Madagascar Independently: Antananarivo, Kirindy & Andasibe (Self-Launched)

Land at Ivato Airport and take the airport shuttle or a taxi (arrange at the official taxi desk, ~£8-12 into the centre) to a cheap-but-comfortable hotel in Antananarivo's Haute-Ville or around Analakely. Spend the afternoon walking the old town yourself: the cobbled lanes around the Rova, the colonial-era stairways, and the viewpoints over the city's hills. Free walking tours aren't really a thing in Tana — download a map and follow the loop on foot, or hire a local guide through the Rova ticket office for a couple of hours (~£8). Eat at a local hotely (rice-and-zebu plate ~£2.50) or a mid-range Malagasy restaurant (~£8). Pick up your park fee info and confirm your domestic flight for tomorrow.

🚌Airport taxi/shuttle to centre ~£10

🛏Mid-range hotel in Haute-Ville/Analakely (e.g. Hotel Sakamanga-style guesthouse or Hotel Le Louvre area budget rooms), ~£30/night double

• →Self-guided walk of Haute-Ville and the Rova viewpoint
• →Analakely market wander

Start at the Rova of Antananarivo (Queen's Palace), rebuilt after the 1995 fire — entry plus local guide ~£5. Walk down through Analakely Market (the city's chaotic central bazaar) and along Avenue of the Independence, then continue south-west to Tsimbazaza Zoo and Botanical Garden (~£4 entry) for your first lemur sightings and baobab specimens, and finish the loop at Lake Anosy. All walkable or a few pousse-pousse (rickshaw) rides at £0.50-1 each. Book or confirm your domestic flight to Morondava tonight and pack a small bag for the west.

🚌City walking, occasional pousse-pousse £1-2

🛏Same Antananarivo mid-range hotel, ~£30/night double

• →Rova of Antananarivo entry + local guide
• →Analakely Market
• →Tsimbazaza Zoo & Botanical Garden
• →Lake Anosy circuit

Fly Antananarivo to Morondava with Madagascar Airlines/Tsaradia (~£130-170 one way; book weeks ahead, flights are irregular and luggage limits are strict — 20kg checked). Collect your pre-arranged driver-guide or shared 4x4 transfer (the local standard; ~£45-60 per vehicle shared among 2-4, so £15-30 each) and head 60km north to Kirindy. Stop at Baobab Lamoureux (the 'lovers' baobabs) for photos, then a late-afternoon forest walk in Kirindy Reserve with a reserve guide (guide fee ~£8 plus park entry ~£6). After dark, join the Kirindy night walk (~£6 + guide tip) to spot mouse lemurs, chameleons and nocturnal birds. Co-opting the reserve's own guides is exactly how the tour does it, minus the markup.

🚌Domestic flight ~£150; shared 4x4 transfer ~£25 pp

🛏Relais du Kirindy or a simple forest lodge/bungalow near Kirindy, ~£25/night

• →Domestic flight to Morondava
• →Baobab Lamoureux stop
• →Kirindy Reserve late-afternoon walk
• →Kirindy night walk

Do a self-arranged four-hour morning walk in Kirindy Reserve with a park guide (~£10 guiding, entry already covered or ~£6 again) — prime time for sifakas, fossa (if lucky) and dry-forest birds. Midday transfer back toward Morondava, checking in at a beach guesthouse in Morondava (Vezo Beach area) with time to swim. Late afternoon, hire a taxi-brousse seat or your driver (~£20 return shared) to the Avenue of the Baobabs, ~45 minutes north, for the sunset — the classic Madagascar photo. Entry to the avenue site ~£3. Dinner at a seaside grill (~£8).

🚌Shared 4x4/taxi-brousse transfers ~£30

🛏Beach guesthouse/bungalow in Morondava (Vezo Beach standard), ~£25/night

• →Four-hour Kirindy Reserve walk
• →Morondava beach
• →Avenue of the Baobabs sunset

Morning flight back to Antananarivo (~£130-170). Check into your Tana hotel, then use the afternoon for crafts shopping — the Digue Market and the artisan stalls around Analakely are where the tour's 'souvenir city tour' goes, and you can navigate them yourself: raffia goods, wood carvings, vanilla, and embroidery. Or use the slot to visit the Andafiavaratra Palace museum. Book your shared taxi-brousse or private transfer for Andasibe for tomorrow morning and buy snacks/water for the road.

🚌Domestic flight ~£150; airport transfer ~£10

🛏Antananarivo mid-range hotel, ~£30/night double

• →Domestic flight to Antananarivo
• →Digue Market & artisan stalls
• →Optional Andafiavaratra Palace

Take an early taxi-brousse (line taxi) toward Toamasina and get off at Andasibe (~£6-8, 3.5-4 hrs, frequent departures), or split a private hire car with other travellers (~£60 per car, ~£20 each). Stop at the Marozevo reptile/amphibian farm on the way (~£4 entry, chameleons galore). In Andasibe, check into a lodge near the park. Afternoon: Andasibe-Mantadia (Perinet) National Park entry (~£12) with a mandatory local park guide (~£10-15 per group) for indri, then Vakona Reserve's Lemurs Island where habituated lemurs jump on your shoulders (~£8 entry). Finish with a guided night walk from the park gate or your lodge (~£8 + tip) for mouse lemurs and frogs.

🚌Taxi-brousse ~£7 (or shared private hire ~£20)

🛏Vakona Lodge or equivalent Andasibe forest lodge, ~£35/night

• →Taxi-brousse to Andasibe
• →Marozevo exotic animal farm
• →Andasibe-Perinet National Park
• →Vakona Lemurs Island
• →Night walk

Get into Analamazaotra (the Perinet special reserve) at first light — mandatory local guide ~£10-15, entry ~£12 — for the best indri song and diademed sifaka sightings (~3 hours). Back for breakfast, then taxi-brousse or shared private hire back to Antananarivo (~£7-20, 3.5-4 hrs). If you're flying out the same evening, note the tour operator themselves advise booking onward flights from 9pm due to road and weather delays — otherwise add a night in Tana before your international flight. Most nationalities can buy a 30-day visa on arrival (~£30-40 equivalent); check current rules before you fly.

🚌Taxi-brousse or shared private hire ~£7-20

🛏None included — optional final night in Antananarivo (~£30)

• →Analamazaotra National Park dawn walk
• →Return transfer to Antananarivo