Top Things to do in Toamasina Province
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The 10 Best Nature & Parks in Toamasina Province, Toamasina Province
Discover the best top things to do in Toamasina Province, Madagascar including Rainforests of the Atsinanana, Masoala National Park, Andasibe-Mantadia National Park, Nosy Mangabe Special Reserve, The Mitsinjo Reserve, Analamazaotra Special Reserve, V.O.I.M.M.A. Community Reserve, Farankaraina Tropical Park, Parc Ivoloina, Vakona Private Reserve.
Restaurants in Toamasina Province
1. Rainforests of the Atsinanana
2. Masoala National Park
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 95 reviews
Reviewed By marleensera
During our trip to Madagascar last year, my husband and I visited some of the National Parks. Although it is off-the-beaten-track (or maybe exactly for that reason), we decided to go to Masoala, a patch of primary forest with amazing biodiversity and very few tourists. We contacted Lauriot from Visit Masoala, who organised the tour for us with professionalism and kindness. They have multitude of options (including hikes, etc.) and they all seem to be interesting but due to our schedule, we chose to stay 3 nights in Masoala and 1 night in Nosy Mangabe. It was one of our best experiences in the trip. In Masoala our lodge was just a couple of meters away from a beach that belonged to the lodge. You could listen to the waves from our room, it was mind blowing. We did day excursions and saw lots of animals thanks to our very knowledgeable guide. There was also time for relaxing and to swim and snorkel. Food was delicious. Nosy Mangabe is a tiny island covered by primary forests. The accommodation is very basic (tent) but they provide everything you need, so it is really easy. So, if you want to visit Madagascar, Masoala is one of the must see places and you can contact Lauriot on [email protected] if you need help with the organisation.
3. Andasibe-Mantadia National Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 719 reviews
A true paradise for nature lovers, the Andasibe Mantadia National Park enjoys a rich and incredible flora and fauna. Located in the Rural Municipality of Andasibe, this Protected Area is the most visited in Madagascar because of its proximity to the capital: 135 km for around 3 hours by road.
Reviewed By midway42 - Minnesota, United States
Located east of Antananarivo, it takes about a three-hour drive from Tana (on a paved road…. yes!) to access the Andasibe-Mantadia National Park. The area consists principally of primary growth forest and receives a significant amount of rain annually. It is home to a number of Madagascar’s unique, iconic wildlife. I stopped by here with my guide and driver early in the morning during my second full day in the country. After paying the requisite admission fee we were met by the local guide and toured the area for about two hours. The visitor center greets everyone with a brief description of the surrounding ecology and history of the area with English subtitles to boot. After a few minutes here we struck out on the trails, and after passing by a number of unique plants and insects we were face-to-face with a number of lemurs. Brown lemurs abound here and are like squirrels, but the real find was a group of indri which were high in the tree-tops. We observed them for about an hour, hearing the distinctive call and watching them interact. This was followed by a group of sifaka (jumping lemur) that literally took the hat off this reviewer. A trip to one of the internal lakes and a visit to a bamboo grove rounded out the experience with a visit to the small souvenir shop. Overall this was a memorable experience and the perfect introduction to Madagascar’s signature species. The local guide made all the difference here and was in touch with other guides that identified the indri and sifaka; he also exhibited an encyclopedic knowledge of all of the plants, insects, and animals encountered during the tour. The sighting of the Indri was a highlight not only of the visit here but of my entire time on the island; unable to be kept in captivity and critically endangered, their survival is among the most tenuous of the animals in the country. Moreover, there were no more than a dozen tourists in sight while we were in the forest proper. The trails weren’t strenuous by any means but did provide a bit of physical exertion to boot. A recommended visit.
4. Nosy Mangabe Special Reserve
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 18 reviews
Reviewed By deedoodee2 - Raleigh, United States
We learned later that this is the only guaranteed way to spot the leaf-tailed gecko and smallest chameleon (the size of your fingertip), and it greatens the likelihood of spotting an aye-aye due to it being a smaller land area. Don't be fooled by the Masoala Forest Lodge who tell you it's all the same! It's so special and worth at least one night camping there. Our guide was Elysee, fluent in English, knowledgeable, passionate, and highly recommend!
