How safe is the Madagascar destination?

Travel advisory articles issued by different foreign affair ministries are sometimes a bit confusing. You would go to the French or the Canadian or U.K’s and you would get totally different levels of warning about the Madagascar destination.

First , we have to admit that at the time we are speaking, Madagascar is in a deep political crisis. The country is now ruled by an institution called Haute Autorité de Transition and nobody has a clear idea how long we will remain in this situation. Our people are waiting for some hypothetical elections which are regularly postponed.

So let’s be clear, political crisis doesn’t mean civil war nor unrests. If you land in Antananarivo today, you will not see any indication that there is a political crisis going on unless you read the papers.

In the regions outside of Antananarivo, daily life has not changed, people don’t seem to care about what’s happening in the capital. And if you come to visit Madagascar, I would bet that you would spend 90% of your time in the regions.

In Antananarivo, there could be some sporadic protests happening during the day in some neighborhoods ( Ankorondrano, Anosy) but outside of these areas, everything is going really fine . People conduct their business and daily life as usual. Restaurants and bars are open at night and they are packed.

None of our group ( locals and foreigners) felt unsafe or threatened at any time. The police is present and some check points can be found at night or during the day time  ( most of them on national roads ). This is very normal.

I guess we are this point where everybody is trying to get their daily life going. Sadly, the political crisis has some economical impacts and because of unemployment, the petty crime rate have increased in major cities.

Never the less, Antananarivo is still a lot safer than major destinations like Cape Town.  And you have less pickpockets than Barcelona!

Here a few advices:

- Don’t drive at night ( it applies anytime crisis or not).

- Avoid public gatherings ( specially during election periods)

- Keep your valuable belongings in a safe place and do not show obvious signs of wealth when visiting markets , ect…

- As a precaution and if you have the possiblity,  it’s always better to travel with an established tour operator who can monitor the situation closely and make the right calls regarding your itinerary.

Please come to Madagascar, our country needs your business  and Safe travels!