Practical information
So when is the best time for your travellers to discover Madagascar?
The short answer is simple: all year round, except in January, February and at the beginning of March. In those three months, it rains heavily for long periods at a time. So it’s a less appealing time to travel.
The other months are certainly wonderful for your travellers. Every time of year has its own charms.
As you surely know, most people go on holiday in July and August. Those are the winter months on our red island. It’s dry and cool in the highlands, with tropical heat at the coast.
If your travellers are able to travel outside the school holidays and peak season, the other seasons are certainly recommended for discovering Madagascar.
You’ll find a summary here to inspire and advise your travellers.
March-April-May: low season
The second half of March can be a lovely surprise. The long rains often stop at the beginning of March, and there aren’t many tourists. Nature is fresh, green and glorious. The air is clear blue and dust-free, with pure white, fluffy clouds. Here at Madafocus, we think this is the most beautiful season of all.
It still occasionally rains in April. The rice is tall, and the air is dust-free.
May is the second most beautiful month (after the last two weeks of March). There probably won’t be any more rain. The rice harvest is in full swing; the green valleys are gradually turning into brown pools. But there isn’t a trace of dust or smoke in the air. The sky is clear blue, scattered with white, fluffy clouds.
(June)-July-August, September, October: high season
The winter begins in June. We don’t have any heating in Madagascar. The fireplaces are lit in the first week of June and put out again at the beginning of September. In the central highlands, you feel it getting colder. By four o’clock in the morning, the temperature drops to 1˚C, climbing back up to about 23˚C in the daytime. These months are dry and cool in the highlands.
The coast is still hot and tropical. By morning, temperatures there drop to 15˚C, but they reach 30˚C in the daytime. The seas may feel cooler.
Especially in July, August and September, the sand gets dustier and rises into the air. That makes the air less clear, and the clouds become hazy. The air becomes drier. Forest fires may break out in September.
In October, something really nice happens in Madagascar every year: a short rainy season lasting ten days. Many Malagasy people forget about it, even the farmers. We call this unexpected rainfall ‘the rains that fool the farmers’. Even this small amount of rain is enough to irrigate 30% of the rice terraces in the central highlands, with the extra bonus of a second harvest at the end of December.
November-December
Tour operators say that the tourist season is finished by the end of October. That’s not entirely correct, because November and December are still very feasible. Officially, the rains can begin in December, but they never actually do.
The summer heat returns in November. The air starts becoming more humid and it’s quite hot, but the countryside is beautiful, it isn’t raining yet and there aren’t many tourists.
To be honest, though: it’s not such a good idea to visit Madagascar at the end of December. That’s in the long rainy season. It’s better to wait until March to discover the beauty of our island.
Your travellers are very welcome!
Do you have any more questions?
No worries. Frank is right here to answer them. Feel free to send a mail or simply schedule an online call. You can do that in any season 
.
He’d be delighted to have a chat with you!
