Hotel Colbert

a functional base for exploring the capital

Hotel Colbert is located in the Antananarivo area of central Madagascar.

Centrally located in Antananarivo, this is a reliable four star business hotel, the sort of dependable place that does exactly what it says on the label.

Facilities include an extensive spa with an indoor heated swimming pool, hammam, Finnish sauna, relaxing room, cardio fitness facilities and various massage and beauty treatments.

There is also a business centre, a casino and a bar.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Hotel Colbert is in 140 rooms of various specifications, all with air-conditioning and balconies with views of the Palais de La Reine.

Activities

Hotel Colbert provides access to the following activities …

• City tours
• Local markets
• Bars and restaurants

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. Once you are up in the higher elevations of the old town, it tends to be less of an issue, but in the sprawling suburbs the roads are often extremely snarled up.

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.

trips often include multiple stopovers in Tana