Nosy Be

Nosy Be is an 312km² large island located about 8km offshore the north western tip of Madagascar. The first inhabitants, prior to the arrival of the Sakalava, were various Malagasy ethnic tribes, mixed with Comorians and Indians.

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Nosy Be means "big island" in the Malagasy language. The main port and town on the island is Andoany, formerly and yet more commonly known as Hell-Ville.

Nosy Be is the main hub of Madagascar's tourism industry and has several large hotels, an international airport with charter flights arriving from Paris and Italy as well as daily domestic flights served by Air Madagascar and Madagasikara Airways.

Accommodation

• Hotel de la Mer
• La Plantation
• Le Grand Bleu
• Eden Lodge - a solar-powered resort
• Tamana Hostel

Cafés / Restaurants / Bars

• L'Oasis Nosy Be
• Container Bar
• Hotel de la Mer

Local tour operator

• Libertalia Aventure

Nosy Be Airport to Hell-Ville by bike

Tour data

Day: 12th October 2018
Distance: 12.23 kilometres
Duration: 3 hours, 23 minutes
Average speed: 3.54 km/h
Minimum elevation: 3.35 metres
Maximum elevation: 137.46 metres
Total climb: 157.58 metres
Total descent: 127.71 metres

Transfer to Ankify

The prices for transfer between Nosy Be and Ankify range between 6,000 and 13,000 Ariary (2017). The 6,000 Ariary boat is a large but slow boat taking about 1.5 hours, the 9,000 boat is a bit faster and the 13,000 is a shared speed boat for up to 20 people. For those who do not want to wait until the shared boat is full, there are also private boats for 80,000 Ariary (prices 2017). At Hell-Ville harbour, passengers will be greated by pushy ticket salesmen, who only function too be anoying and increase the price. For their service of carrying the passport to the ticket counter and calling a boat over, the 13,000 Ariary will typically raise to 20,000 Ariary. Passengers should ignore these middle-men, pass the gate and buy the ticket directly themselves.