Bike and Hike Wild Madagascar

What I liked best was the cultural and historical background information provided by the tour operator. This is a 3rd world country and they did an outstanding job in keeping us safe in busy areas and finding quiet, remote places to bicycle. Using local guides with intimate knowledge of customs and road conditions is essential whenever running a trip in a country such as Madagascar. For me, this ride was a fantastic and very enjoyable experience. I loved the challenge of navigating this country's beat up roads and stunning scenery.

This trip to Madagascar was one of the best we made! Just wonderful! Lucien is not only a guide, he is everything on this tour. The design of the tour is extremely well done. We loved the biking, sometimes on the potholed road and sometimes off road biking of the best. A very good choice of the hotels in bungalow-style, very comfortable, clean and good situated. The whole crew was very well organised, in a good mood and helpful. We loved the picnic-lunches they prepared for us and the spots they chose to eat. Lucien, who knows so much about his land, the culture, the people, the very special flora and fauna, had always an answer to our questions (and saw all the chameleons in the trees. Amazing). Thanks so much for this special trip. Elisabeth & Hans Peter from Switzerland. We look already forward to book a next tour. I think I'm a little bit addict.

The trip was one of the best I have taken. Lucien was the best guide of all my many trips. I appreciated his education on all aspects of life in Madagascar and his superb support on the ride. I also found the rental equipment excellent with maintenance every night. He allowed us to choose from the menu at every meal which I also found vastly more enjoyable than eating from a fixed menu.

This trip was a great combination of cycling and hiking that took us to seem extremely interesting places in Madagascar. Lucien and Solofo were excellent guides, as were Tuju and Stefan the other two that rode with the group. All were helpful, patient and encouraging. The drivers who also prepared lunches everyday were wonderful. Lucien is a great leader and Solofo has a great future ahead of him as a guide and leader.

Really knowledgeable and friendly guides on this tour. They gave us a fascinating insight into the country. The picnic lunches that they provided on most days were exceptional. If seemed like we got a brand-new bike every day, as all the bikes were washed, checked and running repairs performed overnight.

Have just completed a ... "Wild Madagascar" tour which can only be described as way beyond my expectations. Before going I was was quite skeptical about travelling with an organised group and potential lack of flexibility for different riding styles, capabilities and fitness. The tour took in the geographic diversity of the country from rainforest in the north-east to the desert regions of the spiny-forest in the south-west and onto the coastal region of the Mozambique Channel travelling on a good mix of tarmac and backroads and tracks. Accommodation was fabulous at all locations and the meals (both lunches and snacks on the road) were superb. The local tour leader (Lucien) was extremely knowledgeable on both history, geography and the fauna and flora which significantly enhanced the trip. Lucien was ably supported by Tuju (our mechanic and an accomplished cyclist) and two back up vehicles and drivers, who all between them managed to magic up a series of great lunches on the road. Bike riding on the tour is interspersed with a series of walks in national parks, with accompanying selected local guides This allowed plenty of opportunity to take in both the landscape and see at close range the endemic wildlife of Madagascar particularly lemurs, chameleons and local bird species. For a self-confessed soccer tragic we even managed to fit in an late afternoon game with the locals. The whole tour was really well managed from start to finish and is a credit to the local Malagasy crew.

Since several years, we spend our holidays cycling in Europe, Asia and Africa. [The tour operators] tours are always outstanding. As we are very fond of Africa, we joined the Bike and Hike Wild Madagascar tour. Although we already experienced the top service offered by [the tour operator], this trip exceeded our expectations.

Lucien is certainly the best ... Tour Leader so far. He respects his clients, looks after them in the smallest detail, his knowledge of Madagascar is phenomenal (flora, fauna, geography, politics, traditions, hotels, way of living, …). We received the best accommodations in the booked hotels, we chose from the à la carte menu or from a selection of a fixed menu (starter, main course and dessert) and the fresh lunch picnics prepared by Lucien and Tzara in the morning were excellent and varied including 4 delicious vegetable dishes, cheese, fruit salad, yogurt, fresh coffee, etc. Never imagined that the Malagasi cuisine would be so good (delicious foie gras, duck, zebu brochettes, fish, seafood, grilled vegetables…).

As we like to get up early, Lucien adapted the program so that we could leave earlier and have more time for enjoying our cycling day. Lucien gave us oftenly several cycling options. Lucien focused on every detail and wanted to offer every client an unforgettable holiday. Although he does this job for so many years, he still does it with so much passion. From morning till evening he was busy offering us an unforgettable trip.

