A Madagascar safari holiday offers the sort of eccentric charm it’s increasingly hard to find these days. Not quite Africa, part Indonesia with a dash of Arabic, all overlaid with a French accent. This is a place with the capacity to surprise on many levels, whether it’s the wildlife, the beautiful scenery or the food.

While it may not be the obvious choice for those wanting a sophisticated modern safari experience, it will reward those of a curious nature looking for a bit of adventure in a wildly exciting corner of the planet. And some of Madagascar’s wildlife experiences – particularly the rainforests and coast on the Northeast of the island - are as good as anything you’ll find on mainland Africa.

In all Madagascar is home to over 100 species of lemur, while stunning islands and beaches offer the chance to see – and even swim with - a plethora of marine wildlife, from humpback whales to whale sharks, manta rays and turtles.

In August and September look out for breaching humpback whales as they migrate to and from their breeding grounds. At Christmas time whale sharks can be found in the islands around Nosy Be, while manta rays and sea turtles are year-round residents.

For those after real adventure consider taking the RN5 “the world’s worst highway” which follows the magical east coast of the island; 5 days of unspoilt beaches and small fishing villages.

In many cases there are good logistical reasons for this (it’s pretty hard to get a lot of things in very remote areas), but this aside, the travel market here isn’t as mature as in some parts of Africa and standards reflect this. 

You could however argue that moderate accommodation is the price to be paid for visiting the little visited regions of Madagascar.

In many places – and particularly if you’re driving, there is a reasonable selection of mid range hotels to choose from in places like Andasibe, but styling tends to be functional rather than ground breaking. Go further afield though, for example to the wild east coast and you can expect some quite basic set ups.

However, in our experience, what you will find almost everywhere are enormously welcoming people and very often exceptional food.

All of this said, there are one or two exceptions that prove the rule – truly special small lodges like Masoala Forest Lodge that offer exceptional food in a seriously off the map locations and it’s places like this that we’d advocate building your trip around if  you can.