Madagascar photography tour
2025
Lemurs, chameleons, baobabs and whales.
Photo tour to Madagascar 2022

Madagascar photography tour 2025

Lemurs, chameleons, baobabs and whales.
Start: August 6, 2025, Antananarivo, Madagascar
End: August 14, 2025, Antananarivo, Madagascar

Start of whale safari: August 15, 2025, Antananarivo
End: August 18, 2025, Antananarivo

Guide: Dmitry Arkhipov

Main program: 3590 € (deposit 1500 €)
Single occupancy: 800 €

Whale safari: 2580 €
Single occupancy: 800 €
Madagascar is an island of wonders. This is the only place on earth where you can find many species of animals and plants that are not found anywhere else. Madagascar has a unique combination of African exoticism, wild animals, mild climate and friendly population.

Our photo tour will include two parts. At first, we will take pictures of amazing endemic animals and nature of Madagascar, and then we will go to the festival of whales on the Santa Maria island.

By this time, humpbacks from all over Antarctica swim here to breed in the warm coastal waters of the island. We will be able to make unique photos of the impressive jumps of these gigantic animals.

But first - to the east of the island: We will cross the rainforests that cover the steep hill-slopes descending to the coast of the Indian Ocean. In the Andasibe Analamazaotra (Perinet) park you can find a unique fauna, wonderful orchids, and other rare plants, several types of lemurs, reptiles and amphibians. Most of these animals can be found only in Madagascar.

Then we will go to the Western part of Madagascar. We'll be staying in a luxury hotel on the Mozambique channel. Not far from our hotel, there is the famous baobab alley. Majestic trees have been on this road for hundreds of years. Every day graceful girls with jugs on their heads pass by them, hurrying to the market. Peasants drive their carts drawn by humpbacked zebu bulls. Children learn rousing African dances.

In the morning, at dawn, baobabs are covered with thick mysterious mists, and the age-old trees become even more beautiful. The bright African sun beautifully sets in the wild African bush.

There is unexpectedly good cuisine in Madagascar. Thanks to the French influence, you will find a gastronomic surprise in most of hotels. This is a real discovery!


The most interesting things that await us in the journey:

* wild animals in the jungle of Andasibe park;
* lemurs and chameleons, which can be approached at arm's length;
* majestic baobabs;
* lagoon and coastal town of Morondava;
* white beaches of Santa Maria island;
* jumps of humpback whales.
* extraordinary local cuisine.
The whale of Madagascar 2022
The whale
Itinerary
Day 1 (Aug 6)
Antananarivo

Arrival in Madagascar, check-in at the hotel. We meet for dinner in a cozy hotel in the capital of Madagascar (Au Bois Vert). The local restaurant serves excellent French cuisine.
Day 2 (Aug 7)
Antananarivo - Andasibe National Park

This day in the morning from the capital of Madagascar we will go east to Andasibe National Park along one of the main transport arteries of the island connecting the capital with the seaport of Toamasina. Having descended from the Mandrak Plateau, we will enter a corridor of dense forests spread along the entire eastern part of the island. On our way, we will visit a farm of butterflies, chameleons and various geckos of the village of Marozevo. Here we have a scheduled shooting of these interesting animals. Amazing chameleons of all sizes and colors. It's like they've been specifically siting for portraits.

Then we will go further to the east. For dinner we arrive at the hotel, located among the beautiful thickets in the heart of the park.

After dinner at the hotel we are having a night walk to Mitsinjo Communal Reserve. We will see animals in their natural habitat.
Day 3 (Aug 8)
Analamasaotra National Park and Wakona Island private sanctuary.

Accompanied by the local ranger, we will explore the amazing nature of this sanctuary, which is covered by the forest typical for the eastern part of Madagascar. There are many endemic animals in this rainforest. Biodiversity is overwhelming. We will search and take pictures of Indri, which is the largest lemur on earth. This is an amazing and photogenic animal. Our guide will tell us all about its habits and lifestyle.

Many other interesting species inhabit here as well, such as the Gray Bamboo Lemur (Hapalemur griseus), the Wool Lemur (Avahi Laninger) and others. Flora is extremely interesting too.

This day we will have lunch in a local restaurant in the middle of the rain forest.

