NOSY BE
The Perfume island

NOSY BE

Fragrant plants such as vanilla, cloves, orchids and ylang ylang give this island its second name, the Perfume Island. 

Previously in colonial times the island was called Hell-Ville, today this is the name of the capital, which is officially called Andoany in Malagasy.
Hell-Ville is the largest city on the island with around 42,000 inhabitants and actually has everything essential to offer.

Numerous restaurants, bars, shops and markets invite you to stroll. The harbor is also located there, where numerous cruise ships dock.
Nosy Be means “big island” in the local language and is located around 10 to 12 km off the northwest coast of Madagascar and around 600 km as the crow flies and around 1 hour by plane from Antananarivo.

The island has an area of 325 km².

From north to south it is around 27 km and from east to west around 12 km.
At 450 m, the Lokobe is the highest point on the island. It is located in the national park of the same name. This can only be reached by boat.

The approximately 70,000 residents of Nosy Be mainly belong to the Sakalava ethnic group.

Fascéne is the name of the island's international airport.


Arrival by plane:
Antananarivo to Nosy Be: 

Daily with Tsaradia Airlines, flight duration around 1 hour.
Europe to Nosy Be: 

Ethiopian Airlines via Addis Abbaba and direct with Neos Air Italia from Milan, Verona via Rome. Flight duration around 11 hours
Also from La Reunion and Mauritius.

Arrival by Boat: From Mainland (Ankify) to Nosy Be:

  • with Speedboat: appr. 30min, Ariary 20.000,- per Person
  • with Katamaran:  appr. 45 min, Ariary 15.000,- per Person       
The Perfume Island
Duftpflanzen wie Vanille, Nelken, Orchideen und Ylang Ylang geben dieser Insel ihren zweiten Namen, die Parfüminsel.




Nosy Be Live Weather

Climate:

The climate on Nosy Be is humid and warm. During the day it is warm to hot. The temperatures are between 25 and 33 °C.
Almost never colder than 20 °C.Water temperature in the Indian Ocean is 27 to 28 °Celsius. Ideal for a perfect vacation.

The islands
Nosy Be is the main island and also the largest island of a group of islands in the Mitsio Archipelago:
Nosy Komba, Nosy Mitsio, Nosy Tanikely, Nosy Sakatia and Nosy Faly circle Nosy Be.
There are numerous other islands in the area that you will discover on one or two tours.
Nosy Tsarabanjina, Nosy Ratsy, Nosy Ankarea, Nosy Ansoha to name a few.

But by far the most beautiful island is Nosy Iranja.
It is located about 50 km south of Nosy Be and consists of two islands connected by a sandbank.
It is also called Turtle Island because sea turtles lay their eggs here.
Dreamy white beaches and turquoise-blue-green shimmering, clear water make the hearts of all tourists beat faster.
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Nosy Be on your own?

Nosy Be - On your own

For the adventurers and explorers among you, the opportunity to explore Nosy Be on your own is of course part of the fixed program. Rent a motorbike or quad and off you go...

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Attractions Nosy Be

Sights on the island:

In general, there is a lot to see and do on Nosy Be. In addition to relaxing, swimming and bathing on the beautiful, long and wide beaches, you can of course have a lot of fun in and around the water here. Snorkeling, diving, kiting, surfing, jet skiing.


The most beautiful beaches on the island are definitely Ampasindava Beach, Andilana Beach, Chanty Beach, Madirokely and Ambatoloaka Beach.

You can either explore the island with a guide or on your own. The best way to do this is to rent a bike or motorbike. You can also easily book a tour through us or take a guide.


The boat trips to the neighbor islands such as Nosy Komba, Nosy Iranja and so on are highly recommended.

So plan enough time.

Top destinations on the island include:

The Market in Andoany:

All the spices (pepper, vanilla, clove), ylang-ylang essence and coffee that the island is known for are sold here.

Sacred Tree Ampombolava:

This tree is located near Ambataloaka.

Ambataloaka:                                                                                                                                  

This place is a small fishing village, which is increasingly taking on a tourist role.There are a number of bars, restaurants and hotels along the almost two kilometer long sandy Madirokely beach.Nightlife determines what happens here. Here you can find shops, markets, taxis, discos. There is also a motorbike rental service. Great for swimming and relaxing during the day.

Djamandjary:
The second largest city on Nosy Be. It is located 10 km from the capital's city center.Djamandjary used to be famous for its sugar and rum factory (Sirama). Unfortunately now closed.Also worth seeing are the igloo-shaped houses made of concrete, which used to protect factory workers from cyclones and wildfires that posed a danger when the sugar cane plantations burned down.

Mont Passot:

Mont Passot is 329 m high and there are fascinating views from its summit.You can cover the 20 km from the capital to the viewpoint in about an hour by car.

But be careful: The road is very bad. Crater lakes can be found on the way to Mont Passot.It is taboo to go near the crater lakes. The locals consider them sacred.They believe that the souls of their ancestors live on in the crocodiles of the crater lakes.The two most famous crater lakes are right next to each other and because they are so similar they are called "twins".They can be clearly seen from Mont Passot.


The Russian cemetery:

Graves of Russian soldiers who died during the Japanese-Russian War of 1904-1905, as well as local residents and Muslim Indians and Pakistanis are buried there.

The Russian monument:

Built in memory of the Russian sailors who died of typhus