Palissandre Côte Ouest

Palissandre Côte Ouest is located in the Morondava area of western Madagascar.

Lodge

Set on the beach peninsular below the town of Morondava, Palissandre Côte Ouest is (by the very low standards of this western region) a surprisingly pleasant and well organised place.

The hotel is centred on a large main building, with reception, lounge, bar and dining areas, leading out to a very nice swimming pool at the back of the beach.

There is also a small spa.

Although this is a relatively nice place to rest up overnight, the location is probably not special enough to warrant longer stays. The beach is pleasant, but it is a bit busy with other hotels and local people going about their business. The town is modestly interesting and worth a stroll around if you have time.

One of the main reasons that people overnight here is because they want to hit the famous Avenue of the Baobabs around dawn, which can be done if you depart here around 0500hrs.

Rooms

Guest accommodation is in around 30 detached bungalows range amongs the palm trees, each with a private bathroom, verandah and air-conditioning.

Some of the bungalows are slightly larger in order to accommodate families.

Morondava only tends to feature in trips because it is the start and end point for relatively hardcor overland expeditions to the Avenue of the Baobabs and the tsingy areas of Bemaraha.

The usual stay duration is 1-2 nights.

Seasonality

The best time to visit Morondava is generally considered to be during the long Apr-Nov dry season.

However if you are planning to combine with the Bemaraha area then you should probably focus on the latter part of the dry season, Jun-Nov, when the roads have had plenty of time to dry out and become passable.

During the Dec-Mar rainy season Morondava remains accessible and the precipitation is not usually too heavy, but temperatures and humidities can climb to uncomfortable levels.

Getting there

The coastal town of Morondava is usually accessed by scheduled flights from the capital Antananarivo, but can also sometimes be reached by air from Tulear, further south on this same western coastline.

rarely more than an overnight stop