Difference between revisions of "Travel Plans October 2011"

Latest revision as of 07:30, 13 October 2011

Airport transfer Paris

Paris-Charles de Gaulle - Paris-Orly
Air France Bus - all 30 minutes 05:55 to 21:00 and all 45 minutes until 22h30, €19

Terminal 1: Exit 32 on the Arrivals level
Terminal 2A-2C: Entrance C2
Terminal 2D-2B: Entrance B1
Terminal 2E-2F: Gallery level, Entrance 3
Terminal 2G: this terminal is linked to Terminal 2C (Entrance 4) by the free N2 shuttle bus (every 6 minutes, journey time 15 minutes)
Terminal 3: get off at Terminal 1 and take the free CDGVAL shuttle train to the Terminal 3 stop.

Paris Orly - Paris
Air France Bus to metro station Montparnasse/Invalides/Etoile (centre) - all 20 minutes 06:00 to 22:20, €11.50

Orly Bus to metro station Place Denfert-Rochereau - all 15- 20 minutes, journey time 30 minutes, €6.90 (Forfait Navigo zones 1-4 accepted)

RATP Bus 183 to Porte de Choisy - all 30 minutes, journey time 40 minutes, €1.90 (Forfait Navigo zone 4 accepted)

RATP Bus 285 to metro station Villejuif Louis Aragon - all 30 minutes, journey time 15 minutes, €1.90 (Forfait Navigo zone 4 accepted)

Paris - Paris Charles de Gaulle
Air France Bus Line 2 from Place de l'Etoile (1, Avenue Carnot, Charles de Gaulle Etoile metro station) or Porte Maillot (Boulevard Gouvion St Cyr, Porte Maillot metro station) - all 20 minutes 06:00 to 22:00, €15

Air France Bus Line 4 from Gare Montparnasse (Rue du commandant Mouchotte, Gare Montparnasse metro station) or Gare de Lyon (20 bis boulevard Diderot, Gare de Lyon metro station) - all 30 minutes 06:00 to 21:30, €16.50

RER B train from Denfert-Rochereau (35 minutes), Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame (28 minutes), Gare du Nord(25 minutes). A free CDGVal LRT shuttle connects the stations with the airport terminals. All 10-15 minutes on weekdays. €9.10 (Forfait Navigo zones 1-5 accepted). Sometimes it is not easy to recognize which RER trains go to the airport and which turn off towards another destination once outside the city limits. You must be careful to get on the right train and it is usually prudent to ask somebody at the station which train is the correct one.

English sites with good information

• www.travelmadagascar.org
  
• www.travel2mada.com
  

Micheline Train

The train leaves Tana every Saturday and returns from Andasibe every Sunday.
Tana - Andasibe: 22nd October, 8am till noon
Andasibe - Tana: 23rd October, 2pm till 6pm

East of Tana along the RN2 direction Tamatave

Manjakandriana

• located 48km from Tana
  
• Manja Hotel with basic rooms
  
• bank, hospital
  
• road splits to Mantasoa and Lake Mantasoa

Mantasoa

• means “is pleasant even raw”
  
• located 65km from Tana (about 3 hours, 1,5 hours from the road to Tana)
  
• on the shore of the artificial Lake Mantasoa (suitable for swimming, water sports, fishing)
  
• Jean Laborde
  
• very nice walking area
  
• various hotels
  
• www.mantasoa.com in French
  
• www.travel2mada.com

Mandraka Park

• located 61km from Tana
  
• Malagasy-run wooden bungalows
  
• popular amongst locals from Tana
  
• hiking
  
• 22 431 27 mandrakapark@moov.mg

Madagascar Exotic

• also called Mandraka Reptile Farm
  
• located 72km from Tana
  
• small zoo with reptiles, crocodiles, butterflies, mammals
  
• pets live in not so good conditions
  
• restaurant, mid-range en-suite rooms
  
• opening times: 7am - 5pm, entrance fee 10,000 Ariary, guide 2,000 Ariary for zoo, guide 6,000 Airary zoo and lemurs
  
