The south-western coast of Madagascar, where the Vezo people live, is bordered for over 400 km with coral : fringed, barrier (Tuléar, Ifaty) or cayes (Nosy Ve, Nosy Hao...) reefs, offering lagoons spectaculars in dimensions and colors, and numerous dive spots, most of them having not even been found yet ... Our several days diving trips take you to the discovery of all this, departing from Mangily Ifaty, up to Morombe in the north...
From Mangily Ifaty, we take off for a one or three - up to seven - days trip along the coast, to Morombe in the north, aboard a light and fast motorboat. We are no more than six, crew included. Most of the equipment is already gone by car.
In the morning, we dive twice in sites we (you and we!) have selected; but we have a lot of sites still to be explored : you'll be the first to dive there. A first dive in the 30 meters zone, a second close to the reef if swell, wind and tides allow it. Otherwise, in the 25 meters zone, after a one hour and half surface interval.
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All dives for Advanced Open Water Padi, or ** CMAS divers. We can go with Open Water Padi or * CMAS divers, but we'll have less choice for dive sites.
We try to offer many different dive sites : big fish, coral, reef, underwater landscape, shipwreck, small fauna and flora - such sites as Aloalo, Wahoo, le Winterton, la Nossa Senhora, Arc-en-ciel, le Dos de la Baleine, Morrisson reef... Because of swell, tide etc, all of them may be not available on D day. So the conditions decide. --
Then we land in a lodge for lunch. Beautiful lansdscapes, looking at the Mozambic channel. We stop in places like Tsiandamba, Salary, Ambatomilo, Antsepoka, Fanemotra, Andavadoaka, and many others...
We propose safaris-types from one to six days, But we can do as you want, we can go where you want, we can stay as long as you want in between sky, land and sea...
In the afternoon, for many dives in a day are exhausting and afternoons can be pretty windy, we rest. While we put fresh air in the cylinders, you visit the village and meet people. Or you snorkel a bit in the lagoon. Or you read. Or you walk around and discover the vezo world, or the inland and the spiny forest... do whatever you like to. The 4 wheel drive is at your disposal
Scubadiving takes place in the wild nature and depends on this big natural element, the sea, which can delight as well as kill you.
Though the climate here is quite good, weather conditions can get bad quickly. This is of course true during the rainy season (especially january and february), and all the year long anyway.
We better not get a trip going if we know, thanks to weather reports, one or more days we can meet bad conditions - visibility, current,...- even if you are disappointed, even if this day, the weather is wonderful. Of course, we pay back what you've already paid
But weather reports can be optimistic, and wrong, and bad conditions surprise us during a safari (where we don't have any weather report but the wisdom of vezo fishermen). It's up to you then. Stopping? going on? It has already got started, there will be no refunding...
So before booking, long and just before going, ask information, watch weather reports for the whole Indian Ocean, the whole Madagascar, the whole malagasy south-west. For a short preview, you can go to the "weather" page of this site.
It's better not to be on tight schedule. Plan a whole more week at least, so we can adjust the safari dates to the best weather conditions. And have a B plan, in case the weather definitely angry at us.
And when you think you know, just know you know very little yet. Only the sea will decide at last. This indecision is part of the trip thrill.