Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Madagascar: the Avenue of the Baobabs and the Tsingy de Bemaraha
9 days from Antananarivo: fly to Morondava for the Avenue of the Baobabs, three nights at Bekopaka for the Petit and Grand Tsingy and the Manambolo gorge, and two nights in Kirindy Forest.
9 days · Round trip from Antananarivo · up to 12 guests
The Avenue of the Baobabs near Morondava in the late light Photo: Frank Vassen from Brussels, Belgium, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:All%C3%A9e_des_Baobabs_near_Morondava,_Madagascar_(4315990204).jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 9 days, 8 nights
- Start and end
- Round trip from Antananarivo
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Active
Two days of 4x4 track driving of 6 to 10 hours each, and two Tsingy days on foot: the Petit Tsingy is about 2 to 3 hours with ladders and steps; the Grand Tsingy is about 4 hours on a via ferrata with a harness, fixed cables, narrow crevices and a suspension bridge over a drop. Kirindy walks are flat, 2 to 3 hours. You can sit out the Grand Tsingy climb for a shorter walk.
- Meals included
- 8 breakfasts, 7 lunches, 6 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 800 (estimated price)
- Season
- May to early November
Highlights
Why this trip
- Sunset at the Avenue of the Baobabs on the first evening in the west, and sunrise there the next morning
- Two river ferries on the 4x4 track to Bekopaka, across the Tsiribihina and the Manambolo
- The Grand Tsingy on a via ferrata: harness on, cables, ladders and a suspension bridge over the limestone blades
- The Petit Tsingy in the cool of the morning and a pirogue into the Manambolo gorge in the late afternoon
- Two nights in Kirindy Forest, with a full day and two night walks for the fossa, sifakas and the world's smallest primates
- Domestic flights both ways, so no two-day drive across the highlands
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 800 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Antananarivo
Ivato International Airport to your hotel in central Antananarivo
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Antananarivo
- Drive about 1 h
Fly into Ivato International Airport (TNR), about 15 km north of central Antananarivo, where a driver meets you in the arrivals hall. The drive into town can take up to an hour in traffic, past rice paddies, brick kilns and the red hills the capital is built over.
Evening
Plan to land by about 4 pm to join the evening briefing; the exact latest arrival is confirmed with your final itinerary. Our hotel is central, so if you arrive early you can walk to the Analakely market steps or up towards the Haute-Ville, where old brick houses and churches look over Lake Anosy. In the evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group to go through the week: how the 4x4 days work, what to wear on the Tsingy circuits, why we carry cash in ariary, and what the lodges in the west are like. Then we sit down to a welcome dinner of Malagasy dishes: romazava, a beef and greens broth, zebu brochettes, and rice, which comes with almost every meal here.
Included
- Pick-up at Ivato International Airport (TNR)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Welcome dinner
Free time: Free until the evening briefing
Fly west to Morondava, sunset at the baobabs
Antananarivo to Morondava by air, then the Avenue of the Baobabs
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Morondava
- Drive about 1.5 h
Morning
After breakfast we drive to Ivato for the domestic flight west to Morondava, about an hour in the air over the highlands and down to the dry west coast. Flight times change with the timetable, so the morning is kept loose.
Afternoon
In Morondava we meet our 4x4 drivers, who stay with us until day 8, and sit down to lunch near the sea, where fish and prawns from the Mozambique Channel are the local food. The afternoon is free to rest out of the heat or walk the beach.
Evening
About two hours before sunset we drive roughly 20 km north on the sandy RN8 to the Avenue of the Baobabs, a line of about two dozen Grandidier's baobabs, the tallest of Madagascar's species and several hundred years old, now a protected natural monument. We walk the avenue as the light turns gold and the trunks go red, and stay until the trees are silhouettes. Back in Morondava, dinner is your choice.
