Ile Sainte Marie, Madagascar

Beach Holidays to the pirare island of Ile Sainte Marie (Nosy Boraha)

Overview
Map
Inspiration

Ile Sainte Marie, off the east coast of Madagascar, is the ideal beach spot after a Madagascar safari. The island, which is also known as Nosy Boraha, is only 50km long and 7km at its widest point. It’s an idyllic spot with a cute little airport at its southern tip, a couple of fairly dreadful roads and some small scale tourism development, mostly along its western beaches. Ile Sainte Marie boasts scenery to rival the Seychelles: bays protected by coral reefs, quiet tropical beaches and abundant water leading to verdant hills plus a romantic pirate history. Most people live in tiny villages and there is only one real town, Ambodifotatra, so this is a great place for independent as well as organized tours.

Every year from July to September, humpback whales migrate into the bays of Ile Sainte Marie, with many staying to give birth or to look for mates. During this time hotels and dive centres organise whale watching tours around the island. The tours run from the upmarket Princess Bora Lodge

Other activities on Ile Sainte Marie include diving from the coral reefs, snorkelling and fishing trips. You can also enjoy cycling around the island, or tours to the smaller islands of Ile aux Nattes or the uninhabited Ilots aux Sables.

The only drawback of Ile Sainte Marie is that there is no dry season though rainfall is generally at night and interspersed with calm sunny weather. Cyclones do occur from December to March, though not every year, but they can be violent. The coolest months are from May to November and the driest are from late August to November.

DIVING IN ILE SAINTE MARIE

The Madagascar islands are famous for their white beaches and warm, translucent waters brimming with colourful reef fish and dramatic corals. In short they’re a diving paradise. Madagascar has escaped the ravages of mass tourism that has affected Mauritius and the Seychelles – here it is well controlled and professional.

Diving around Ile Sainte Marie offers both tropical reef fish and wreck diving around the pirate ships. The Ile aux Nattes to the south of Ile Sainte Marie offers some of the best coral reefs.