Route between Diego Suarez and Sainte Marie Island

Hello, Our trip is taking shape. We’re leaving on February 28th. We’ll start by flying to Tulear, then make our way up to Tana at a relaxed pace before catching another flight to Diego Suarez. We’d love to end our stay on Sainte Marie Island. Is there a way to make the trip by land? By sea? Just to clarify, we’re not pressed for time. Thanks!

Hi there, Getting from Diego to Sainte-Marie might be long and really complicated. Unless things have improved in recent years... It's better to fly to Tamatave instead... To get to Sainte-Marie from Tamatave, you’ll need to take a *taxi-brousse* to Soanierana Ivongo. Around a 5-hour trip. If you’ve got time, you can make stops at: Foulpointe (lovely lagoon) Fenerive Mahambo.

In Soanierana Ivongo, you take the boat to Sainte-Marie. These days, there are safer shuttles than the old boat. The crossing takes about an hour and a half.

Hi there, From Diego, the easiest way is by plane, but you have to go back through Tana. So that means paying for the Diego-Tana flight and then Tana-Sainte Marie. If you go overland to combine with the maritime route, it’s not impossible, but it’s really complicated.