Tour

Madagascar! The Land of Lemurs! 2025

Starts	Oct 7th 2025
Ends	Oct 21st 2025
Leader	Steve Gettle & Nicole Sudduth
Price	$10,850
Deposit	$1,500
Participants	8 (FULL! Email us for Wait List or Early Announcement for 2026)

Madagascar is a photographic mecca for unique species not found anywhere else on the planet! These are iconic wildlife – Verreaux’s Sifaka that dance sideways across the land, Ring-tailed Lemurs that prance with high tails, Aye Aye lemurs with long fingers, Indri Lemurs with haunting howls. These are just a few of the species we will encounter – and – we timed this trip for baby lemur season! In addition, this is a macro mecca with incredible insects and chameleons. And birds? Over 100 species are only found on this island. With 80% of its wildlife only found on the island of Madagascar, this is where you will find incredible new things!

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Logistics

You will fly in and out of Antananarivo, Madagascar.

We have selected lodges that are not only comfortable and well appointed but also situated right in the heart of great habitat where wildlife live. This provides us with great opportunities to photograph wildlife right around our lodge and experiences that last a lifetime.

We will be taking a series of field trips to unique locations in search of specific wildlife. Throughout our trip we have experienced and knowledgeable local guides that help us get into great situations with wildlife.

Itinerary

Day 1

Tuesday, October 7

Arrive in Antananarivo, Madagascar

Day 2, 3 and 4

Wednesday through Friday, October 8, 9 and 10 – Berenty Reserve

Our lodge is situated inside Berenty reserve. This means we wake up with ring-tailed lemurs, sifaka lemurs and more at our doorsteps, experience cool bird activity all around us, and have wonderful trails to explore. We will take night walks to see the nocturnal creatures as well. Throughout our stay here, an experienced local guide will not only help spot wildlife but also share his deep knowledge of the wildlife and forest with us. Each location and habitat that we visit in Madagascar is unique to this world!

Days 5

Saturday, October 11 – Fort Dauphin

After morning photography at our lodge in the reserve, we will transfer to Fort Dauphin. We will take a field trip to another forest reserve where more lemur species can be found.

Day 6

Sunday, October 12 – Antananarivo

Today, we depart Fort Dauphin and return to Antanavario for a transfer.

Day 7 and 8

Monday and Tuesday, October 13 and 14 – Morondava/Avenue of the Baobabs

Flying by special charter plane, we head to Morondava. Here, we visit the Avenue of the Baobabs where these trees, 1000-2000 years old stand vigil over the land. They are a sight to see both from the air and on land and wonderful to photograph. We will spend time photographing here both at sunrise and sunset.

We will also visit Kirindy Forest in hopes of seeing Fosa, jumping rats, and 7 more different species of lemurs.

Days 9, 10 and 11

Wednesday, Thursday, Frisday, October 15, 16 and 17 – Andasibe

Flying by private charter, we return to Antanavario and then drive towards Andasibe. Enroute, we will take a photographic field trip to an amazing place known for its chameleons, snakes, frogs and butterflies where we will pull out our macro gear for some fun. From here we continue on to Vakona reserve. Once again, we are staying right in the reserve. You will wake to the call of Indri Indri! Here, we will also visit the famed Lemur Island. Bird life is rich in the forest habitat as well. At night, we will take night hikes to discover wildlife after dark!

Day 12 and 13

Saturday and Sunday, October 18 and 19 – Akanin’ny Nofy

Traveling by sped boat, our last big destination is Palmarum Reserve. Once again, our lodge is located within the reserve – giving us the best encounters possible with the wildlife here. This island is home to a number of species of lemur but especially rare is the Aye Aye. We will have a special night walk to see and photograph them. Also here will be some wonderful chances to encounter Indri Indri in close proximity and a variety of other species. This is a really special place.

Day 14

Monday, October 20 – Antananarivo

From speed boat back to our SUVs on the mainland, we return to Antanavario where you can enjoy a city tour and the famed market.

Day 15

Tuesday, October 21 – Flights Home

We bid farewell today – leaving the magic of Madagascar and it’s incredibly unique and engaging wildlife behind but with wonderful memories that last a lifetime.

