Motorcycle trip

Madagascar

We run one tour on the Red Island: The Great Red Island, an 11-day adventure tour, 8 of them in the saddle, riding down the RN7 from Antananarivo. Expect highlands and rice terraces, Antsirabe, the Ranomafana rainforest, the Isalo massif and finally the beaches of Mangily on the Mozambique Channel. To compare with our other motorcycle tours in Africa, see Tanzania, with more time on tracks, Rwanda and South Africa.

£3,590 (€3,990) per rider and £2,990 (€3,390) per pillion for The Great Red Island. This covers the Royal Enfield and its fuel, the team with a mechanic and a support vehicle, hotel nights, most meals, entry to the parks on the programme and the domestic flight back to the capital. On top, budget for your international flights, any visa fees, drinks, tips and a £31 (€35) registration fee if it is your first tour with us.

In the dry season, which runs from April to October. Our departures are scheduled in April and May, then from August to October. We avoid the rainy and cyclone season, roughly December to March, when roads and tracks can be cut off. In the dry season it is often 20 to 25°C in the highlands and up to 30°C towards the coast, with cool nights at altitude. Open dates are listed on the tour page.

An Intermediate level, with experience: this tour is for riders who ride often and want to step into adventure riding. There is no technical off-road, but expect uneven tarmac, badly broken stretches, a few sections of track and unpredictable traffic in towns, several days in a row. Riding two-up is possible if the rider is used to riding loaded on poor roads; talk to your travel advisor before booking.

According to the FCDO, British citizens can currently stay up to 15 days without a visa, paying a €10 administration fee on arrival; longer stays need a tourist visa. Your passport must be valid for six months after arrival, with two blank pages. Carry an International Driving Permit, bought in the UK before you leave, with your licence. Other nationalities should check before booking. More in our help centre: Preparing your trip to Madagascar.

By air to Antananarivo, the capital, on international flights that you book yourself, with at least one connection from the UK. Our team meets you at the airport on day 1. The tour finishes on the south-west coast, near Toliara, where a domestic flight included in the price takes you back to Antananarivo: book your flight home only once its time is known. Travel light, as this domestic flight allows 20 kg at most.

Yes, on a guided tour and with plenty of care. On the road, the danger comes from potholes, broken tarmac, bush taxis, carts, pedestrians and zebu, and well-equipped hospitals are rare away from the towns. The tour leader sets the pace, and the support vehicle, which follows the group, can take you to a medical centre if needed. Before you travel, read the FCDO travel advice for Madagascar, or your own government’s advice if you live elsewhere in Europe.

You can, but it is demanding: finding a reliable motorcycle locally, fixing it far from anywhere when garages and parts are scarce, planning stages on badly broken roads, and handling accommodation and the unexpected alone, sometimes with no phone signal. With us, a Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 is waiting, a mechanic follows with the spare parts, an English-speaking tour leader rides ahead and a vehicle carries your luggage. Groups are limited to 10 motorcycles, or 12 participants with pillions.