Seeing the wildlife was a great BUT drawbacks.
Seeing the wildlife was a great experience and the Guides we had were fantastic. They made sure we saw as much as possible. However this trip got marred by the following:
All of the group got food poisoning at the Le Paradisier Hotel.
I had to ask at the Reception for something as I could not stop being sick or running to the toilet resulting in me having to miss that day's sightseeing. I was shocked when the Receptionist said, "This is a common occurrence" and opened a drawer that was full of different types of medication.
Three of the people in the group remained ill for three days resulting in them not being well on the internal flight back to Tana, in the Hotel Au Bois Vert and on their flight home.
The Feon'ny Ala Bungalows were damp, smelt with the bedding being damp to. Ok we were situated outside by a rain forest but that is no excuse in having to sleep in a damp room. Also, I and one other person of the group did not appreciate being given an omelette that was raw in the middle for breakfast!
The mixed messages we all got emailed from Explore about the riots in Tana. The first email caused anxiety and upset amongst the group, as it said we had to return immediately to the capital, which would take two days by the minibus, as the FO said we were all going to be put on repatriation flights. On all of us checking the FO website this was not what the FO said. They advised that all visitors in Madagascar should stay away from the capital. We were many miles away from Tana as we were in the Hotel Relais de la Reine by the Madagascar Grand Canyon.
On refusing to leave as we did not want to go back to riots and obeyed what the FO advised, we then received another email from Explore saying we could continue our tour.
The LAST person to be updated was our Guide! Not good that we had to show him our emails.
I respect that Explore say our safety is always their priority, but on this tour, it certainly did not give us that impression, due to the state of two of the hotels, sickness and the mixed emails causing upset within the group.
Long journeys in the minibus in two consecutive days. I think this needs to be made very clearly to all wishing to do this tour that two days in a row are spent travelling many miles, 11 hours in total, along unkept roads with many potholes, some the size of sizeable craters. This also left some of the group unhappy.
Regarding our Guide, Billy. Not one of us could fault this guy. He was very understanding towards our situation, illnesses and made our sightseeing days very pleasurable with his knowledge.
Our Group. Great fun. We all got on along so well resulting in all of us staying in touch after the tour.
If you do not like travelling long hours, possibly getting sick, that I personally do not think that this tour will be for you.
