Reports from Real Travellers 2008
'Judith, Many thanks for organising our recent trip to Madagascar. I had high expectations for this holiday (I have after all been wanting to go
there for 30 years), but I have no hesitation in stating that the reality exceeded my expectations. It was a truly wonderful experience. …
Madagascar Classic Camping: although every part of the holiday was
exceptional, our view is that this was the most exceptional. The
combination of culture and wildlife was a winning mixture for us.
Whilst we were there, we felt as though we were seeing and experiencing the real Madagascar. It was a privilege to be there. Edward was a fantastic host and I greatly enjoyed our discussions over the dinner table. Talking of food, Patrick is a magician in the kitchen.
Vakona: this part of the holiday did exactly what it said on the
tin. We wanted to see rainforest and lemurs and that is precisely what
we saw! Our walk in Mantadia was particularly memorable as our guides took us to a part of the forest where we got (after a lengthy wait) some unbelievable views of Diademed Sifaka. Can I put in a special mention for Roger, our guide, who was magnificent - his love of animals and birds meant that he was in effect a second forest guide.
Anjajavy: this place is, of course, perfection. I cannot
criticise any element of it. From a personal perspective, though, it
was very hot and this meant that we weren't able to do as much as we
would have wanted.
... To conclude, therefore, this was by some distance my best ever holiday. ... Once again, many thanks for organising this holiday. You have created memories for us which will still bring a smile to my face in my dotage. It was the holiday of a hundred highlights.'
Mr. P. Mansfield, April 2008
‘SERVICE FROM RAINBOW TOURS: Excellent. Very informative/knowledgeable – happy to recommend to others.
AIR TRAVEL: First flight LHR – CDG delayed by snow – missed connection in Paris. . . Air France very helpful in re-routing us via Mauritius then to Madagascar, thus minimising delay.
SURFACE HANDLING: Excellent. Rang [local agents] on Sunday afternoon from Paris advising of delay & impressed that they were aware of us and able to rearrange. … Guide very friendly and helpful, informative and knowledgeable. Useful assistance at airport, shopping & hotels. Good to have the same guide for last day in Tana. Driver also very friendly and competent.
Vakona Forest Lodge: Excellent service, meals & location; good comfort & facilities.
Anjajavy: Excellent. Couldn’t be bettered! Staff attentive but discreet.
OVERALL SATISFACTION: Excellent.’
Mr & Mrs M. Cosstick, April 2008
‘SERVICE FROM RAINBOW TOURS: Good.
AIR TRAVEL: Excellent. Air Madagascar was a revelation.
Anjajavy: Excellent service and location; good comfort, meals & facilities. Anjajavy was a paradise.
We’ll be back. Thanks again.’
Mr C. Teague, April 2008
‘SERVICE FROM RAINBOW TOURS: Excellent. We set Sam a number of challenges before and during our trip and he handled them all superbly.
DOCUMENTATION & SURFACE HANDLING: Excellent.
Princesse Bora Lodge: Good comfort, service & location; poor meals. Mosquito net did not fit properly. Hotel bicycles in poor repair – we had two breakdowns & never reached our intended destination. Meals for vegetarians tended to be what everyone else was offered only minus the meat/fish. ….
Vanila Hotel: Good comfort, average service, poor meals.
Tsarabanjina: Excellent service, meals & location; good facilities; average comfort. … staff were fantastic (inc. doctor). Mosquito nets far too thick and fan directly above them not ideally placed.
Tsara Komba: Excellent comfort, service, meals and location; good facilities. Cecile and her team fantastic.
OVERALL SATISFACTION: Excellent.’
R. & A. Holden, April 2008
‘SERVICE FROM RAINBOW TOURS: Excellent. We had a wonderful holiday in Madagascar – all went well, and the guide, Gersica, was brilliant. Thank you, Derek!
Vakona Forest Lodge: Excellent.
Boraha Village: Excellent.
