Toamasina Tamatave, Madagascar
Madagascar
Frequently Asked Questions
In the port area, a little over a kilometre from the centre. Toamasina is Madagascar's main maritime gateway, and ships berth alongside. Shuttles arranged by the cruise lines, yellow taxis and cycle rickshaws wait at the main exit.
By pousse-pousse, if you really want to catch the character of the place. This colourful cart, pulled or pedalled, is still a genuine means of transport here, and the driver becomes an improvised guide. You move at walking pace, which leaves plenty of time to look. Otherwise, yellow taxis and cruise line shuttles cover the run into town.
It is the great market, and the best starting point for the call. Under tin roofs you find pyramids of fruit, the night's catch, woven baskets and above all the agricultural treasures of the east coast: vanilla pods, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon. The vendors weigh the spices into little bags that stay fragrant for hours.
The market and a pousse-pousse ride fill a morning. In the afternoon you choose between Ivoloina park, north of the city, and a boat trip on the Pangalanes canal. Each takes a half day; running them back to back is not realistic.
Yes, at Ivoloina park north of the city. This zoological and forest garden holds several lemur species, some free in the trees, others in large enclosures. It lets you get close to lemurs and other endemic primates without hours in the bush, a valuable advantage on a port call.
It is a chain of lagoons and waterways running parallel to the ocean for hundreds of kilometres. By boat you pass dugouts loaded with fruit, fishing villages, nets strung between the banks. The vegetation sometimes closes into a tunnel above the brown water, and the contrast with the bustle of the centre is striking.
Vanilla, cloves, black pepper and cinnamon from the Bazary Be. These are the east coast's agricultural treasures, and a vanilla pod tucked into your luggage will scent the bag for weeks. Artisans around the market also sell embroidered tablecloths, raffia hats and wooden objects.
The Malagasy ariary, in cash: credit cards are of no use at the market. Malagasy is the country's language, with the lilting pronunciation of the east coast, and French is widely spoken in shops. Prices are discussed with a smile.
April to November. Madagascar's east coast is the wettest part of the country and the most exposed to cyclones, particularly from January to March. In the dry season the heat stays humid, but outings to Ivoloina and the Pangalanes go ahead without unpleasant surprises.
Yes, on the whole. Ivoloina park, with its shaded paths and lemurs visible without effort, appeals to children, and the pousse-pousse ride never fails to amuse them. The traffic downtown, dense and cheerfully disorderly, does mean keeping the youngest within arm's reach.
