MER MADAGASCAR - Antananarivo

We spent a two week, incredible trip through Madagascar, organized by Madagacar Endemics and Resorts (MER). From the very beginning of planning Manitra was extremely helpful and very responsive. He helped with suggestions and advice (since the country is so large, there are many things to see and choices to make), but also gave us complete flexibility in tailoring our trip based on where we wanted to visit. Some of the trip we arranged ourselves, while other parts we were assisted by MER. Our expectations in the type of lodging, guides and service we expected were well exceeded. The guides in each location were helpful and knowledgeable. Manitra was in touch throughout our trip; we made adjustments on the fly, added to the itinerary when we realized we wanted to see something else; it was all seamless and very easy. We ended up going to Nosy Be, Ankarana Reserve, Antsiranan/Diego-Suarez, Morondava, Andasibe Park, and of course Tana. Thanks to Manitra and the team at MER for making it a truly memorable vacation. We can't recommend Madagascar enough, it exceeded our expectations and was an incredible country with friendly people and amazing diversity, many things are unique and can only be found in Madagascar. We highly recommend MER for anyone visiting.

For our honeymoon (Sep. 4 - Sep. 27), my husband and I decided to make a shared childhood dream reality and go to Madagascar. We knew we wanted to visit several national parks around the country and see the whales in Ile Ste. Marie, but we also knew we couldn't plan everything on our own. After much searching and asking around, we settled on Madagascar Endemics and Resorts to plan our trip, and it was the best decision we could've made. Manitra and his staff made sure that our honeymoon was truly a dream come true.

Manitra, who speaks English fluently and is obviously very experienced in his job, organized our itinerary for us and made sure we had the best hotels for our budget. Our guide, Rija, and our drivers Mami and Johnny were extremely helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable, and really made us feel comfortable and safe.

Thanks to Manitra's itinerary, in the three short weeks that we were in Madagascar, we were able to see Andasibe-Mantadia, Ile Ste. Marie (and the whales!), the Grand Tsingy, Ranomafana, Isalo, Anakau, as well as a few cities and smaller parks in between. Everywhere we went, there were professional local guides in addition to our own guide. These guides told us what to bring on each day- or night-walk (good shoes and flashlights are a must!), showed us and told us about endemic animal and plant species, and ensured our safety in the parks. Overall, the local guides really enriched our experience.

While there were some issues with the driver, Patrick, in the area around the Tsingy; a problem that resulted in a last-minute hotel-change in Anakau; and an incident in which we left our passports at a hotel and our driver and guide had to make the 4-hour drive back to retrieve them -- our overall experience was fantastic. Even where there were issues, they were promptly resolved by Manitra and our guide Rija.

Rija deserves his own special mention in this review. His gentle, polite demeanor, excellent English, helpful attitude, and friendly, professional manners made our long drives a real pleasure. By the end of our trip, it felt like we were traveling with a friend, which speaks volumes of his ability to make clients at ease and comfortable.

All in all, thanks to Manitra and the amazing Madagascar Endemics and Resorts staff, our honeymoon was unforgettable. We highly recommend traveling with these guys for a comfortable, safe, tailor-made experience you won't forget!

Manitra at MER helped to organise a great trip along the RN7 from Tana. As this was for my honeymoon I really wanted to make sure that everything would be perfect.

I contacted quite a few travel agencies in Madagascar and internationally. I eventually decided to go with MER as
- Manitra always responded quickly and with very useful answers to my (very numerous) questions
- He went out of his way to accommodate my numerous (often probably quite difficult) requests and to suggest improvements
- He offered what seemed like a very competitive price.

We really enjoyed the trip. The itinerary we’d worked out with Manitra was exactly what we wanted and everything went very smoothly. Madagascar is an amazing country but not easy to get around or to get reliable information about - so while we normally prefer to plan and book everything ourselves I’m really glad that we had Manitra to help us out on this trip.

I simply can't recommend Mani at "Madagascar Endemics and Resorts" highly enough. He can tailor-make your trip to Madagascar and put together the tour of your dreams! Whether you'd like to get up close and personal with lemurs, spend some time on the beach, or a day exploring Antananarivo, Mani can provide. Super fast response to emails, perfect English, and the most helpful attitude you can imagine. Madagascar is not a place to go it alone. Give yourself the peace of mind that someone is looking out for you, and only a phone call away!

