we reply to a booking request, we send the hotels we have held for your dates with the written itinerary and the final price.
Do you help with visas and travel insurance?
Yes. Travel assistance is part of our service, from visa help to travel insurance. You also keep one contact from start to finish: the person who answers your first message is the person who arranges your trip and checks in while you're here.
How do you get around Madagascar?
Mostly by road, in a private vehicle with a driver-guide, and by domestic flight where the distances are long, such as from Tulear back to Antananarivo at the end of the RN7 or north to Diego Suarez. Boats cover some stretches too: the Pangalanes Canal, the crossings to Nosy Be and Île Sainte-Marie, and the Tsiribihina River. Our guide to getting around Madagascar compares a driver-guide, self-drive and flights.
Can you plan a trip around one interest, such as lemurs or trekking?
Yes. Almost everything we run is tailor-made, so we can build the route around lemurs, birds, reptiles, a trek or a week by the sea, and add a lemur night walk or a Malagasy cooking class along the way. Our experiences show what each kind of trip looks like.
Plan your trip
Guides to help you plan
Getting around Madagascar: car hire with a driver, self-drive or flights
Car hire with a driver-guide, self-drive, domestic flights or taxi-brousse: the trade-offs, drive times in 2026, and why the west needs a 4x4.
How much does a trip to Madagascar cost?
What a private Madagascar trip costs, what our prices include, and what goes on top: flights, the visa, meals and tips, plus park fees if you travel on your own.
Is Madagascar safe for tourists?
What the US, UK, Canadian and French advisories say (October 2026), and what to actually do about crime, night roads, malaria and cyclones.
Flights to Madagascar: routes, airlines and flight times
The 2026 routes into Antananarivo and Nosy Be, flight times from London and New York, landing at Ivato, open-jaw tickets, and domestic flights whose times change.
Where to stay in Madagascar: hotels and lodges by region
What hotels in Madagascar cost, what to expect from the hot water, power and wifi, and where you sleep at each stop, from Antananarivo and Andasibe to Bekopaka and Nosy Be.
Money in Madagascar: the ariary, cash, cards and tipping
The ariary and its rate in October 2026, euros or dollars, cash machines and their limits, cards in hotels, what things cost, tipping, and how much cash to carry.
Dare to explore
Madagascar welcomes you, and asks you to help protect it.
Wildlife found nowhere else, on an island that feels worlds away. We'll plan the trip around what you'd like to see.
18 ethnic groups, one island
Discover the culture of Madagascar
Step into the rich traditions and colourful customs of Madagascar. Enjoy lively festivals, visit sacred places, taste delicious local food, and see beautiful art passed down for generations.
Traditional handicrafts
Wood and zebu horn carvingMalagasy artisans carve zebu horn and wood into bowls, combs, spoons and figurines entirely by hand. Ambositra in the central highlands is the capital of Malagasy woodcarving, and the carving tradition of the nearby Zafimaniry villages is recognised by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.
Hira Gasy
Highland music, dance and oratoryHira Gasy is the open-air folk theatre of the highlands around Antananarivo. Troupes in red costumes and white lamba shawls perform song, dance, drumming and kabary, the Malagasy art of speech, often competing with a rival troupe for the crowd's favour. Every show carries a lesson about family, respect and community.
Moraingy
Traditional martial artMoraingy is Madagascar's bare-fisted fighting art, most popular in the north and west of the island. Fighters face off in a ring formed by the spectators and trade short, fast bouts to the beat of drums and singing. It is a test of courage and skill, and a weekend gathering for the whole village.
Malagasy cuisine
Rice, laoka and street foodRice, or vary, is the heart of every Malagasy meal, served with a laoka on the side: romazava, the national stew of beef and leafy greens, ravitoto with pork and pounded cassava leaves, or slow-cooked zebu. Fresh lasary relishes add spice, and in the morning street stalls sell warm mofo gasy rice cakes.
Basket weaving
Raffia and reed craftsWeaving skills pass from mother to daughter all over Madagascar. Raffia palm fibre, sisal and reeds become baskets, hats, mats and bags, often dyed in bright colours. You will find them everywhere, from the La Digue craft market in Antananarivo to small roadside stalls in the countryside.
Savika
Zebu wrestlingSavika is the zebu wrestling of the Betsileo people in the southern highlands. Young men leap at a charging zebu and hold on to its hump for as long as they can while the village cheers from behind the fence. No weapons are used and the zebu is not killed: it is a show of courage and a young man's way to prove himself.