• 22 321 01 or 032 04 108 87

Moramanga

• means "cheap mangoes"
  
• taxi-brousse from Tana (5,000 Ariary) takes about 3 hours
  
• train leaves on Monday and Thursday direction Tamatave and returns on Wednesday and Saturday
  
• several hotels and restaurants, bank, post-office, internet-cafes
  
• attractions include a mausoleum and police museum (police history, guns, cannons, murder weapons)
  
• roads split to the north direction Lake Alaotra (RN44)

Andasibe

• about 3,5 hours from Tana and 2km from RN2
  
• recommended to take the taxi-brousse from Tana to Moramanga (5,000 Ariary) and from there to Andasibe
  
• train from Moramanga takes 45 minutes (1,800 Ariary)
  
• small village, except a post office is nothing there (no bank, no internet)
  
• several hotels from low to high end

Andasibe-Mantadia National Park

• Analamazaotra Forest and Mantadia form the Andasibe-Mantadia National Park
  
• believed to be Madagascar's most popular reserve
  
• open from 6am to 4pm
  
• entrance fee 10,000 Ariary, guides start at 15,000 Ariary (hours)
  
• Association Mitsinjo (NGO) takes care of some of the Analamazaotra Forest - visits at a lower price than national park
  
• offer canopy tour via sliding between platforms constructed high in tree
  
• open from 7am to 5pm and 6.30pm to 9pm
  
• entrance fee including guide starting at 30,000 Ariary (2 hours)
  
• 56 832 33 or 033 14 474 89 and mitsinjo@hotmail.com
  
• http://sites.google.com/site/mitsinjo/home
  
• Mitsinjo office on the left, thereafter park entrance to the right

Mantadia

• 20km north of Andasibe
  
• mainly untouched primary forest
  
• rough trails, more altitude than in Andasibe park
  
• problem: transport to park starts at 60,000 Ariary
  
• open from 6am to 4pm

Torotorofotsy Reserve

• located 11km west of Andasibe
  
• 12,000ha reserve: marsh with forest and wetland
  
• golden mantella frogs, greater bamboo lemurs
  
• ideal for trekking
  
• 5 bungalows
• visits organised by Mitsinjo

Moramizaha Reserve

• once deforested, now protected area
  
• wildlife as in Mantadia, cave
  
• visits organised at Andasibe park office
  
• 033 02 568 18 and gerp@moov.mg

Vohimana Reserve

• located 148km from Tana
  
• about 10km from Andasibe, walk to reserve takes about 45 minutes
  
• best place to observe reptiles and frogs (over 80 species)
  
• nice trekking (circuits from 2 to 12km)
• esential oil distillery www.huiles-essentielles-madagascar.com
  
• tree nursery
  
• simple accommodation (it is advised to prebook)
  
• 22 674 90 and vohimana@mate.mg
  
• ww.madagascar-environnement.com

Beforona

• agro-ecology project to fight erosion
  
• 1-hour tour (terraces of fish ponds, rice fields with bamboo water pipe
  
• overnight visits possible, it is advised to reserve in advance with Mparany
  
• HBP@chemonics.mg or nyrapa@yahoo.fr

Ranomafana

• means "hot water" in Malagasy
  
• located 214km from Tana
  
• natural hot springs, sacred by the locals

Antsampanana

• located 227km from Tana
  
• 1,5 hours from Andasibe
  
• taxi-brousse station for buses going south
  
• basic accommodation

Brickaville

• also called Ampasimanolotra
  
• located 257km from Tana, 104km from Tamatave
  
• centre of sugarcane and citrus production
  
• a few hotels, although not the best
  

Manambato

• located 11km from Brickaville, 7km of which are very bad condition
  
• no public transport, best to walk from Ambila along the coast to Manambato
  
• very beautiful lakeside resort
  
• Lake Rasoabe (part of the Pangalanes)
  
• few hotels facing the lake (Luigi)
  
• white sand beach