Advice

Documents and Embassies
For your trip to Madagascar you will need a passport with an entry visa with a stay limit of 90 days. We also recommend that you always carry photocopies of documents and credit cards with you and leave the originals at the hotel or in any case in a safe place.

There is no relevant Italian Embassy in Madagascar. For any need you should contact the one resident in South Africa who is located in Pretoria at the address 796 George Avenue, Arcadia, 0083 Pretoria, South Africa.

You can contact the embassy by telephone (+27 – (0)12 – 4230000), by fax (+27 – (0)12 – 3425618) or by email (consolato.pretoria@esteri.it; visti.pretoria@esteri.it).

In case of emergency you can call the number +27 – (0)82 – 7815972. For further information on the Italian Embassy in Argentina you can visit the website: www.ambpretoria.esteri.it

Time zone
For your holidays in Madagascar you will need to move the clock forward 2 hours compared to Italy, +1 hour when summer time is in effect in Italy.

Vaccines
If you are organizing your trip to Madagascar, remember that there are no compulsory vaccinations, but those for hepatitis A and B, yellow fever and antimalarial prophylaxis are recommended.

Health risks
The water and sanitary conditions are insufficient. Water, although drinkable, is not safe, so it is advisable to only consume water in sealed bottles, without adding ice or hot drinks. Prefer cooked vegetables and peeled fruit.

Risks in general
The country is quite safe so you will be able to enjoy your trip to Madagascar without any particular problems.

Electricity
The electricity voltage is 127-220V, with type C, D, E, J, K sockets for which the use of an adapter is required.

When to go to Madagascar

The best time to go to Madagascar is from April to November. In particular, to tour Madagascar, August is one of the best months, with cool temperatures and little rain.

Recommended Insurance
Before organizing your trip to Madagascar, you should know that the healthcare facilities present are often not adequate to treat particularly delicate cases, making it necessary to transfer the patient to other countries. The costs of private care can be high. For example, a hospital stay for a sprain can cost up to 20,000 euros. It is therefore advisable to take out Travel Care health insurance and medical expense coverage which, among other things, also includes possible medical repatriation by air.
Given the geographical position in which Madagascar is located, there may be inconveniences with airlines. For this reason, we recommend Airline and Baggage Delay products which cover, in the first case, flight delay costs and in the second, those for the purchase of basic necessities due to delay or loss of baggage as well as reimbursement of expenses in the event of theft thereof.

What to pack
The climate of Madagascar is subtropical, with a hot and rainy season from December to March, and a dry and cool season from April to November. For your holidays in Madagascar it is a good idea to bring comfortable, light clothes and if you plan to take a tour of the island, also sweaters for night excursions on the plateaus, comfortable but solid shoes, hat, high protection sun cream. It is also advisable to include soft bags instead of rigid suitcases, which are easy to transport off-road, a padlock, electric torch, spare batteries (prefer low-power LED models with a lifespan of up to 100 hours and those to be carried on the head in so you have your hands free). Lighter even if you are not a smoker (it could be useful), satellite phone, money belt, paper, pen and multipurpose knife, cutlery kit and first aid kit and honeycomb towel, sunglasses, hand sanitizer, paper toilet paper, pens and pencils or sweets to distribute to the children of the villages.

Quick guide to behavior
During your trip to Madagascar you will realize that the population has great respect for the elderly and, if you are invited to a family lunch, they will be served first. Usually, especially at official lunches, men and women eat separately.