Time + Tide Miavana

one of the most exclusive beach resorts in the world

Miavana is located on a four square kilometre private island of Nosy Ankao in the remote northeast of Madagascar.

The lodge is centred on collection of elegant main buildings at the back of the west beach, with lovely lounge and dining spaces leading out to broad terraces, a central swimming pool and a lovely beach campfire area.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Miavana is in 14 large and very elegant villas, all of which are directly at the back of the beach.

The villas come in 1, 2 and 3 bedroom formats, each with a comfortable lounge, a kitchenette, a broad terrace with a private dining area and a private swimming pool.

All rooms come with a private butler and there is a visiting spa service for massages and treatments.

Activities

Miavana provides the following very wide range of guided activities …

• Island nature walks
• Beach picnics
• Kayaking
• Paddle-boarding
• Snorkelling
• Diving
• Marine safari
• Helicopter safari
• Lemur conservation projects
• Cultural visits

The only way to visit Nosy Ankao is to stay at the incredible Miavana Lodge, which is by far the most upmarket property in Madagascar, with prices to match.

Seasonality

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

The island experiences a tropical ocean climate, which is to say that it’s reliably hot and humid, but not as rainy as the main island.

The temperatures are relatively constant year round, with peak daytime temperatures around 28C/82F and nighttime temperatures a potentially uncomfortable 20C/68F. The relative humidity is around 85% year round, which doesn’t help.

The Apr-Nov period represents the dry season, with an average of 25mm/1′ of rain per month. Temperatures tend to be slightly lower and the prevailing conditions are very much sunny.

The Dec-Apr period represents the rainy season, with an average rainfall of around 200mm/8″ of rain per month, which is quite a lot. You can expect heavy and potentially continuous downpours every other day, although usually at night. There should be plenty of sunny weather in between. Temperatures are slightly higher.

Getting there

If you are planning to add Miavana onto a safari on mainland Africa, then there are two options …

The first option is to take scheduled flight services from Johannesburg or Nairobi into the international airport on Nosy Be, from where it’s a one hour transfer in one of the lodge’s helicopters, direct to the island.

By far the most convenient option is to use the owner’s private plane to fly directly from the safari areas to the international airport at Diego Suarez. This is most commonly done from sister properties such as Chinzombo, in the South Luangwa area of Zambia, with a flight time of 3.5hrs. Although the costs are extremely high, this routing does save you the best part of two days of travel.

If you are planning to add Miavana onto a wider exploration of Madagascar, then you can catch a scheduled flight from the capital Antananarivo to the town of Diego Suarez.

From Diego Suarez it’s a 30 minute helicopter ride to the island.

a wonderful range of marine and land activities