OVERALL SATISFACTION: Excellent. Fantastic holiday – thank you!’
J. Moreton & A. Konno, April 2008
‘SERVICE FROM RAINBOW TOURS: Excellent.
DOCUMENTATION & SURFACE HANDLING: Excellent. We were very impressed by [local agents’] professionalism and efficiency. Our guide, Rija, deserves a special mention – she was really good and a delightful person to be with. I had a car and driver for the two days in Tana. Both were excellent.
Tarajava Guest House: We were thoroughly spoiled there. They could not have been more pleasant or helpful, even allowing us to leave luggage with them and doing our laundry during our absences. And what a fantastic view!
Domaine de Fontenay: Excellent.
Vakona Forest Lodge: Good. A huge improvement since the last time I was there, three years earlier.
Relais du Masoala: Generally good, but the management seemed a little lax on detail.
Chez Arol: I haven’t marked ‘facilities’ as basically there are none! We were struck by the excellence of the meals
Princesse Bora Lodge: Excellent facilities; good comfort, service and location; poor meals. The only disappointment.
Relais du Plateau: Good. We were grateful that this had been booked for our use. Thanks for thinking of it.
OVERALL SATISFACTION: Excellent.’
D. Partridge, March/April 2008
‘I would like to highly commend [your local agents] and can not over emphasise just how good the guide Lalaina Ramaroson and our driver Thony were. In addition to this we also had a fantastic forest guide Zaka who not only spoke very good English but really went out of his way to continually find things for us to see and was really good with the children. ...
Anjajavy……well what can you say. The staff were just great, the food was fantastic, the location and surroundings are staggeringly beautiful. I can’t really describe how liberating it is to be able to spend a week in such a luxurious setting with no need of money in your pockets. …
The Vanilla Hotel is very nice and the gardens etc are beautifully kept but we wouldn’t go back. Most of the staff were polite enough but you could not describe them a warm and welcoming. …
All things considered, we had a fantastic time and would certainly go back (given the time to save up again). I certainly think we managed to see everything we had hoped to see plus so much more.’
Plumb Family, March/April 2008
'SERVICE FROM RAINBOW TOURS: Excellent.
DOCUMENTATION & SURFACE HANDLING: Excellent. Vehicles very good.
Vakona Forest Lodge: Excellent comfort, service, meals, facilities & location.
Anjajavy: Excellent comfort, service, meals, facilities & location.
Tsara Komba: More than excellent meals; excellent location; good comfort, service and facilities.
The extras come expensive in Madagascar. Perhaps you should warn your clients.
The staff well deserved big tips.
OVERALL SATISFACTION: Excellent.'
Mr. A. Ferguson, March/April 2008
'SERVICE FROM RAINBOW TOURS: Excellent - everything went like clockwork.
Prince Maurice (Mauritius): Excellent comfort, service, meals, facilities & location.
Pavillon de l'Emyrne: Good service, meals & location.
Anjajavy: Excellent meals, facilities & location; very good service; good comfort. This is the most wonderful & relaxing hotel ever!'
Everett Family, March/April 2008
‘SERVICE FROM RAINBOW TOURS: Excellent. Always helpful. Written info really useful before & during honeymoon.
DOCUMENTATION: Wow! Wonderfully presented & really comprehensive.
AIR TRAVEL: Good. Air Madagascar flights all OK. Air Hotel flights amazing!
Tsarabanjina: Excellent location, good comfort, average service & facilities, poor meals.
Anjajavy: Excellent comfort, service, meals, location & facilities.
OVERALL SATISFACTION: Excellent.
Thank you for giving us the most amazing honeymoon we could have wished for.’
Mr. & Mrs. I. Miller, March 2008
PARSON'S CHAMELEON, NOSY MANGABE by courtesy of JUDITH DE WITT, RAINBOW TOURS'
Contact us
or phone (44) 20 7226 1004 for more information