Included
- Domestic flight from Antananarivo to Morondava
- Sit-down lunch in Morondava
- Sunset at the Avenue of the Baobabs
Free time: Afternoon free in Morondava; dinner on your own
Activity: Easy walking on sand at the avenue.
North to Bekopaka over two rivers
Morondava to the Avenue of the Baobabs at sunrise, Belo-sur-Tsiribihina, then Bekopaka
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Bekopaka
- Drive about 9 h
This is the longest day of the trip, and there is no shorter way: no paved road and no scheduled flight reach Bekopaka, so we drive about 200 km of sand and dirt track, roughly eight to ten hours with stops, and stay three nights at the far end so you do it only once in each direction.
Evening
We leave before dawn to pass the Avenue of the Baobabs at sunrise, with the light on the other side of the trees from last night. The track runs north through dry forest and villages to Belo-sur-Tsiribihina, where the 4x4s drive onto a flat vehicle ferry across the wide, red Tsiribihina. Lunch is a sit-down meal in Belo. The afternoon is the roughest stretch, slow and bumpy, broken by village stops and leg stretches. The last crossing is the short ferry over the Manambolo River into Bekopaka, the village at the gate of Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park, which we reach in the late afternoon. Dinner is at the lodge.
Included
- Sunrise at the Avenue of the Baobabs
- 4x4 track north with local drivers
- Vehicle ferries across the Tsiribihina at Belo and the Manambolo at Bekopaka
- Sit-down lunch in Belo-sur-Tsiribihina
- Dinner at the lodge
Activity: Over the 4 hour driving cap because there is no other way to the Tsingy; broken by the sunrise stop, the two ferries, lunch in Belo and village stops, and followed by three nights in Bekopaka.
The Petit Tsingy and the Manambolo gorge
Bekopaka: the Petit Tsingy, then by pirogue into the Manambolo gorge
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Bekopaka
- By boat
A slower start after yesterday. The Petit Tsingy sits on the edge of Bekopaka, so we walk in with a national park guide at about 8 am, while the limestone is still cool. Tsingy de Bemaraha was listed by UNESCO in 1990 for these grey limestone blades, cut by rain into a maze of pinnacles, crevices and narrow corridors. The circuit uses ladders, steps and walkways to reach lookouts over the pinnacles, about two to three hours on foot.
Afternoon
Lunch is back at the lodge, followed by a rest through the heat. In the late afternoon we board pirogues, wooden dugout canoes paddled by local boatmen, on the Manambolo River and float into its gorge, where cliffs rise straight out of the water. We stop at a cave hung with stalactites and pass cliff tombs of the Vazimba, whom the Sakalava regard as the island's first people; your guide explains the fady, the local taboos, that go with them. We are back on the bank before dark.
Included
- Petit Tsingy circuit with a national park guide, park entry included
- Sit-down lunch at the lodge
- Pirogue trip into the Manambolo gorge, with a cave and the Vazimba tombs
- Dinner at the lodge
Easier option: Walk the first part of the Petit Tsingy circuit to the lower lookout and return, then join the pirogue in the afternoon.
More active option: Take the longer Petit Tsingy circuit the park guides offer, with more ladders and crevices.
Free time: Free from lunch to the late afternoon
Activity: About 2 to 3 hours on sharp limestone with ladders and steps. Closed shoes with grip are essential.
The Grand Tsingy
Bekopaka to the Grand Tsingy and back
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Bekopaka
- Drive about 2 h
The day the trip is built around. We leave at about 6:30 am by 4x4 for the Grand Tsingy entrance, roughly 17 km north of Bekopaka and an hour on the track, so we start walking before the heat. Here the pinnacles are much taller, and the main circuit is a via ferrata: you wear a harness and clip on to fixed steel cables as you climb ladders, squeeze through narrow crevices and cross a suspension bridge strung over a drop between the blades. The park guide and your See Sight Tours guide check every harness, and the group moves at the pace of the slowest person. From the top platforms the grey forest of rock runs to the horizon, with dry forest in the gaps where Decken's sifakas and red-fronted brown lemurs sometimes feed. The circuit takes about four hours.
