Relais des Plateaux

avoiding the infamous city traffic

Le Relais des Plateaux is located in the Antananarivo area of central Madagascar.

Set on the outskirts of the capital, just ten minutes by road from the international airport, this property is a reasonably pleasant and convenient place for a functional overnight.

The main reason to stay here is to avoid the traffic heading in and out of the centre of town.

The hotel facilities include a reception with flight information board, an extensive restaurant and a large heated swimming pool.

There is also a fitness centre and spa.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Le Relais des Plateaux is in 46 functional rooms, all with air-conditioning.

With the exception of a few beach-focused trips which fly in and out of the airport at Nosy Be, all other trips to Madagascar pass through the capital, Antananarivo, usually more than once and usually with an overnight stop on more than one occasion.

Seasonality

The best time to visit Antananarivo is generally considered to be during the May-Sep cool dry season.

The town is situated at an altitude of around 1200m/3950’ (which makes it the highest capital of any island nation) and experiences a subtropical highland climate.

The May-Sep period represents the cool dry winter season, with peak daytime temperatures around 21C/70F and nighttime temperatures usually holding up around 10C/50F. Rainfall is light and occasional.

The Nov-Mar period represents a warmer wetter summer season, with peak daytime temperatures around 26C/79F and nighttime temperatures being relatively high at 17C/63F. Rain can be quite high during this season, particularly Nov-Mar, peaking at around 300mm/12” per month in Dec-Jan (which is a lot).

Getting there

Antananarivo is the main transport hub for Madagascar.

The city is home to Ivato International Airport, which also serves as the main domestic airport hub and is located around 12 km northeast of the city centre.

The main international flight routings into Tana are from Paris, Addis Ababa, Nairobi and Johannesburg.

The main problem with visiting Tana is the traffic. Getting between the airport and the old town should take twenty minutes with a clear run, but is more likely to be 1-2 hours given the traffic.

This is the main reason to choose a hotel out by the airport such as this, which serves simply as a functional transit stop.

trips often include multiple stopovers in Tana