Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
When King Radama I was completing his wars of conquest, the Boina kings took refuge
inNosyBe.FirsttheysoughtprotectionfromtheSultanofZanzibar,whosentawarshipin
1838 then, two years later, they requested help from Commander Passot who had docked
his ship at Nosy Be. The Frenchman was only too happy to oblige and asked Admiral de
Hell, the governor of Bourbon Island (now Réunion), to place Nosy Be under the protec-
tion of France. The island was formally annexed in 1841.
GETTING THERE AND AWAY
BY AIR
There are now several direct international flights to Nosy Be. Air Mad runs ser-
vices from Paris, Milan and Réunion; Air Austral flies from Paris, Mayotte and Réunion;
Corsairfly runs a service from Paris; and Air Italy connects with Rome and Milan.
There are daily Air Mad flights to/from Tana and less regular services from Antsiranana
and Mahajanga (domestic routes change often so check
www.airmadagascar.com
for
schedules).
BYBOAT
NosyBe'snearestmainlandtownisAmbanja;
taxi-brousses
leavefromoutside
the town hall for Ankify (the departure point for Nosy Be) and take about an hour. Speed-
boats to Hell-Ville leave as and when they fill up (roughly hourly) and take 30 minutes. It
should cost 20,000Ar but operators have a habit of overcharging
vazaha
or trying to im-
pose a fee for luggage.
GETTING AROUND THE ISLAND
There is one goodroad running in a loop around the island from the airport past Hell-Ville,
Ambatoloaka, most of the west-coast hotels, and back to the airport. All the others are
tracks, often completely impassable in a normal vehicle. Occasional
taxi-brousse
services
run on the main road. There are also plenty of taxis, operating on either a private hire or a
(
m
uch cheaper) shared basis. A private taxi from Hell-Ville to the airport or Ambatoloaka
takes 25 minutes and costs 15,000Ar.
Bikes, scooters, motorbikes, quads and cars are hired out by several rental agencies (see
under
Hell-Ville
and
Ambatoloaka
) and also many hotels.
