Bakuba Lodge

a great staging post for lodges further south

Bakuba Lodge is located 4 km south of the town of Tulear on the southwest coast of Madagascar.

The lodge is a really innovative little place, designed by Belgian architect Bruno Decorte, who includes Gaudi amongst his influences (which gives you a hint of what to expect).

The place is mostly contained within a single large building, with a small spa and a rooftop cocktail bar, leading out to a nice infinity swimming pool.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Bakuba Lodge is in a total of six rooms, all with air-conditioning.

There are three Standard Rooms (all with one large bed, two of which can be separated into two small beds) and three larger Suite Rooms (all with one large bed, one of which can be separated into two small beds).

Activities

Bakuba Lodge provides access to the following range of activities …

• Town tours
• Spiny forests
• Motorboat safari

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 remains 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).

Bakuba Lodge is a 10 km road transfer from Tulear Airport, 800m south of the Tropic of Capricorn.

usually accessed by air from the capital