Incredible adventure through Madagascar. While there is a lot of travel, it allows you to see all the different cultures and landscapes of the country - from the highlands to the western coast, cities and rural villages, national parks etc. There were plenty of stops along the way for toilet breaks, and culture stops. We were never uncomfortable but you do have to go with an open mind and just go with the flow. We went for the wildlife and this didn't disappoint - we saw so many different lemurs up close and all of the guides were fantastic to point out all the different animals Our tour guide, Claudia, was amazing and so helpful throughout the entire tour. Our group was very enjoyable and we all had a similar mindset.
"Madagascan Discoverer" was a truly wonderful, very enjoyable, multi-faceted trip with a really excellent guide, Rija. I am writing this review to inform future customers about 1 less-than-good aspect because it might be a safety issue for some people booking this holiday. In addition, this tour company has failed to respond to the comments I made in my on-line post-holiday evaluation about this, so I do not know if the company has read the evaluation and is going to do anything to improve the situation.My criticism relates to the harnesses provided for the walk in the Grands Tsingy. Mine was too big for me, even when the smallest harness the company had was adjusted to the smallest possible size. This same problem also affected another person in the group. Both of us are slimmer than most other British adults. Fortunately, neither of us fell and came to any harm. If we had fallen and had had to rely on the harnesses to keep us safe, there would have been the potential for an accident or injury. If you are slim or if you have children who are intending to do the Via Ferrata in the Grands Tsingy, please consider bringing your or their own harness(es) that fits you/them. A harness that does not fit the wearer is of little use. I climb regularly and know how important this piece of equipment is and how a proper fit is necessary for safety.This deficiency on the part of this tour operator is made worse because I had actually queried with its people BEFORE the trip whether I should bring my own harness to Madagascar. The reply that its rep gave me was that we would not be doing Via Ferrata and there was no need for the harness. This reveals that the company representative does not know her product: we definitely did a Via Ferrata and we used climbing equipment.Other than this failing, and one or two things which were beyond the control of the company, the holiday was very good, hugely interesting and varied and I had a great time. I fully recommend this holiday and in particular, commend Rija for her excellent guiding.
What a wonderfully all encompassing tour of Madagascar taking in a great selection of the fantastic countryside including lovely beaches on the shores of the Indian ocean, the all important lemurs and other fauna and flora, the people and the culture that makes Madagascar such a diverse interesting place to visit.
