Madagascar Lemurs, Baobabs & Beaches

We arrived home yesterday & I wanted to say what a fantastic time we had.

All the arrangements went to plan & the hotels were lovely especially the ones at Isalo & Ifaty.

We also cannot praise our guide, Larah, highly enough. Although so young, she was confident, capable & good company. She gave us lots of information without overloading us & was solicitous without being smothering - I don't think I would have survived Grand Tsingy without her support!

All the local guides & spotters were super & the drivers made us feel safe & confident on the challenging roads.

Thank you for all the arrangements.

Generally the booking process was smooth and attentive. The hotels chosen were of good quality for Madagascar. The main difficulty we had was the time spent travelling during the three weeks was not realistic. Yes, it is Africa and unexpected delays can happen but even delay-free we spent about 8-9 days of our 20 day itinerary in transit and during the winter this was effectively left only one or two daylight hours. Our 9-10 hour day became 12-13 hours. The "four hour drive" was closer to seven and the local guide and Google Maps did not consider that four hours was possible. So resting at the hotel in the afternoon became more bumpy roads. Travel time in the PDF provided did not even consider breaks for meals or refuelling. In one instance, we didn't take lunch but the driver and guide still stopped. That time becomes part of the road time in real life. I would recommend a shorter itinerary for Madagascar, perhaps spend more money for internal flights to save days and hotel stays. If the time descriptions were more accurate I am not sure I would have agreed to the three week tour. I felt upsold in the end. Glad I went to Madagascar, but I wouldn't go back.

We appreciate your feedback and am sorry you felt the travelling times were too much. We do try and make this clear but I know sometime it is still a surprise. I normally say to clients that the journeys are equally part of the trip as the national parks as that is where you see life on the road. Equally a Madagascar trip maybe focussing on a couple of areas would have been better for you on this occassion.

We just wanted to say what an amazing trip you organised for us in Madagascar. Tuju (our guide) was the best guide we have ever had… honestly he couldn’t do enough for us and instinctively seemed to know what was important to us.
we are definitely recommending you to our friends :-). It was an amazing experience, so glad we went.
Thanks again for everything

Madagascar is a unique destination, one not without its challenges (roads: terrible, very terrible, ok), but looking back, the diversity of the country, with wildlife, plant life, and above all, wonderful people, resulted in those roads being fondly remembered in moments of levity. The baobab trees were one of the highlights; it is hard to imagine the powerful spirit that emanates from them, despite not being even close to huggable! The various lemur species caused breathless awe, and especially on "Lemur Island", they were within touching distance. I found myself eye to eye with chameleons rotating their own eyes independently, and they were fascinating. The island is a photographer's paradise. There was great beauty in the countryside and the warmth of welcome from the people was humbling, despite many living in very poor circumstances. Madagascar is a huge island, and considerable time was invested in getting from place to place. Our guide, Blaise, and our driver, Daniel, were outstanding. I tend to wander off to take photos; Blaise was my shadow and always alert to what was going on. Daniel did not let an idle moment pass; he took meticulous care of our vehicle. The three weeks spent on this island reminded me of its unusual history, and seeing the wildlife up close and personal clarified my understanding of how evolution in this particular place has given the world species unknown elsewhere. My traveling companion and I are women of a certain age, and in truth, this trip is not for the faint-hearted; some days we were bone-weary. But the trip was filled with moments of great joy and excitement, moments I will always cherish. Pioneer Expeditions is an excellent company, and I highly recommend working with them. From the first contact I made with the company and throughout the process of actually deciding to travel with them, with all of the questions that arise in the course of undertaking this kind of adventure, their responses and attentiveness were exemplary.

I spent an amazing 2.5 weeks exploring such an amazing Country. I if I'm honest I didn't appreciate the size of the island! We saw so much with fantastic guides and drivers.

Expect lots of adventure, exploring different landscapes on some of the journeys and meeting some amazing locals.

Professional highly knowledgeable service from start to finish. I would highly recommend the Pioneer Expeditions team.