Madagascar Vacation

Madagascar is a massive island in the Indian Ocean to the south-east of Africa. This truly remarkable country is one of the largest, oldest, and most diverse islands on the planet. With the island being virtually isolated from the outside world for 65 million years, flora and fauna have developed in strange and exotic directions. Many different plant and animal families are represented here, including 350 species of frogs and 370 unique reptiles. The island also has a comprehensive cultural range, dominated by the descendants of waves of settlement from Indonesia and Malaya, with strong Bantu and Swahili influences from mainland Africa. Traveling in Madagascar is a complicated business, with poor and unreliable infrastructure, as well as a very limited range of accommodation in many areas. It remains a place where intrepid naturalists can be in their element, but leisure travelers may find themselves being significantly under-serviced. Madagascar also has some superb beach locations, and excellent diving, notably on the tropical islands of Nosy Be to the north-east and Nosy Boraha to the north-west.