65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Well run, reasonably priced company offering multiple tours to meet the needs of a diverse clientele
My wife and I went on a 20 day trip starting with a 2 day stay in the capital, Antananarivo, followed by visits to two eastern rainforest areas (Andasibe-Mantadia and Ranamofana) where our guide (Nambinina) not only ensured we saw multiple lemur species, but also many chameleons, geckos, butterflies, and birds unique to Madagascar. We were even fortunate enough to hear and see the largest and critically endangered lemur species, the Indri, thanks to some excellent spotting by our guide. Our visits were both at night and during the day as some lemurs and other wildlife are more active at night or more easily seen then. From the eastern rain forests we headed south and west, stopping in Antsirabe and Ambositra to visit the daily street markets and learn about the local crafts unique to the area including those made with Zebu horn. We then proceeded to the dry forest and grasslands of Madagascar where we had multiple, close up visits from Ringtail Lemurs and were fascinated by the sideways leaps of Verreaux’s Sifaka (another Lemur species) when making their way on the ground. We also enjoyed multiple, unique and colorful birds in both Isalo National Park and Zombitse Vohibasia National Park along with vegetation found only in Madagascar like Elephant’s Foot (Pachypodium) and endemic Aloe plants. The end of our trip was spent on the beach in Anakao where we did some snorkeling, visited Nosey Ve island and saw the endemic population of Tropic Birds who nest there. We also visited Tsimanapetsotsa National Park which has a large salt pond occupied by Flamingos beginning in April and lasting until the rainy season in November. The park has caves with blind fish along with a Baobob tree believed to be more than 1600 years old.
All of our itinerary and the arrangements for transportation, hotels, meals (breakfast and dinner), and water each day was arranged by Madagascar Natural Tours. Our hotels were always clean and comfortable and the food offerings were excellent. With two exceptions, every one of our hotels had a pool should you want or need it.
We were provided with both a driver and a guide (Nambinina, who I mentioned above). We were very happy to have the driver because driving conditions are not the best with both road and traffic conditions being subpar. Our two drivers, Desi and Solo, were excellent.
I should mention that the owner, Harilala, is always available via What’s App and he went out of his way to accommodate us when we decided to change the date of our visit from last October to this past May. He advised us on the next best time to visit and kept in touch with us. He even arranged some additional services for us while we were on the road which included a park visit outside Toliara while we were waiting for our plane back to Antanarivo on our last full day.
Finally, I should mention that Madagascar Natural Tours arranged ATM stops for me when I needed local currency (mostly for driver, guide, and hotel tips, but also for lunches and souvenir purchases). I had read that ATM’s were unreliable and that you could often only draw 200,000 Ariary per visit. That was not the case for me where I could always draw 800,000 if I chose to. The ATM fee is 9500 Ariary (a little less than $2.50). You can decide if that works for you.
I highly recommend Madagascar Natural Tours for anyone wanting to visit Madagascar and wishing to do it on a reasonable budget without sacrificing quality. I also strongly recommend asking for Nambinina as your guide. His English is excellent and his knowledge of the flora and fauna of his country is superb.
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional, hospitable and very accomodating
I availed the services of Meterai Safaris because they had been patient in answering my questions about the tour. They have organized my tours according to my preferences and have given me options and suggestions as well. My contact person is John and I am amazed on how fast he organized my last minute requests. He always follow up if everything is okay and if there is anything I need. The tours are well organized, the drivers and the tour guides are professional and kind. Great shout out to Ian, my Masai Mara driver and guide.
IN
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent tour with personal care to help enjoy the tour
We had a vey good experience with the Arusha National Park Safari. Abdulla went an extra mile to show us different animals and helped us moving the vehicle to enable us to get good view of the animals. He was able to explain various animals’ behavior and identified birds and explained their habitat in great detail. The picnic lunch was very good and a memorable one.
IS
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good
Very fun seeing the animals and very nice guide. Very sad to see so many of the safari cars drive off road, horrible. Informative and great trip!
JP
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It’s really kind and enjoyable guy
The safari tour is really exciting and gives me unforgettable memories.
Also, the tour guides are really helpful and informative.
ES
Super professional, helpful and friendly. Devid helped me pick the plan and guide Festo the best
Full package adventures are super professional, helpful, friendly. They helped me tailor a plan based on what I wanted to see and do. Super competitive prices also.
Our guide Festo was the absolute best, he went above and beyond to help us see all the animals and get super close. I would definitely recommend.
AE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience with the best guide Shafik Topkins
I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better trip. From the beginning, everything felt well organized, and Shafik made the experience smooth, safe, and genuinely enjoyable.
CN
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
the boss and staff are perfect
This travel agency is absolutely amazing! We arrived in Arusha late at night, and they specially arranged an airport pickup for us. The next day, the owner, Alex, came over to greet us personally. The rest of the itinerary was perfectly organized.
Our guide, John, was incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and handsome! He took us exploring around the Serengeti for over ten hours every day, and we saw so many animals. The hotels they booked for us were also top-notch—mostly Lemala properties, plus a Melia.
Overall, I highly recommend them! Best of all, they even provided a Chinese-speaking coordinator to help us communicate throughout the trip.
IN
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience
Had a very good week with Eric and James during our vist to sambaru ,nakaru and masai mara
Had great sitings , both were very informative and took great interest in sharing the facts of the floura and fauna around us.