Manitra is phenomenal! His attentiveness and attention to detail made our 10-day trip an exhilarating, relaxing, once in a lifetime dream. Navigating Madagascar can be tough for a tourist, so booking with Manitra is essential—he listened to everything we wanted to do and recommended the best way to accomplish as much as possible plus other gems we didn't even know about. Everything was organized to a T and everything worked perfectly—drivers and guides were always waiting for us and always spoke clear English. We were able to go east and see lemurs and aye-ayes and then head north to relax on the beaches of Nosy Be and snorkel in the water around Nosy Tanikely. You will have a great time in Madagascar no matter what you do, but Manitra will make it the best trip you ever take! I cannot recommend him enough.

I booked a 20 days photographic tour during the dry season (july/august). It was a very satisfying tour because of the following reasons: Manitra Andriamialisoa, the owner of the company, was a perfect guide; his knowledge about the history, ethnic groups and wildlife of madagascar is outstanding, his arrangements (for example the car/driver, guides in the national parks, hotels) always were lucky...and last but not least he got entertainer qualities. Therefore he respectively his company madagascar endemics resorts is a very good choice for exploring madagascar. Very recommendable!

I had an incredible trip to Madagascar thanks to Manitra! He was super helpful to my sister and I as we figured out our relatively quick trip (12 days) around Madagascar. We both wanted to see different parts of the island and Manitra made it all happen. He is the friendliest and very knowledgable. I highly recommend his services if you are looking to visit Madagascar.

Nous avons eu Manitra comme guide lors d'un voyage à Madagascar en famille en 2012. Manitra a su nous faire aimer son pays, il a une très grande connaissance de la culture malgache, de la faune et la flore si extraordinaires, nous avons adoré ce voyage en grande partie grâce à notre guide sans lequel nous serions passés à côté de bien des choses sur l'ILe Rouge... Par ailleurs son français est excellent. Nous le remercions encore pour ces moments superbes.

Manitra really helped us make the most of our short trip to Madagascar. Hiking, seeing lemurs, walking around Tana-Manitra helped arrange it all. I would highly recommend Madagascar Endemics and Resorts to anyone traveling to Madagascar!

Manitra was an amazing and accommodating tour guide. We had a specific itinerary in mind and Manitra made it work. All of our drivers and guides were excellent, and extremely knowledgeable. We had an amazing trip, and would definitely recommend Manitra to anyone looking for a guide.

I had a wonderful trip to Madagascar thanks to Manitra and Madagascar Endemics & Resorts. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking to travel to Madagascar.

If you are thinking about visiting the wonderful island of Madagascar, you NEED to book your tour with Manitra. No matter your reason for visiting Madagascar, Manitra will have you covered. He possesses a vast knowledge of the Malagasy culture, language, flora, and fauna.

Manitra was extremely helpful in every aspect of our stay in Madagascar. While every vacation has its bumps in the road, ours were barely noticeable thanks to Manitra. Our stay in Madagascar was a wonderful experience that I will remember forever, and Manitra was played a very large role in making me feel this way.

When I return to Madagascar, I will make sure to book a tour with Madagascar Endemics & Resorts.

Manitra Andriamialisoa
is an excellent guide - he knows Madagascar inside and out and has excellent judgement as to what you would enjoy and how difficult it is to travel to different locations. He has our highest recommendation.

I used Madagascar Endemics and Resorts for a fantastic trip in May 2014, when I travelled to some very remote areas of Madagascar, namely the stunning area of Marojejy, the beautiful Andringitra National Park and Ranomafana. Everything went very smoothly, I didn't have to worry about anything, it was all taken care of. And Manitra had devised an itinerary which made the most of these amazing places. it was great to travel with a local guide and Manitra was also a great driver over some very rough roads! I will definitely use his company again.

A small group of us traveled to Madagascar this year. The highlight was the lemurs, particularly the activity of the sifikas. It was easy to spend infinite amounts of time observing them. Madagascar is a wonderful country to visit if a diverse nature experience is desired. And the food is as diverse and wonderful as well. Manitra, our guide, is very personable and speaks excellent English. The fact he has studied in the US gives him some advantage to understanding American guests and our culture. He is also interested in photography so is sensitive to photographic moments, in fact often anticipates them, and is always willing to provide the time. Besides covering the general itinerary, there were always extra interesting stops along the way. Accommodate were comfortable, several above average. Except for the drive to Berenty from Ft. Dauphin, road conditions were better than some African countries with bathroom stops available. However, the reward of the ring tailed lemurs and the sifikas in your back yard made any temporary inconvenience worth it.