Safari to Tulear

the climate is unusually hot and dry

Set 700 km southwest of Tana, the remote southwest coast of Madagascar is centred on the port of Tulear.

This area is very sunny and arid, with a fascinating specially adapted flora and fauna colloquially known as the spiny forest.

There are some magnificent white-sand beaches, with beautiful lagoons and fringing reefs, suitable for snorkelling and diving.

Although the town of Tulear itself is reasonably pleasant, most people head for the more remote beaches to the south (Anakao) or the north (Ifaty, Salary Bay, Ankasy and Mikea), where there’s a reasonable selection of good lodges.

The southwest coast of Madagascar, centred on the city of Tulear, is a stark and beautiful place, arguably our favourite part of the coastline of this vast island, which is really saying something. However, it remain relatively little-visited, mainly because it does not offer the same level of wildlife interactions of other areas.

The usual stay duration is 4-7 nights.

Seasonality

Tulear is nicknamed The City of the Sun because its climate is so relentlessly sunny and dry. However there is a strong prevailing wind from the south, known locally as the tsio katimo.

The best time to visit is generally considered to be the Apr-Nov dry season, when there is likely to be virtually no rain. The average daytime temperatures reach 21C/70F, with the average nighttime temperatures being around 14C/57F.

Contrary to popular opinion, the converse Dec-Mar season does usually bring some significant rainfall, averaging around 65mm/3″ per month. The average daytime temperatures are slightly higher at 27C/81F, with the average nighttime temperatures only dropping to 22C/72F, which could be a little uncomfortable.

Getting there

This remote southwest coast has traditionally been reached via the very long drive down the RN7 highway from the capital, a journey which normally takes about a week once you’ve stopped off at a few interesting places along the way.

Most people then send their guide home, spend 3-6 nights on the beach and then fly back to the capital.

However, now that there are (at long last) some genuinely decent and interesting places to stay down here, the concept of flying down and back may be worth considering, especially if you don’t fancy that long drive.

As well as flights from the capital Antananarivo, there are sometimes connections from Fort Dauphin (in the southeast corner) and Morondava (further up this west coast).

Where to stay

The various sections above described the reasons to stay in each of the areas along this coastline.

We tend to lean towards the more remote ends of the coast, Anakao in the south and Mikea in the north, partly because of the lower visitor traffic, but mainly because they both have interesting national parks inland.

Choosing between the two is not easy. If you have a week to spare then it might be nice to combine the two.

usually accessed by air from the capital