On and Under the Water

You can choose between a half day and a full day. So that you make the most of the trip, Tsara Beach lends you the snorkelling gear: masks, snorkels and fins.

Either way, our guide picks you up from the beach by boat between 8 and 9 am. Twenty minutes later you are swimming with these peaceful animals in the bay where they come to feed. You spend as long as you wish watching them and swimming alongside them, then our guide brings you back to the beach around midday.

If you would like to carry on your day on Sakatia, lunch is served on one of the island's beaches: freshly caught grilled fish with rice and raw vegetables, and fruit for dessert. You can then visit the village before relaxing on Sakatia's fine sandy beaches. The return is around 3:30 pm.

The atmosphere on Nosy Komba is unusual: there are no cars, and all you hear is birdsong and the calls of the black lemurs. They hop all around you and come so close that you can feed them bananas and take any number of photographs among them.

On Tanikely you discover the protected and varied marine life of the park: corals, turtles and colourful fish, in the remarkably clear turquoise water surrounding the reserve.

Everything is taken care of from start to finish. A tuk-tuk collects you shortly before 8 am and drives you to the departure point at Madirokely. You begin with the lemur park, where the animals roam free around you, following a paved path up to a superb viewpoint over the island. On the way back, you have all the time you need to stop at the craft stalls along the path.

You then take the boat to have lunch on Tanikely beach: freshly caught grilled fish with rice and raw vegetables, and fruit for dessert. The afternoon is spent snorkelling in the marine reserve or relaxing on the beach. Around 4 pm the boat heads back to Madirokely, where the tuk-tuk is waiting to bring you back to Tsara Beach.

Depending on what you feel like, you can walk across to the other islet and back before the tide comes in, laze on the immaculate beach, or browse the craft market.

A tuk-tuk collects you from Tsara Beach at 7:45 am and takes you to Madirokely, where the excursion starts. After about an hour and twenty minutes by boat, you land on the fine white sand of Nosy Iranja.

The guide tells you when and where lunch will be served, and you are then entirely free to explore the island as you wish: cross the sandbank, swim in the clear turquoise water, shop at the craft market. You leave the island around 2:30 pm for Madirokely, where the tuk-tuk driver is waiting to bring you back to Tsara Beach.

Some of our partners run trips that let you swim with whale sharks in season, as well as snorkelling in the marine reserves.

Our partner, the Double Deep Diving centre, is on the same beach as Tsara Beach. A small, friendly centre run by Daniela and Alberto, a few steps from the lodge.

A first dive, exploration of the Nosy Be dive sites or a snorkelling trip in the marine reserves: the centre adapts to your level.