Madagascar's Lemurs

Hearing the eerie sounds of the indri in the rain forests and being fairly close to the lemurs is something I wont quickly forget. Our guide, Ben Chapple’s infectious enthusiasm and deep knowledge of the natural world was a marvellous asset at every point.

I loved seeing 19 different types of lemurs, birds and other creatures in their natural habitat. Both the Naturetrek tour leader Ben, the local tour guide Desi and the other local guides in different areas were all brilliant. They were very knowledgeable about the different areas, lemurs and other creatures we saw. Ben always made sure we had enough bottled water as we couldn't drink/use tap water for drinking or brushing teeth. Local tour guide Desi was good at advising us what to eat/drink and his knowledge was excellent about the areas we went to and the animals we saw.

An interesting tour in Madagascar focusing on lemurs and, for this group, birds and anything else that crossed our path. The highlight for me was seeing and hearing the Indri lemurs. Their call must be experienced to be believed. The tour was very well organised and expertly led. Parson and Bob were fabulous! They were attentive to all the participants and did their utmost to ensure that everyone enjoyed their time in Madagascar. Parson's knowledge of his country and specifically of lemurs was great. Several problems arose and were handled calmly and efficiently. I appreciated their handling of the tipping, normally a source of stress for me when traveling. They are a great team.

It was sometimes hard work with long road journeys and pre-dawn starts, not to mention night walks. In the end though we saw most of the birds, mammals, plants, reptiles, frogs and butterflies we hoped for. Birds seen included good views of three owl species, both nightjars and all the endemic bird families; mammals seen personally included 18 lemur species. The weird vegetation of the spiny forest in the south-west left enduring memories, as did the ear-splitting howls of Indris close around us in rainforest. The most expensive holiday we have ever had exceeded our expectations!

We had wonderful experience of Madagascar both in terms of wildlife and of the culture. We spent two weeks viewing wildlife on foot in Madagascar in a variety of environments. We saw 20 different types of lemur and many other birds insects reptiles butterflies and wonderful plants. I loved the spiny forest in particular. The Malagasy people were friendly and engaging. The highlight of the holiday for me was standing under a tree while an Indiri sang to his group, which was quite magical. Naturetrek ensured that the trip was well organised from start to finish with a high level of guides (sometimes 5) to our small group ( maximum 9). The wildlife viewing was maximized by the timing of the tour in the year and the timing of the walks in the day. The guides both local and English were helpful and knowledgeable. The accommodation and food was of a high standard which helped because the early starts, and long hours spent walking and travelling were tiring.

We saw way more lemurs than we had anticipated - and we got much closer to them than I had imagined possible. The various guides and helpers were excellent, they seemed to truly care that we had a great holiday. The hotels we stayed at were all good, and a couple were outstanding.

The local guides in the parks were outstanding. It was very enjoyable to see a broad range of wildlife – lemurs, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects and plants – and to visit the diverse habitats of rainforest and dry forest. Too many highlights to list them all, but they include the many sightings of lemurs in the day at night (21 species!), roosting nightjars, the ground rollers, the moth trap at dawn and the amazing chameleons and geckos.

This was a truly wonderful trip, with a group that gelled together and some excellent sightings - well worth the early risings and long walks. Dave Mallon was, for me, the perfect tour leader, being not only very knowledgeable and competent but also entertaining and fun to be with. He imparted information well and his ability to communicate readily with the local people was a valuable bonus. He took great care of us both in terms of our physical well being and our enjoyment of the wildlife, always ensuring that people saw what they wanted to see - quite an achievement given the wide-ranging interests of the group! Dave was more than ably supported by Claude Rambelosan who was also extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and a good communicator. The local guides and support staff, particularly our driver and his assistant, were all very good and helpful. Maurice at Andasibe was a great character and an excellent guide. This was my first experience with Naturetrek but you will certainly be amongst my first choices when planning my next adventure. Many thanks.

First of all, I would like to say that I really, really enjoyed this holiday. It was our first experience of Naturetrek...We look forward to our next trip!

This was immensely rewarding in terms of the richness and diversity of wildlife seen. Certainly one of the most fulfilling we have ever done. We cannot praise your leader, Andy Smith, too highly, he was caring, equitable and knowledgeable. An excellent trip, hugely enjoyed.

Excellent. We had some fantastic Lemur sightings and the other amazing wildlife of Madagascar didn't fail to disappoint either. The leader, Hilary Bradt was lovely , extremely knowledgeable and fun to be with. Her personal knowledge of the country meant that we got to see some extra things and experience some great local food which we probably wouldn't have done otherwise. Our local guide was fantastic also, and nothing was too much trouble!! Many thanks!

Dave was very supportive and efficient...his knowledge of the flora and fauna was impressive, and he managed us very skilfully. We had an excellent group of people and enjoyed a lot of fun too!

The holiday was a two week wildlife trip to Madagascar, primarily searching for lemurs. The local guides and the English trip leader were keen to show us as much of the local wildlife as possible and we did see a lot of weird and wonderful creatures. Madagascar is a very poor country but the food and hotels were a good standard and the people were very welcoming. There was some long drives but there was always something to see and we had plenty of stops to stretch our legs. Our trip leader and guide were concerned about everyone's welfare and tried their best to promptly rectify any problems that anyone had.

...the holiday experience was superb. Dave Mallon was a great tour leader...he was great fun to be with and had a good fund of stories to tell without being over-talkative. Claude Rambelosen, our local naturalist, had a good knowledge of the lemurs, most birds, and especially the reptiles and amphibians.

Desire spent four hours and walked 10km on our penultimate day to find a Parsons Chameleon for us, a call way beyond his duty and we thank him so much for that. Roland our guide in Isalo also deserved a special mention for his friendliness and efforts to find wildlife for us. Also our guide in Perenty, Maurice, did all he could to find wildlife and make our holiday such a pleasurable one.