Booking

Price

$10,850

Deposit

$1,500

Payment schedule

Deposit of $1,500 due with registration
Payment #2 of $5,850 due March 1, 2025
Final Payment of $3,500 due July 1, 2025

* Pricing based on double occupancy
*** Single Supplement (if available) add $850

Included
– All lodging
– All meals
– Local English-speaking guides
– All field trip fees
– All photography/camera fees
– All transportation within the country
– Private charter in-country flight
– Domestic in-country flight
– Comprehensive Pre-trip Booklet that includes all the photo gear and other packing information for the trip as well as all other pertinent details to help you make the most of this adventure

Not included

– Air travel to and from Antananarivo, Madagascar
– Gratuities
– Travel insurance
– Any alcoholic beverages

Description

Madagascar is the home of unique wildlife! 80% of the species here are found no where else in the world and we are excited to take you to all the best, most photographically productive locations that Madagascar has to offer!

Here are some highlights for the places we will be going:

Berenty: This private reserve is known for six species of lemur but is especially famous for the Verreaux’s Sifaka that dance sideways across the ground and ricochet between thorn-studded trees and the iconic Ring-tailed lemurs that prance around with tails held high. Other species that we have a great chance of photographing are the lepilemurs (another cool lemur), radiated tortoises, lizards, skinks, geckos, chameleons and Madagascar fruit bats (aka Noisy Flying Foxes). This is part of the “spiny forest” and is home to 103 species of birds only found on this island. Our lodge is located inside the reserve enabling us to take night hikes where we may encounter the big-eyed mouse lemurs (the world’s smallest primate) and incredible insects for macro.

Morondava: Our visit here will start and end with incredible landscape photography at sunrise and sunset as we work the famous Avenue of the Baobabs, a gorgeous landscape marked by giants! During the day we will explore the Kirindy Forest – famous for the giant jumping rat and the best place to see Fossa – the largest mammal carnivore in Madagascar and main predator of lemurs. Seven species of lemur live here including the Red-tailed Sportive and Red-fronted brown lemurs.

Andasibe/Vakona Forest: This area is very rich in flora and fauna. We will be staying at a lodge located within Vakona Forest Reserve but will take a few field trips from here as well. VOIMMA reserve is part of the property that we will be staying on so at night we will go out into the rainforest with our headlamps and macro lenses in search of amazing and unique reptiles, frogs and insects.

Field trip – Reserve Peyrieas: Madagascar is known for its unique species of insects and reptiles and that means it’s time to pull out the macro lens! As we head to our lodge in this area, we will stop at a really special location, Reserve Peyrieras, established by a French entomologist. Here we will be able to photograph insects like Giraffe-necked weevils, gorgeous butterflies, reptiles like leaf-tailed geckos, colorful frogs and more found nowhere else in the world. Another highlight in stopping here is the chance to photograph Verreaux’s Sifka and Common Brown Lemurs which come in to the feeders.

Field trip – Mantadia National Park: This park is a highlight of any trip to Madagascar. It is home to 14 species of Lemur, 84 species of frogs, 108 species of birds and more. We will have some hikes in this area as we hope to find an array of animals in addition to the famed Indri Indri lemur. This lemur is the largest of its species and is known for its haunting howls. This is the best place in Madagascar to find this iconic species. This park is also known as the kingdom of orchids.

Field trip – Analamazaotra Special Reserve and Vakona Reserve (aka Lemur Island): A fun day filled with Lemurs! This will be our second chance to find Indri Indri Lemurs in the forest as well and the opportunity to visit Lemur Island, home to Common brown lemurs, Bamboo Lemurs, Ruffed Lemurs, Diademed Sifakas and others. This will be a rare opportunity to get up close and interact with these primates. Amazing photographs and memories can be made here!

Akanin’ny Nofy: To get to this next destination, we will ride by speed boat to Palmarium Reserve and we will stay a few nights right here. The name of this area translates as “Nest of Dreams” and it is a place where white sand beaches lay against deep blue water. Orchids are scattered through the forest. This is home to 10 species of Lemur that live in freedom here and have become accustomed to seeing people – This includes Black and white ruffed lemurs, Coquerel’s sifakas, crowned lemurs, mouse lemurs, Indri Indri, and more. While here, we will visit Aye-Aye Island where we will have the chance to encounter and photograph the Aye-Aye lemur.