Antananarivo - Madagascar - page 77

Bus
The following public-transport companies only offer the Tana-Majunga (Mahajanga) route
for the time being, but at press time both had plans to expand their network so check what
the latest schedule is.
Transport Première Class ( 032 40 134 76, 033 07 601 67; www.malagasycar.com ;
Hôtel Le Grand Mellis, 3 Rue Indira Gandhi) Runs comfortable, air-con vehicles between
Tana and Majunga (Ar78,000, 10 hours, daily). It sits just two people to a row and includes
a packed lunch. Departure is at 7am; drop-off is on the corniche in Majunga. Booking es-
sential.
Transpost ( 22 302 27; Post Office, Rue Ratsimilaho) More punctual than normal taxis-
brousses but similar in comfort and price, Transpost is run by Madagascar's postal service.
It has minibuses between Majunga and Tana (Ar25,000; 10 hours; Tuesday, Thursday and
Saturday); pick-up and drop-off is at the central post office in both cities. Departure is at
7.30am sharp. Booking required.
Car
The best place to arrange a car and driver is from one of the reputable tour agencies ( Click
here ) operatinginthecountry.Biginternationalcar-rentalagenciesarealsopresentinTana,
but they may not rent cars outside of Tana, or if they do, they may require a driver. Prices
quoted are for short journeys.
Budget ( 032 05 811 13; www.budget.mg ; 4 Ave de l'Indépendance) A compact/4WD
with driver costs per day Ar180,000/324,000, plus fuel.
Sixt ( 22 621 50; [e-mail]; 2 bis Rue Rahamefy) Self-drive only;
a compact/4WD costs per day Ar75,000/256,000, bearing in mind that the deposit is
Ar1,200,000/5,000,000.
Taxi-Brousse
For morning departures, turn up early (6am); for afternoon departures, come around 2pm.
It may take up to four hours for some vehicles to fill.
There are three main taxi-brousse stations (gares routières) .
Gare Routière d'Ambodivona (Northern taxi-brousse station; Ambodivona) About 2km
northeast of the city centre. A taxi to/from the centre costs Ar3000.
Gare Routière d'Ampasampito (Eastern taxi-brousse station; Ampasampito) About
3.5km northeast of the centre. A taxi to/from the centre will cost Ar6000.
Gare Routière de Fasan'ny Karana (Southern taxi-brousse station; Anosibe) About 4km
southwest of Lac Anosy. A taxi to/from the centre costs Ar8000.