Cycling in Madagascar, Highlands 25 dec 2005 - 16 Jan 2006
Due to the fact it was high season and there are only a few airlines that fly to Madagascar we took the budget airline from Paris Orly. From Amsterdam we took the car as there are no flights to Orly and the train is too much hassle with two bicycles by train, cycling from Paris Nord to Orly and then prepare for the flight. We parked the car 5 minutes from Orly at a hotel, under the condition that we would pay for 2 additional nights we could leave the car there for 3 weeks. Parking at Orly is approx 240euro... 2 additional nights 100euro. The hotel owner has a airport shuttle and brought us (and the bicycle free of charge to the airport).
By Corsair (corsair.fr) we flew in a 747-budget to Madagascar (45euro per bicycle, per flight... but the ticket were half the price of the other airlines in high season). Antananarivo has a very small airport and actually is not build for 747's. cycling from/to the airport from Antananarivo is a very easy ride (20km). On the way back we slept in the village next to the aiport. When you return... make sure you are there at least two hours before. It takes a lot of time to check-in, pay the bicycles, change your last Malagasy Francs, and go through customs... (this airport is not prepared for over 500persons at the same time!). One Boeing 747 per day... and the currency changers started to count there money at the same time and could not change in the mean time(!).
Intermediate flights over the island are easy...but not with bicycles. The twin prop planes most of the time do not have space.
Bicycles on the mini(taxi)busses... not a problem. You might not be the only local who wants to go by mini(taxi)bus to the market and cycle back home. The minibusses are not a hassle, but you might end up with one that has a hole in the floor above the exhaust... don't bother, just place a plastic bag in the hole and place your foot on top.
Going from/to Isle st Marie you can take take a plane or the ferry. There are two ferries, the cheap version and the expensive version (but more safe and less hassle due to the combination of the bus ride). We took the cheap (local) version, with normal weather this is not a problem.... I would not recommend it in bad weather.
The Roads
I believe only 10% is tarred. Only the main roads have asphalt, therefore we stopped cycling... because cycling in the mud is almost impossible. Cycling must stay fun. The road conditions were okay for the parts we cycled. In the highlands you constantly stay around 900~1200meters.
Combination of French and Malay. French loafs as breakfast and lunch, but also noodle soup with a very slim chicken leg was available (sponsored by Maggi).
We brought our tent to be sure, but as we did not go off the main road we definitely did not require it. Bringing you our stove might come in handy if you had enough of those slim chicken legs with almost no meat. In the main cities accommodation was easy and comfortable. We staid in backpackers. The people in Moonlight hotel are very relaxed, also with your bicycle or luggage if you want to leave that behind. It might be handy to reward them if they garded your bags for two weeks. Good breakfast available and next to the market for lunch. Later we travelled by bus to the east coast and to Isle st Marie. Isle st Marie has lots of accommodation, but the prices are higher then anywhere on the main island. We found Isle st Marie quite comfortable as it was away from the hassle and the poverty (after two weeks).
This period was the rain season... we can not recommend it. Even thought the temperatures in the highlands were comfortable. The temperature on Isle st Marie was too high to be comfortable. Rain season in the highlands means rain around 14:00~16:00 till the evening, maximum an hour.
The Photos
Links to Madagascar