Antoremba Lodge

'Hi Derek, I've been meaning to email you. It was incredible, and more than lived up to expectations. I'm still a bit overwhelmed by it to be honest. In terms of wildlife, i had a bit of a mental list of things i'd love to see, and we saw everything plus more, most of which in the first few days! 

Whilst we were away i was thinking of feedback for you. It was definitely the experience of a lifetime and it's really wanted to make me travel more having not been out of Europe for about 6 years - though i need to start saving. I'm incredibly glad you suggested the alternative itinerary to the original one... we saw so much,and it seemed like the perfect balance between busily doing things everyday at the beginning, to chilling out at the end, which i'll come on to.  

Val, our guide was incredible. He was so helpful, and always went the extra mile. We have his email address, but i wondered if you could email his manager to say thank you, and just how much we enjoyed it and his organisation? Saying bye to him felt like saying bye to a new friend! On our last drive, Rachel wanted to see a local primary school if possible as she's a teacher, so she can show the children what schools there are like. Val arranged at the last minute for us to be shown round a school and introduced us to a teacher. It was little touches like that that were special. At times it felt a bit much having a driver, a general guide, and the park guide all for us, but i can see that it is needed.... and things like this made me realised why it does actually cost a lot to visit the country, which i think was my first question for you!

Mantadia Lodge - it said 'no frills', but we felt it was the most luxurious place we stayed so may want to ammend your description in the itinerary - it was way more luxurious than we were expecting! I liked that Val got to have dinner with us on the last night. Maybe some people would feel annoyed at spending money on this, but i think it's a really nice touch, and we were going to invite him for dinner with us anyway had this not been the case. (Night walks were amazing and we saw a giraffe-necked weevil!)

[Iharana] Bush camp - everything was amazing, but definitely worth saying how incredible the picnic on the top of the Tsingy was to watch the sunset - it was a complete surprise and a great experience!

Antoremba Lodge - I'm actually glad we didn't spend longer than 2 nights here, though because we were shattered from doing so much, it was a good chill spot for 2 nights. It's beautiful, but we definitely preferred the 'vibe' of Sakatia Lodge for our final 7 nights. Partly because Sakatia is much more set up for activities as it has its own dive centre, partly because of location - as Sakatia has more still, warmer waters due to it's protection form the elements, clearer waters and turtles that live outside the hotel! If anyone else was doing a similar itinerary, i'd definitely recommend Sakatia over Antoremba, it just seems better connected and well equipped for activities.

I hope that's helpful, and if you have any follow up questions, do just ask. I just want to say thanks again Derek, it really was incredible, and just writing this makes me so happy (and sad to be back home!) - i can't explain how perfect the itinerary was due to your knowledge. 

Thanks again,

Jonny'

Hi Derek,

I just wanted to thank you for setting up such a wonderful trip to Madagascar for my daughter and me. It really was the trip of a lifetime for me, one that I have planned and saved for for years. 

Honestly, it was all good. The pace was right. The hotels and food were spectacular. We got lucky in all sorts of ways, most obviously in the variety of wildlife we saw. I also consider us lucky to have been able to meet both Fifou and Vincent (at Ilharana), both of whom were very thoughtful and interesting 'hosts'. We also took a trip around Ste. Marie with Fifou in his Cessna, which was spectacular, and were at Princesse Bora on August 1st, when Fifou throws a big party to celebrate Switzerland's national day. Very fun. Ilharana is an incredibly well-designed place, with all its various nooks and crannies. Service was uniformly excellent at both.

William was a wonderful local guide at Andasibe. We saw so much more with him than I think we would otherwise have seen or than others saw. He told me you are meeting him with a group in September. I have to say, I think in general invoking your name brought a higher level of wildlife guiding.

The food at every hotel was good, though Bora, Ilharana, and Antoremba stood out. I will say that Antoremba is very, um, French. By that I mean that Philippe and Christine are welcoming, but in that "Aren't you luck to stay in our lovely hotel" sort of way. They were horrified that I didn't eat seafood (though I had emailed them in advance), and said "But that's our speciality!". Well, that's fine, but I still don't eat it, and there is no choice in the menu. On the other hand, Guillaume, their son, was delightful, and I loved that we were away from Nosy Be and all its tourists; the location of Antoremba cannot be beaten. Having our own boat to go snorkeling was also perfect. French friends we had met at Princesse Bora had to contend with a bigger, group outing from their hotel in Nosy Be, and had a much less satisfying excursion as a result (no swimming with turtles for them!).

The weather was perfect the whole time. Now I am dreaming of my 'southern' trip.

Best,

Julia

Fan (guide) was excellent, he was sent to the North with us. Drivers: Dodo, our first driver, was excellent. Overall holiday satisfaction: excellent. 

Relais des Plateaux: excellent for airport transfers

Mantadia Lodge: good in terms of comfort, service, location and meals. 

Iharana Bush Camp: comfort, service, location and meals excellent. Facilities good. 

Antoremba Lodge: excellent in all respects.. Amazing place. Loved the family ownership - they were delightful. 

The service from Derek when we had to postpone was outstanding. I am glad we wventually went when the weather was perfect; nowhere was busy. We were the only people staying at Iharana!