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Travelling in Madagascar with kids

Travelling in Madagascar with kids is undoubtedly tough - but for well-travelled families, it is also extremely rewarding. Best wait til the children are a bit older to ensure they make the most out of this life changing experience - meeting and interacting with Malagasy communities, canoeing down remote rivers, discovering otherworldly wildlife and camping out under the stars.

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Travelling in Madagascar with kids

Stopping in a village and meeting the locals will give young people a real education about the country they are visiting.

Kids love wildlife, and few places can touch Madagascar for the variety and, well, strangeness of its endemic animals. Our family holidays to Madagascar visit protected rainforests filled with lemurs, while nocturnal tours are arguably where things really come to life, as torch light illuminates the reflective beam of eyes (and aye-ayes) in the dark.
Active teenagers in particular will have a blast – there are incredible hikes for all abilities, plus camping, kayaking, river expeditions, snorkelling and even kite surfing… as well as fluffy lemurs. Additionally, stopping in a village to see development and conservation projects in action gives youngsters a real education about Madagascar.

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Activities for families in Madagascar

Stay in a treehouse

Every kid’s fantasy accommodation; go all Robin Hood with truly unique jungle cabins, high in the trees and accessible via ladders and rope bridges. Family-sized cabins cater for up to five people… but you’ll have to venture down to ground level if you need the loo in the night!

Get on the water

Madagascar has 5,000km of coastline, plus numerous rivers through its forests. Sea kayaking and river canoeing are great activities for budding explorers – they’ll see wildlife and local villages up close, and can even paddle from deserted island to deserted island.

Scramble around the Petit Tsingy

While the Grand Tsingy trail is notoriously tough, the Petit Tsingy is much easier to tackle, with a short hike to get there followed by a trail along rope bridges and iron ladders, before scrambling round the unusual rock formations. A fun challenge for energetic teens – keep an eye out for lemurs, too.

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Family travel advice in Madagascar

Mark Jacobs, from our supplier Azafaday, shares his tips on keeping healthy in Madagascar:

"Take your health seriously, with appropriate insurance, inoculations and taking professional advice so that you are as prepared as possible. Madagascar is desperately poor with a very poor infrastructure, and there are numerous common diseases which you can avoid very easily if you have the right jabs and decent insurance. People are used to going to sanitised places, but Madagascar will shock them."

"There are numerous common diseases which you can avoid very easily if you have the right jabs and decent insurance."

Laurenne Mansfield, from our supplier, Pioneer Expeditions, shares her advice on travelling in Madagascar with kids:

"Sometimes Madagascar suits families better than groups of adults. Families have different expectations; the children have the innocence of discovering a place and parents will appreciate seeing them interacting with local kids."