Evening
We are back at the lodge for a late sit-down lunch, and the rest of the afternoon is free: swim, read, or sit by the river at dusk.
Included
- Grand Tsingy via ferrata circuit with a national park guide, harness and park entry included
- Sit-down lunch at the lodge
- Dinner at the lodge
Easier option: Skip the via ferrata: walk a shorter forest and cave section at the Grand Tsingy with a park guide, or stay at the lodge for a quiet day.
More active option: Ask the park guide for the longest Grand Tsingy circuit open that day.
Free time: Afternoon free at the lodge
Activity: About 4 hours with a harness on fixed cables, ladders, tight crevices and a suspension bridge over a drop. Not for anyone with serious vertigo.
South to Kirindy Forest
Bekopaka to Belo-sur-Tsiribihina, then Kirindy Forest
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Kirindy
- Drive about 6.5 h
Afternoon
Another long road day, about 150 km and six to seven hours, broken by the river crossings and a sit-down lunch. It is the same track we came in on, as there is no other, but it is shorter than going all the way back to Morondava, because Kirindy Forest sits just off the track south of Belo. We leave Bekopaka after an early breakfast, cross the Manambolo by ferry and bump south through the villages to Belo-sur-Tsiribihina for lunch and the Tsiribihina ferry. In the mid afternoon we turn off into Kirindy, a dry deciduous forest of baobabs and tall hardwoods managed for research and conservation, and the best place in Madagascar to look for the fossa, the island's largest predator.
Evening
We settle into the lodge, and after dinner a local guide takes us on a first short night walk by torchlight for mouse lemurs, geckos and sleeping chameleons. If the road has worn you out, skip it: there is a longer walk tomorrow night.
Included
- Vehicle ferries across the Manambolo and the Tsiribihina
- Sit-down lunch in Belo-sur-Tsiribihina
- Short night walk in Kirindy with a local guide
- Dinner at the lodge
Easier option: Skip tonight's short night walk and rest; the main night walk is tomorrow.
Activity: Over the 4 hour driving cap because the track back from the Tsingy is the only road; broken by two ferries and lunch in Belo, and we end at Kirindy rather than Morondava to keep it shorter.
A full day in Kirindy
Kirindy Forest, from the morning walk to the night walk
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Kirindy
No driving today. We walk the forest trails with a local guide from about 7 am, when the animals are moving and the air is still cool. Verreaux's sifakas, red-fronted brown lemurs and narrow-striped mongooses are often seen, and fossas sometimes walk through the camp area itself, especially from September to November, their breeding season. We cannot promise one, and your guide will tell you honestly how the season is going.
Afternoon
Lunch is at the lodge, and the middle of the day is free while the forest goes quiet in the heat.
Evening
After an early dinner we head out on the main night walk. Kirindy is home to Madame Berthe's mouse lemur, one of the smallest primates in the world, and to the giant jumping rat, which lives only in this part of western Madagascar and comes out after dark. Torch beams also pick out fork-marked lemurs, nightjars, geckos and chameleons on the branches.
Included
- Morning forest walk in Kirindy with a local guide, reserve entry included
- Sit-down lunch at the lodge
- Main night walk in Kirindy
- Dinner at the lodge
Easier option: Walk only the first hour of the morning trail near the camp, where the fossas are often seen.
More active option: Add a second, longer morning loop deeper into the forest with the guide.
Free time: Middle of the day free at the lodge
Activity: Flat forest trails, about 2 to 3 hours in the morning and 1.5 to 2 hours at night. Bring a head torch.
Baobabs by daylight and the flight back
Kirindy to the Avenue of the Baobabs and Morondava, then by air to Antananarivo
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Antananarivo
- Drive about 3 h
A last early walk at Kirindy for anyone who wants it, then we drive about 65 km, two to three hours, back towards Morondava.
