The Maldives just got even dreamier for folks with Marriott Bonvoy points to burn: The second JW Marriott in the country is now open.
27.01.2025 - 08:19 / lonelyplanet.com
Jan 26, 2025 • 6 min read
Madagascar is an adventurous destination, and for many visitors, a trip here is the adventure of a lifetime. But while it’s possible to visit year-round, when you come can greatly influence the kind of adventure you get to enjoy.
The climate of Madagascar can be divided into two very different seasons – the dry season (April to October) and the wet season (November to March), though there can be a little movement around the edges with these timings.
For example, sometimes the rains don’t arrive until December, or they can begin as early as October. In a damp year, the wet weather can persist into April, and in bad years, the rains don’t arrive at all. But as a rule, the dry-season months are the easiest for getting around, particularly when visiting national parks, and the wet is when you’ll share Madagascar with far fewer tourists.
Whichever of these scenarios appeals, read on for our guide to the best times to visit Madagascar.
Welcome to Madagascar’s high season, when the best weather coincides with the summer holidays for much of the Northern Hemisphere. The result is an intense few months of busy roads and crowded beaches, and of higher prices and lower availability at the more popular resorts.
Even in the wettest years, rain is rare throughout most of the country during these months (although it can still rain along the east coast) and Madagascar’s notoriously poor roads have had time to dry out from even the latest wet-season thunderstorms.
Weather conditions, too, are ideal for exploring, with warm daytime temperatures and cool nights, tending toward downright cold in the highlands. Average nighttime temperatures in July can drop to around 8°C (46°F), including in the capital, Antananarivo, which sits at 1280m (4199ft) above sea level.
One particular highlight of traveling in Madagascar at this time is the chance to see migrating whales, often quite close to the shore. Humpbacks – known for launching out of the water in spectacular breaches – are the main draw, arriving along Madagascar’s eastern and western coasts around June.
Whales pass by the island en route between their feeding grounds in Antarctica and the warm waters of the Indian Ocean and Mozambique Channel where they breed. The whales usually remain until September before returning south, which should give you plenty of time for a sighting.
While all of this is happening out to sea, on land lemurs are giving birth, especially in August, with lots of cute lemur babies to see, and this is the best time for national park hikes. Trekking conditions are agreeable (tracks are not too muddy or slippery) and you can rely on parks such as Bemaraha and Ankarana – home to those weird-and-wonderful formations known as tsingy –
The Maldives just got even dreamier for folks with Marriott Bonvoy points to burn: The second JW Marriott in the country is now open.
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