Airlines for Madagascar

It’s been over 10 years since I last went to Madagascar. Back then, I flew Corsair from Paris. I’m planning to go back in September 2025. I’ve heard about Air Austral... Air France: the issue is the flight arrives in the evening at Ivato. What do you recommend? Which airlines fly from Paris to Tana? Thanks for the help!

Hi there, Depending on your preferences, you might want to check out Ethiopian Airlines. Their fares are usually very competitive. They cover an overnight stay in Addis, which is well organized by Ethiopian (super simple and smooth), and you depart for Madagascar in the morning, refreshed and ready to go.

Ethiopian also has the advantage of offering a flight to Nosy Be. It’s really convenient because it saves you time and money on the whole trip between Tana and Nosy Be. But of course, that’s only if you’re heading to northern Madagascar.

Kenya Airways also has flights, but the layover in Nairobi is much more complicated. To be honest, on my last four flights with them, there were delays—some of them pretty significant.

Otherwise, there’s Air France, Emirates, etc. etc.

Thanks for replying! Is Corsair still flying via Réunion? I’m not sure what’s become of that airline—there aren’t many updates on the forum...

I think the best thing would be to check a flight comparison site—you’ll pretty much find all the answers there. Also, try looking directly on the Corsair, Ethiopian Airlines, Air France, and Air Austral websites. Things change every day. I think you can also find Emirates and Turkish Airlines options.

Hi, for me Turkish Airlines is the best choice right now: relatively direct route so reasonable duration, there’s a layover in Istanbul and then direct to Tana fares are very attractive decent in-flight service I don’t know the arrival time but if it’s late at night, booking a hotel to finish the night at Ivato is a good idea (useful even if you arrive early in the morning) have a great day

Hi Kane, I flew with Kenya Airways to South Africa with a layover in Nairobi in May-June 2024. No delays on any of the 4 flights. So I was happy and booked them again for Tana (Madagascar). Good price, direct on their site. There you go

It's booked! I got a Corsair round-trip ticket for 800 € with a layover in Réunion for early September (standard seats are extra). Air France arrives in Tana at night, and I much prefer arriving during the day—plus, it's definitely more expensive. Now I need to book a hotel for when I arrive. If you have any hotel recommendations (I’m still budget-conscious), I’d love to hear them! I’m starting the discussion! !

Great deal, I think.

For the hotel in Tana, for us and when there’s space, it’s Sakamanga. We saw two weeks ago that, on top of that, prices haven’t gone up as much as everywhere else.

And it’s still just as beautiful and relaxing right in the heart of the city—perfect for little walks on foot to Analakely, the big market, even Pochard which isn’t far, or Antaninarena above.

Haven’t found anything better in terms of value for money among everything we’ve tried.

I went there 15 years ago to Sakamanga. Back then, we stayed in the small budget rooms above the restaurant for 15 €. I wrote to them, but it's hard to get precise info about the rooms... Which type of room did you book in that category? My husband likes quiet, and I’m worried the budget rooms for 22 € and 25 € might be in a high-traffic area and noisier. Thanks in advance for the help

Hi there, Actually, we stopped by Sakamanga two weeks ago to eat and spend time there in the mornings before wandering around the city. But we didn’t stay overnight. We just noticed that prices hadn’t changed much—or at all—for a lot of things. Unlike elsewhere in the city, where prices have gone up everywhere. For the rooms, we slept in different types of rooms and don’t remember it being noisy, even in the cheapest ones. We were always happy with our stay. This probably doesn’t help much. Sorry!

Ideal if you're leaving from the provinces (Toulouse, Mulhouse, etc.), but from Istanbul to Antananarivo there’s a stopover without leaving the plane—about 2 hours in Mauritius where a lot of passengers get off! The return trip is the same: Antananarivo → Mauritius → Istanbul! 😎

Ideal if you're leaving from the provinces (Toulouse, Mulhouse, etc.), but from Istanbul to Tana there’s a stopover without leaving the plane—about 2 hours in Mauritius, where a lot of passengers get off! The return trip is the same: Tana, Mauritius, Istanbul! 😎

Not true: it’s just a layover in Istanbul.

😉 Hi there Screenshot today of flights to Ivato. My two fisherman buddies, with whom I share a fishing trip to Antalaha every year from mid-October to mid-December for the past 12 years, left in 2024 from Mulhouse on October 14th with layovers in Istanbul and Mauritius, and returned on December 12th with layovers in Mauritius and Istanbul! By the way, for me, who’s been traveling with Air France from Toulouse, arriving in Tana at 11 PM and leaving for Sambava at 6 AM with check-in at 4 AM—spending the wait at the airport without sleep—I’d arrive exhausted in Antalaha. So this year, I’m going to opt for Turkish Airlines with a hotel night in Tana on the way there and back, especially since there’s now a possible 90-day visa (if nothing changes before then)! 😉

False: a layover in Istanbul is fine



Read more carefully: At the bottom of your table, there’s a 1-hour layover in MRU everywhere! !😎

Read more carefully: At the bottom of your table everywhere there’s a 1-hour layover in MRU! !😎

True! That’ll teach you for living in Paris... 😏