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Welcome to the Solo Female Travel Safety Tips and Advice page for Madagascar!
This page is brought to you by Solo Female Travelers Tours, our curated small group trips for women, by women.
On this page you will find first-hand, unbiased, and real safety tips, advice and reviews from women traveling solo, submitted directly from their personal experiences in the country.
Their opinions are unfiltered and submitted independently as part of the Solo Female Travel Safety Index, a ranking of 210 countries and regions based on how safe they are for women traveling solo.
The safety scores range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the safest and 4 being the most dangerous for solo female travelers.
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Madagascar Country data
We have compiled a few data points below that can help you better understand Madagascar and have more context when thinking about travel safety.
Official country name: Republic of Madagascar.
Etymology: The name "Madageiscar" was first used by the 13th-century Venetian explorer Marco Polo, as a corrupted transliteration of Mogadishu, the Somali port with which Polo confused the island.
Country map
Locator map
Flag
Capital: Antananarivo.
Independence / foundation: Madagascar was a pirate stronghold during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and served as a slave trading center into the 19th century.
From the 16th to the late 19th century, a native Merina Kingdom dominated much of Madagascar. The island was conquered by the French in 1896 who made it a colony; independence was regained in 1960.
Population: 29 million.
Currency: Malagasy Ariary (MGA)
1 USD = 4,348 - 4,520 MGA
1 EUR = 4,682 - 4,924 MGA
Time zone: UTC+3
Languages spoken: Malagasy (official) 99%, French (official) 24%, English 8%, other <1%.
Religions: Christian, indigenous, Muslim.
Climate: Tropical along coast, temperate inland, and arid in south.
Real GDP (ppp – purchasing power parity): $44.49 billion.
Real GDP per capita (ppp): $1,500.
Main airports: Ivato International Airport, Fascene Airport.
World heritage sites in Madagascar
There are over 1,100 world heritage sites spread across more than 165 countries. New ones are added every year, and some may be removed from the list for various reasons.
Number of UNESCO listed sites: 3.
Top world heritage sites:
- Royal Hill of Ambohimanga.- Rainforests of the Atsinanana.
- Andrefana Dry Forests.
Interesting facts about Madagascar
- Around 90% of Madagascar’s wildlife is not found anywhere else on Earth. Contrary to what the popular animated movie Madagascar showcases, the country has no lions, giraffes, hippos, or zebras.
- People who live in Madagascar are called Malagasies.
Further reading: N/A.
Madagascar Travel tips
Socket type: C / D / E / J / K. Guide to socket types.
Weekend days: Saturday and Sunday.
Driving: Cars drive on the Right.
Local taxi apps: KiwiGo.
Travel Guides: Lonely Planet, Bradt Guide.
Languages spoken: Malagasy (official) 99%, French (official) 24%, English 8%, other <1%.
Basic words and phrases in the main language:
Hello: ManahoanaPlease: Asafady
Thank you: Misaotra
Help: Vonjeo
Learn more with our favorite learning app Mondly.
Find a hotel in Madagascar
Booking.comBook tours and activities:
More about Madagascar on Solo Female Travelers
Coming soon.Did you spot any errors? We do our best to keep this information updated and accurate, but things change. If you saw anything that is not right, let us know so we can fix it: [email protected].
About the Solo Female Travel Safety Index
Safety matters to solo female travelers, you told us so in our annual Solo Female Travel Survey, where year after year, women prove that this is their most important concern when traveling solo.
We wanted to do something about it, so we built these country-specific pages where you can find reviews and scores for 7 key variables affecting the safety of women traveling solo.
Variables
- Risk of scam
- Risk of theft
- Risk of harassment
- Attitudes towards women
- UK Travel Advisory
- US Travel advisory
- Global Peace Index (GPI)
Informing OSAC
The Solo Female Travel Safety Score is used by the Overseas Security Advisory Council for including safety concerns for women travelers in their country security reports; OSAC is a partnership between the U.S. Department of State and private-sector security community.
How to use the Safety Index
On this page, you will find the country score and the personal opinions on safety of other women traveling solo.
You can sort the comments by:
- The level of experience traveling solo of the reviewer (beginner = <5 trips solo, Intermediate = 5 to 10 trips solo, Experienced = >10 trips solo).
- The age of the traveler.
- Whether they are a visitor or local.
- The date they were posted.
The safety scores range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the safest and 4 being the most dangerous for solo female travelers.
Thus, the lower the score, the safer the country.
Looking for more safety resources?
This entire website is devoted to helping women travel solo. Check out the links below to learn more:
Solo Female Travel Stats: Results from the the largest, most comprehensive and only global research study on solo female travel trends, preferences and behaviors published.
Thanks to Jacobo Vilella for creating the Solo Female Travelers Safety Index ❤️