5. The Mitsinjo Reserve
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 93 reviews
Reviewed By baiuinting - Beijing, China
we stayed 5 days in andasibe, and went to 4 parks, this was my best day in here , the park is good , we saw a lemur very near , we took a 4 hours trekking in day , and same day took a night safari , because our guide is wonderful , he can speak English very good , and he is always the first one to find the animals in night safari , the most amazing thing is :he found a tiny frog in the wild at least 5 meter from us when we walking on the main road in the whole dark.thank you for the park have wonderful guide here, we enjoyed. our guide: Divana
6. Analamazaotra Special Reserve
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 91 reviews
Reviewed By Rainforests_Rollerco
We visited this park whilst staying at Vakona Lodge. Out guide purchased the tickets and arranged the local park guide for us, to start with we found it quite busy with lots of other people all trying to watch and follow the same lemurs. However as our walk progressed everyone seem to head off in different directions and the second half of our walk was much quieter. We spent around 3.5-4 hours in the park & saw numerous types of birds, Sifaka lemurs, brown lemurs and Indri lemurs. Hearing the indri song up close was amazing and by this point it was just us and our guides! We also had a young lady with us that was a trainee guide, she lives in the local village and is training to be licensed as a national park guide - great to see and hear about the initiatives in place to introduce and teach the new generations about the wildlife around them.
7. V.O.I.M.M.A. Community Reserve
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 52 reviews
Reviewed By Katana107 - Abbotsford, Canada
I really enjoyed my night walk (the forest one ) and my day time walk. On the day walks, we saw brown lemurs and the indri indri up close. We saw a parson's chameleon and several leaf tailed geckos. On the night walk, we saw a small species of chameleon, leaf tailed chameleon, nocturnal lemur (I can't remember the name) and a mouse lemur.
8. Farankaraina Tropical Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 5 reviews
Reviewed By zootravelerz - St. Petersburg, Russia
In beautiful Farankaraina Forest, we finally saw wild aye-aye, western grey bamboo lemur, white-fronted brown lemur, greater dwarf lemur, eastern woolly lemur (avahi), MacArthur's mouse lemur. Farankaraina actually exceed our expectations: with quite a small territory it has an impressive number of mammals (all of which, with maybe an exception of eastern woolly lemur, are guaranteed to see in two-three days of stay). The forest is undoubtedly a great place to see truly wild aye-ayes (note that so-called Aye-aye Island - is just a fraud with the animals taken from nature, which do not reproduce there and are used only for owners profit). In two nights we were lucky to see four (!) aye-ayes at the same tree at the same time. Albeit high in a Canarium tree these fantastic nocturnal lemurs were fully at open at some moments. Farankaraina seems to be a reliable place to see aye-ayes at least when Canarium trees are fruiting there. The boat trip from Maroantsetra town is actually very affordable. Non-expensive camping shelters and old but nice bungalows facing the sea are available. And the beach is beautiful for swimming what is much appreciated after jungle walks. Our trip to the parks in Antongil bay we organized with the great help of a local guide - Emile Rafaralahy emilesrafara at gmail.com See our full review here https://www.tripadvisor.ru/ShowUserReviews-g298272-d2189697-r731614042-Masoala_National_Park-Maroantsetra_Toamasina_Province.html
9. Parc Ivoloina
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 113 reviews
Reviewed By DrEmma1975 - Cape Town, South Africa
I have returned for a second visit as my 1st last year was so wonderful. The guides are so knowledgeable and are able to show you things like minute silver frogs that we would have walked straight passed. The park should be commended for their education projects aimed at local school children and communities as this is such important work. The sanctuary is beautiful and very well maintained even after heavy rains. I suggest that you don’t try drive by yourself unless you have a 4x4 or high vehicle as the roads are bad, especially during rainy season. They have a number of different lemur species, along with frogs, snakes and the exquisite giant chameleons. While the park is relatively small, it is very well worth going for the beautiful tropical scenery, very knowledgeable guides and animals.
10. Vakona Private Reserve
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 429 reviews
Reviewed By LynseyUK55 - Stafford, United Kingdom
I feel they do some good work here the lemurs which live here cannot be returned to the wild. We saw many Lemurs wild on our travels however to get up close and personal was an amazing experience. We went with a guide and met the brown Lemurs first, they were naughty and greddy however great fun. One even stayed on our shoulder to trek with us. We then saw the small and beautiful bamboo Lemur with a baby, so beautiful however they stayed at a distance. We then got a canoe to the dancing Lemur who did just that, incredible. We then went on a canoe ride through the beautiful forest to see King Julian and his pals, they were fun and very interested in us, It was a great experience and I understand people will have their own views on this place however they have a huge amount of space to live in, they dont have to come to the tourists which some didnt and I feel they are trying to do some good work. I would suggest a visit if in the area you will have fab time.
