{"id":2734,"date":"2018-08-06T09:00:32","date_gmt":"2018-08-05T23:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bluedottravel.com.au\/?p=2734"},"modified":"2022-11-28T11:15:24","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T00:15:24","slug":"ile-sainte-marie-or-nosy-borah-madagascar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.sydney-websites.com\/bluedotold\/ile-sainte-marie-or-nosy-borah-madagascar\/","title":{"rendered":"Ile Sainte-Marie or Nosy Borah, Madagascar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Off the north east coast of Madagascar lies\u00a0the tropical island of Ile Sainte-Marie, a place where\u00a0bragging rights are assured because you can almost certainly be sure nobody you\u00a0know will have\u00a0heard of let alone this majestic island.\u00a0\u00a0The word\u00a0paradise\u00a0<\/i>simply doesn\u2019t do it justice!<\/span><\/p>\n

This best way to reach this small island – barely 50km from\u00a0top to bottom and very narrow –\u00a0is\u00a0to fly\u00a0from Madagascar itself. Air Madagascar\u00a0flights are frequent but\u00a0frankly,\u00a0not\u00a0known for their accurate departure and arrival times.\u00a0 Book a minimum of two nights\u00a0on Ile Sainte\u00a0Marie but three\u00a0or four\u00a0is\u00a0even\u00a0better!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I first travelled to Ile Saint-Marie with a small group. We\u00a0booked into the\u00a0Masoandro\u00a0Lodge and checked into a delightful bungalow. Run by French woman Anne Baruch\u00a0Huguet, this is basic but very comfortable accommodation and certainly all you need. The food is great and the views from the restaurant balcony are stunning.\u00a0\u00a0During your stay you can choose to\u00a0chillax\u00a0<\/i>but if you are\u00a0the\u00a0more active type, then there is plenty to see and do.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Around July and August, the humpbacks come to the warm channel to breed. We spotted dozens very close to our boat.\u00a0My photos may have been average (I’m blaming the stability of the boat) but regardless, it was amazing\u00a0watching them breach and come up for air. Rent a bike\u00a0from any of the hotels\u00a0and, depending on your level of fitness, ride the length or just a section of the island.\u00a0There is just one road up and down the island so do take care!\u00a0Make sure you take a tour to the pirate cemetery and book\u00a0the services of\u00a0a guide so you can learn the fascinating and somewhat scary\u00a0history from a few hundred years ago.\u00a0There is one absolute must-do on the island: head to its southern tip by 4WD to the smaller island of Ile aux\u00a0Nattes. Canoe or take a small boat across the channel of 200-300 metres, depending on tides. There are a few small villages and\u00a0a\u00a0bar or two serving lunch. The\u00a0bar where we lunched served lobster\u00a0which\u00a0was to die for!\u00a0Our\u00a0cook assured us it\u00a0was caught that very morning and judging by the freshness, I doubt he was\u00a0fibbing!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Blue Dot Travel’s<\/b><\/span>\u00a0next small group tour to\u00a0Ile Sainte-Marie and Madagascar departs July 2019.\u00a0Do yourself a favour\u00a0and hop on board. \u00a0Contact us<\/a>\u00a0to register your interest for future tours.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Words and photos by Brett Goulston\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Off the north east coast of Madagascar lies\u00a0the tropical island of Ile Sainte-Marie, a place where\u00a0bragging rights are assured because you can almost certainly be sure nobody you\u00a0know will have\u00a0heard of let alone this majestic island.\u00a0\u00a0The word\u00a0paradise\u00a0simply doesn\u2019t do it justice! This best way to reach this small island – barely 50km from\u00a0top to bottom […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2818,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[251],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-2734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","tag-madagascar","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIle Sainte-Marie or Nosy Borah, Madagascar - Blue Dot Travel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Off the north east coast of Madagascar lies\u00a0the tropical island of Ile Sainte-Marie, a place where\u00a0bragging rights are assured because you can almost certainly be sure nobody you\u00a0know will have\u00a0heard of let alone this majestic island.\u00a0\u00a0The word\u00a0paradise\u00a0simply doesn\u2019t do it justice!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ile Sainte-Marie or Nosy Borah, Madagascar - 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