Evening
On the way we stop at the Baobab Amoureux, two baobabs twisted around each other, and one last time at the Avenue of the Baobabs in full daylight, so you see the trunks, the rice paddies and the villages around them as well as the silhouettes you photographed on the first evening. Lunch is a sit-down meal in Morondava, then we say goodbye to our 4x4 drivers at the airport for the afternoon flight back to Antananarivo. The timetable decides the exact times, and if the flight moves we rearrange the day around it. In the evening we gather for a farewell dinner in Antananarivo, with your guide and the group, to go over the week and the photos from the Tsingy.
Included
- Optional early walk in Kirindy
- The Baobab Amoureux and the Avenue of the Baobabs by daylight
- Sit-down lunch in Morondava
- Domestic flight from Morondava to Antananarivo
- Farewell dinner in Antananarivo
Antananarivo's upper town and home
Antananarivo Haute-Ville, then Ivato International Airport
- Breakfast
- Drive about 1 h
Morning
A free morning in the capital. If you want to see more, your guide walks you up through the Haute-Ville, the old upper town of steep lanes, brick houses and churches, to the viewpoints over Lake Anosy and the city, and to the Rova, the hilltop palace compound of the Merina kings and queens, where it is open on the day. The walk takes about two to three hours and is back at the hotel by late morning.
Afternoon
The morning also works as a buffer: if yesterday's flight slipped, we use it to bring you back from Morondava, which is why we ask you to book your flight home for the afternoon. After checkout a driver takes you to Ivato International Airport, about 15 km away and up to an hour in traffic. Book a flight leaving after about 2 pm; for an earlier flight we take you straight to the airport after breakfast.
Included
- Haute-Ville walk with your guide, including the Rova where open
- Drop-off at Ivato International Airport (TNR)
Easier option: Skip the walk and rest at the hotel until your transfer.
Free time: Morning free if you skip the walk
Activity: Book a flight home leaving after about 2 pm.
- Antananarivo1 night
- Morondava1 night
- Bekopaka3 nights
- Kirindy2 nights
- Antananarivo1 night
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: The dry season is hot by day on the west coast, over 30 C by October, with cool nights in Antananarivo from June to August. Fossas are seen most often from September to November, their breeding season.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Travellers who want the baobabs and the Tsingy properly, not in a rush
- Reasonably fit walkers happy to climb ladders and clip into a harness
- Wildlife watchers who want a full day and two night walks in Kirindy
- People with limited time who would rather fly than spend two days crossing the highlands
Not for you if you want
- Anyone who cannot sit through two long, bumpy 4x4 days
- Travellers with serious vertigo who want the Grand Tsingy climb
- Rainforest lemurs and the indri: they live in the east, on our Andasibe trip
- Travellers who want a 3-star hotel every night; Bekopaka and Kirindy have lodges
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
8 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Antananarivo1 night
- Morondava1 night
- Bekopaka3 nights
- Kirindy2 nights
- Antananarivo1 night
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 8 nights: 1 in Antananarivo on arrival, 1 in Morondava, 3 in Bekopaka at the gate of Tsingy de Bemaraha, 2 at Kirindy Forest, 1 in Antananarivo before you fly
- Central hotels of a 3-star-plus standard in Antananarivo and Morondava; in Bekopaka and Kirindy, where no hotel of that standard exists, the best available lodge; we name each hotel and lodge when we confirm your dates
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up and drop-off at Ivato International Airport (TNR)
- Domestic flights from Antananarivo to Morondava and back
- 4x4 vehicles with local drivers from Morondava to Bekopaka, Kirindy and back, 3 or 4 guests per vehicle
- Vehicle ferries across the Tsiribihina and Manambolo rivers
- Pirogue trip on the Manambolo
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group for the whole trip, with the national park guides required at the Tsingy and local guides in Kirindy
Activities
- Avenue of the Baobabs at sunset, at sunrise and by daylight, Morondava
- Baobab Amoureux, Morondava
- Petit Tsingy circuit, park entry included, Bekopaka
- Grand Tsingy via ferrata circuit with harness, park entry included, Bekopaka
- Manambolo gorge by pirogue, with a cave and the Vazimba tombs, Bekopaka
- Kirindy Forest morning walk and two night walks, reserve entry included
- Haute-Ville walk and the Rova where open, Antananarivo
Meals
- 8 breakfasts, 7 lunches and 7 dinners
- Welcome dinner and farewell dinner in Antananarivo
- A sit-down lunch every day from day 2 to day 8, including Belo-sur-Tsiribihina on both long road days
- All dinners at the lodges in Bekopaka and Kirindy
Not included
- International flights to and from Antananarivo
- Visa or entry permit fees
- Travel insurance
- Dinner in Morondava on day 2
- Drinks
- Tips for guides, drivers and boatmen
- Personal expenses
- Excess baggage on the domestic flights
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 800 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the price include?