In the evening, we will visit the Wakona private sanctuary. Here you can closely communicate with various representatives of the local fauna. By canoe we will come to the island, where several species of lemurs live, and will be able to take great pictures at close range from the most favorable angles. The park will be closed by this time. We will be the only group to take photos of lemurs in the golden hour of sunset.
Day 4 (Aug 9)
Andasibe - Antananarivo - Lemurs' park

At dawn, we are going to the "Island of Lemurs" again. Before the park opens, we will have another exclusive shooting in the soft morning light at sunrise. And after breakfast, we are driving back to Antananarivo. Along out way, we can stop to take interesting photos.

In the afternoon we are coming to another reserve. And when the light is warm, we will be taking pictures of different kinds of lemurs in the most interesting locations. There will be non-typical for Madagascar bamboo thickets and pines.

In the evening we will stay in a hotel near the airport with excellent French cuisine.
Day 5 (Aug 10)
Antananarivo - Morondava

In the morning we leave for the airport and fly to the western part of the island, Morondava. The flight takes 1 hour. The cost of the flight is included in the tour price.

At sunset we have a planned shooting of the famous "Baobab Alley", where the powerful trunks of giant trees reflect the orange rays of the setting sun. This is a great place for landscape photography. This is a landmark of Madagascar.

Day 6 (Aug 11)
Kirindi, fossas, baobabs.

Early in the morning, in the darkness, we will once again take pictures of the baobab alley. In the morning there are often fogs, and we will have a chance to make great photos. After that we are moving to the Kirindi reserve, the habitat of the only Madagascar predators of the cat family - fossas. This is the only place you can meet these animals, you can find them nowhere else on Earth.

We are to see a completely different Madagascar. The style of life is amazing here. These are the real primitive African tribes living by subsistence farming.

We have found another avenue of baobabs not far from the reserve, away from the tourist route, unknown to other photographers. This are dozens of new angles, beautiful trees that can be shot at dawn and at sunset. This is the real pristine Africa. After sunset we will have a picnic among the baobabs under the stars of the southern sky.

Dinner is included.
Day 7 (Aug 12)
Kirindi - Morondava

At sunrise we take photos of baobabs. I hope that there will be morning fogs, and we will be able to make unique pictures that other photographers who have visited Madagascar do not have.

After breakfast, we will explore the local jungle in search of lemurs and fossas that hunt them.

In the evening we are going to the coast and relaxing in our favorite hotel on the ocean.

Dinner is included.
Day 8 (Aug 13)
Morondava - Antananarivo

You can enjoy the sunrise on the shore of the Mozambique channel. You can swim in the warm clean water. The beach is wide and pleasant. At the exit of the hotel, there are many souvenir shops where you can buy great gifts. In the afternoon we are leaving for the airport and are flying to Antananarivo.

We will stay in a cozy hotel in the center of the city.
Day 9 (Aug 14)
Antananarivo

On this day we have planned a tour of Antananarivo. We will climb to the ancient palace of the rulers of Madagascar, which towers over the city. In the afternoon we are coming to another reserve. And when the light is warm, we will be taking pictures of different kinds of lemurs in the most interesting locations. There will be non-typical for Madagascar bamboo thickets and pines. As well as in the previous park, the animals can be closely approached.

Here our first part of the tour ends.
Days 10 - 12 (Aug 15 - 17)
Sainte Marie Island. Whale Safari

Today we fly to the island of St. Mary which is a Paradise in the Eastern part of Madagascar with palm trees and beaches of white sand.

In August humpback whales (megaptera novaeangliae) come here to breed. Humpback whales are the only ones that jump out of the water. We will take photos of the jumps of adult and baby whales, which weigh several tons.

Young whales gain a few hundred pounds every day and grow to 3-4 cm. Traditionally, the Malagasy respect and protect whales, they even nicknamed them the "Great deities".

In the morning and evening we will go to the sea on a speedboat in search of these huge animals.

Until the end of the XVIII century, the island of Santa Maria was a pirate capital. Here was the last base of the real pirates and corsairs of the Indian ocean. We are planning to visit the pirate cemetery and graves of famous pirates.

Dinner is included.
Day 13 (Aug 18)
Flight home

We are flying to Antananarivo. We shall be there at about 16:30. Here our tour ends. This day you can fly home.
PRICE INCLUDES

* Transportation and transfers along the route
* Domestic flights
* Accommodation
* Excursions and guide services
* Breakfasts and other meal (by program)
* Photo consultation
EXTRA COSTS

* Tickets to Madagascar
* Medical insurance
* Meal (not in program)
* Alcoholic beverages
* Tips
REGISTRATION FORM
To register for the tour please fill the form below. We will notify you about availability and payment options. If there are no available spots, your registration will be automatically placed to the waiting list.