Madagascar: 6-day Berenty Reserve Extension


Dates and Costs:

 

30 October – 04 November 2023

Price: €2,675 / $3,023 / £2,413 per person sharing, assuming 6 – 8 participants, plus about €825 for the domestic flights, which we will book for you.

Single Supplement: €295 / $333 / £266

 

* Please note that currency conversion is calculated in real-time, therefore is subject to slight change. Please refer back to the base price when making final payments.

 


Recommended Field Guide

(Please also read our blogs about recommended field guides for the seven continents here)


Tour Details

Duration: 6 days
Group Size: 6 – 8
Tour Start: Antananarivo (Tana)
Tour End: Antananarivo (Tana)


Price includes:

Meals
Accommodation
Guiding fees
Entrance fees
All transport while on tour
Bottled water throughout the tour

Price excludes:

All flights
Return flight Tana/Fort Dauphin/Tana
Items of a personal nature, e.g. gifts
Drinks
Laundry
Personal insurance
Gratuities (please see our tipping guidelines blog)

Download Itinerary

Madagascar Birding Tour: 6-day Berenty Reserve Extension
October 2023

 

The small, private Berenty Reserve, situated at the southern tip of Madagascar, is one of the island’s best-known and most frequently visited nature reserves. Stretching along the Mandrare River, it is composed of deciduous riverine gallery forest and a small stretch of spiny forest, where virtually all the plants are covered in thorns.

Although most famous for its dense lemur population, with hundreds of individuals per square kilometer (research on lemurs has been continuing here for more than three decades), the reserve is also a haven for birdwatchers, boasting a high number of endemic species. With luck we might be able to find Madagascan Sandgrouse, Madagascan Green Pigeon, Torotoroka Scops Owl, and perhaps even Madagascan Cuckoo-Hawk here.

Berenty birding toursWhite-browed Hawk-Owl can be found at daytime roosts.

 

This extension to our Best of Madagascar: 14-day Birding and Wildlife Tour can also be booked as a stand-alone tour. It can also be combined, preceding the main tour, with our Madagascar: 6-day Masoala Penisula Pre-tour and, preceding that, with our Madagascar: 7-day Northwest (Ankarafantsika/Betsiboka Delta) Pre-tour.

 

Itinerary (6 days/5 nights)

 

Day 1. Arrival in Fort Dauphin

We will take a flight from Antananarivo or Tulear to Fort Dauphin. After arrival we will transfer to our hotel.

Overnight: Croix du Sud, Fort Dauphin

 

Day 2. Transfer to Berenty, birding Berenty Reserve

An early departure will take us on our way for the two- to three-hour drive to the Berenty Reserve. Our interesting drive from Fort Dauphin with its rice paddies and tropical forests through vast sisal plantations to the famous dry spiny forest that once covered large areas of this part of Madagascar, but sadly today exists only in small patches, will probably allow us to find Sakalava Weaver and Namaqua Dove on the way.
In the afternoon and during an evening outing we will start to explore this magnificent park.

Overnight: Berenty Lodge, Berenty

 

Day 3. Birding Berenty Reserve

Exploring Berenty Reserve for a full day, we hope to find Madagascan Sandgrouse, Madagascan Green Pigeon, Madagascan Buttonquail, Malagasy Turtle Dove, Madagascan Sparrowhawk, Giant, Crested, Running, and Red-capped Couas, Chabert, Hook-billed, and Sickle-billed Vangas, Grey Emutail, Grey-headed Lovebird, Subdesert Brush Warbler, and Humblot’s Heron, and possibly also Madagascan Cuckoo-Hawk, which is, however, difficult to find.

Berenty birding toursThe fantastic Red-capped Coua has an interesting call.

 

On night outings we will hunt for Rainforest Scops Owl, White-browed Hawk-Owl, and Torotoroka Scops Owl.
Lemurs will keep us entertained throughout. During the day we will marvel at the antics of Ring-tailed Lemur and Verreaux’s Sifaka, while at night we might be lucky enough to encounter White-footed Sportive Lemur, Grey Mouse Lemur, and Grey-brown Mouse Lemur.

Overnight: Berenty Lodge, Berenty

 

Day 4. Birding Berenty Reserve, transfer to Fort Dauphin

We will spend the morning once more at Berenty Reserve, searching for species we might have missed before.
In the afternoon we will transfer back to Fort Dauphin.

Overnight: Croix du Sud, Fort Dauphin

Berenty birding toursThe beautifully colored Giant Coua.

 

Day 5. Flight to Antananarivo

Today we will fly back to Antananarivo and transfer to our hotel.

Overnight: Relais des Plateaux, Antananarivo

 

Day 6. Departure

Today your international flights will leave for home.

 

 

Please note that the itinerary cannot be guaranteed as it is only a rough guide and can be changed (usually slightly) due to factors such as availability of accommodation, updated information on the state of accommodation, roads, or birding sites, the discretion of the guides and other factors.

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