Eight nights in hotels and lodges, 8 breakfasts, 7 lunches and 7 dinners, domestic flights between Antananarivo and Morondava both ways, airport transfers, 4x4 vehicles with drivers, the river ferries, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, park and reserve entries with local guides, the Grand Tsingy harness, the Manambolo pirogue and two Kirindy night walks.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests, which fits in three or four 4x4s with a window seat each and moves at a sensible pace through the narrow Tsingy circuits. Many trips on this route take up to 16.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from arrival to departure. Madagascar National Parks requires its own guides at the Tsingy, and Kirindy uses local guides, so they join us there; our guide stays with the group throughout and handles the logistics.
How long are the drives to the Tsingy?
Two days are long: Morondava to Bekopaka is about 200 km of track, eight to ten hours with two river ferries, and Bekopaka to Kirindy is about six to seven hours. There is no paved road or scheduled flight, so we drive it once each way, break it with lunch in Belo and stay three nights at the Tsingy.
How fit do I need to be for the Grand Tsingy?
Reasonably fit and steady on your feet. The Grand Tsingy is about four hours on a via ferrata with a harness, ladders, tight crevices and a suspension bridge. If you have vertigo, take the shorter walk with a park guide or rest at the lodge; the Petit Tsingy is easier.
When can I do this trip?
From May to early November only. The track to Bekopaka and the Grand Tsingy are only open in the dry season, roughly May to November, so we run no departures from December to April. September to November is the best time for fossas; October and November are hot.
Will I see a fossa?
There is a fair chance but no promise. Kirindy is the best place in Madagascar to see one, and they often pass through the camp area, especially in the September to November breeding season. Two nights there give you a full day and two night walks to look.
I am travelling solo. What does a room of my own cost?
A room of your own is from CAD 800 more, about 17 percent of the trip price, shown before you book. Solo travellers join every activity on the same terms as everyone else; if you would rather share, ask and we will tell you whether another solo guest on your departure wants to share.
What if the domestic flight is cancelled?
Domestic flights in Madagascar do change. We set departures around the current timetable, and if the flight moves we rearrange the day around it. The last morning in Antananarivo is a buffer, so book your flight home after about 2 pm. Longer disruptions are covered in the booking terms.
Do I need a visa for Madagascar?
Most visitors need a visa or entry permit, issued online before you fly or on arrival at Ivato International Airport. Rules and fees change, so we send the current requirements for your passport when you book. Make sure your passport has at least six months' validity and blank pages.
How does booking work?
Choose a departure and request to book. We confirm your place within 24 hours, and no payment is taken when you send the request. The small group starts from CAD 4,705 per person sharing, with taxes included.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. The private style is your party only, with your own guide and 4x4s, on a date you choose within the May to November season. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask from the dates section and we will quote the same route with drivers and local guides.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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