Sakatia 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'

'We had a wonderful time.  Highlights were of course the lemurs!

Mitch also loved the diving (particularly the floor diving) and I absolutely loved the horse-riding.

Food was great too, at Sakatia but we do eat a lot and I think impressed them with our abilities.  Also great massages.

 Loved the wildlife! Wish more could be preserved.'

'Everything worked like a dream. There were no hiccups. Jessica was very informative and eager to go the extra mile to ensure that we were able to do everything we wanted to. Michael was also an excellent guide, showing great concern for our well-being. He told us lots about the politics and cultural life of Madagascar. 

The Litchi Tree: beautigul gardens, Herve was charming.

Iharana Bush Camp: arriving after dark, the accommodation was so poorly lit it was difficult to unpack. Shaving in the bathroom with loits of baby frogs was unnerving initially but in the daylight we got to enjoy their company. 

Sakatia Lodge: it was a tropical island paradise. The family were very friendly and tried hard to ensure we had a good time.

Andasibe Hotel: the lighting was poor. 

Considering our brief of lemurs, baobabs and some beach time we feel you did us proud. It all worked out very well and we had a really fantastic holiday which we will have fond memories of for a long time.  The guides made it for us. Jessica even told us a traditional Malagasy story about the drongo and the fruit bat. '

'Overall holiday satisfaction excellent.

Iharana Bush Camp excellent all round, 3 nights here would have been better.

Sakatia Lodge excellent, relaxed, plenty to do and enjoy.' 

'Your brochure offered us a suitable trip with option to customise sample tour. We had a wonderful trip. Food at Litchi Tree and location at Iharana Bush Camp wonderful. Sakatia Lodge is very friendly. We enjoyed snorkelling especially with Whale sharks!! As we are not divers, a magical experience. Very lucky to be there at right time of year to see Whale sharks'

'We had a wonderful time in Madagascar and the great majority of things worked out very well. The diving, transfers, food and lodging on the trip to Sakatia was very good, went off without hitch and we really enjoyed the lodge there, and the people. In fact we got our advanced diver certificates.

There were a few hitches and cancelled flights with the aptly named Air Mad.... 

Some of the lodges we not of a great standard, notably the one in Kirindy which was very dirty ( full of litter which they  mostly cleaned up once we pointed it out). Also showers were cold.  We do not mind roughing it but these place advertise warm showers which were absent. Food was really good every where especially chips!!

All in all we enjoyed the trip a great deal and we pleased with the guides from Za tours, no cancellations there and they were very willing and able to reschedule our trips and destinations.

Thanks to you and Rainbow tours

Anne and Jon Bander'

The perfect way to end a tiring trip. Just heaven away from the busy Nosy Be. Everything to hand. Great food with great staff. Well organised and according to Ron a really top class dive school. The canoe trip round the island and beach lunch in the local village enabled us to support the locals and at the same time have a really great experience. 

The dive centre at Sakatia Lodge is undoubtedly the best we have ever experienced. Jacques is the very best operator and can show (you) creatures never seen before. He was very helpful as we are older divers. The dive boat is very good and easy to use. All equipment is well maintained and was carried for us. We have not doubt this is the very best, top notch diving. Jacques uses the tides and his considerable knowledge (for) using the most appropriate sites. We saw better coral and sea life than anywhere we have been before (which covers many parts of the Indian Ocean – Seychelles, Maldives, Mauritius, etc). The hotel made us feel very special and we were treated to a dinner on the sands under the stars. This has been without a doubt one of our best holidays. We are grateful for Rachel’s superb organisation and knowledge. Please encourage clients to use Sakatia Lodge Dive Centre. We talked to some very experienced divers who used a different company and they saw much less than we did’

Sakatia Lodge is a lovely quiet spot on the island with clean beach and a pleasant village nearby, friendly management & Lovely Staff