Madagscar is in may ways a unique and authentic destination. We highly recommend this [tour operator] trip.

My wife and I had an incredible experience cycling through Madagascar with [the tour operator]. We spent two weeks on a private tour from Antananarivo to Toliara with our guide Solofo and our driver Njara. Both men were fantastic and added significant value to our tour. We met incredible, friendly, and hardworking people along the 500km route and saw amazing changes in landscape along the way.

The accommodations, food, bicycles and SUV were all up to snuff. The amount of foie gras, pate, and baguettes we are in this former French colony was amazing. Oh yeah, and the lemurs and baobab trees, big fans! We wouldn’t change a thing and we already have plans to use [the tour operator] for another country tour, thank you guys!

A lovely experience that challenged our riding skills, introduced us to a new country, and provided a wonderful full immersion into a vastly different culture and way of life from ours.

Thank you for a very well organised trip. Can't recommend the crew too highly. We have used [the tour operator] many times for this reason, we have never been disappointed. Well done.

This was my first trip with [the tour operator] and I was not disappointed. Our fabulous guide Lucien, provided us with very healthy picnics and snacks every day. Lots of fresh vegetables, fruit, nuts and always lots of bottled water. He was also a font of knowledge on animal life, history, local people and local crafts. The Madagascar way of life is much different from anything I have experienced and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This was a challenging mix of on and off road cycling. I've never cycled off road before but I quite enjoyed the experience. My socks, however, will never be white again!

Lucien and his crew took extremely good care of us and I highly recommend him. This was a wonderful trip with many stories to share with my family and friends.

A challenging cycling/hiking trip run so smoothly by the excellent [tour operator] guides and drivers. Felt safe and secure at all times. One of the best cycling trips I have ever taken. Wildlife, scenery and friendly people in Madagascar made it superb! Can't say enough of how well run the tour was due to the attention to detail of the staff running it. Great briefings, food, and accommodations. Solofo and Lucien did an outstanding job as leaders. Drivers were very safety conscious and professional.

This is the fourth [tour operator] trip I have had the pleasure of taking and it was by far my favourite. Solofo, Lucien, Togo, and the drivers were incredible, knowledgeable, friendly, and a joy and pleasure to be around in Madagascar. I feel lucky that I got to see their incredible country with them as guides. The food surpassed anything I could have imagined (who knew Madagascar had such good soup?) and the biking was top notch. Granted, it is not for the faint of heart (the roads of Madagascar are varied and can be challenging) but I felt satisfied and very strong at the end of each day. The scenery was incredible and the places we stayed were perfect. I would highly highly recommend this trip to adventurous and well-travelled souls.

[The tour operator] has created a fantastic itinerary for Madagascar taking us through rich green terraced rice fields framed with bright red soils, lovely green mountains, lush rainforest, rocky plateaus with amazing vistas and rocky outcrops and finally through semi arid desert to the west coastline. Everyday day was so different and filled with magical moments like swimming in pristine waters at the volcano crater or a hidden oasis. Everywhere we were able to experience the everyday lives of the welcoming cheerful Malagasy up close shouting Bonjour Faza! as we pedalled by. Cycling is by far the best way to see this country. We were able to take backroads not readily accessible by car ( or not comfortable by car) to see the best of the countryside. The main roads are not in great shape so the transfers are slow and arduous and affectionately known for giving you an 'African massage'. So we were happy to be on the bikes waving at the children.

Our guides, Solofo and Tozo were cheerful, attentive and flexible, continually adjusting the days program to accommodate our needs while supporting and encouraging us through the challenging bits. As stated in the tour description, some off-road sections are technical but also short so walking them is an easy option for less experienced mountain bikers. The hiking segments are done at a moderate pace and did involve some scrambling but no significant climbing. We saw so much unique fauna, many lemurs and had a blast doing the night wildlife tour. The guides went above and beyond in preparing our picnic lunches in beautiful settings. The Mountain bikes were well suited for the terrain and although older they were in good condition and comfortable for all of us. We have done several [operator] tours and this really is a beautiful, epic adventure and we left feeling like we really did see the best of Madagascar.

This was a fantastic holiday – a great combination of cycling, hiking and relaxing. I am not an experienced cyclist and have never cycled off road so it was challenging at times but the team was always helpful, patient and encouraging. Lucien and his team made each day enjoyable and interesting, sharing their knowledge and experiences about their people, the wildlife and the land. There’s more to be seen in Madagascar so I hope another trip to the north and along the coast will be introduced!