The untouched island of Nosy Be

Posted on 8 February 2019

Lines of coconut palms move to the rhythms of paradise and restrain the forest from the powdery-white sand and inviting waters.

Nosy Be, Madagascar. Image: Getty

Nosy Be (which means ‘large island’ in Malagasy) is the hub of this archipelago of islands off the north-western coast of Madagascar.

Lemur, Madagascar. Image: Getty

While lemurs and otherworldly creatures like the panther chameleon play in the forest, you can slip into the deep blue and snorkel or dive along pristine coral reefs, brushing past fish, dolphins, turtles, manta rays, and whale sharks.

Scuba diving off Nosy Be. Image: Getty

Nosy Be isn’t just a playground for scuba diving and sport fishing: for those with a more sedentary approach to holidaying, you can choose to glide along the ocean’s surface aboard a luxurious catamaran, disembarking on surrounding islands for a meal.

Dhows glide across the warm Indian Ocean off the coast of Nosy Be. Image: Getty.

The archipelago offers an abundance of oceanic morsels freshly plucked from the sea each day, most often served with rice and imbued with Malagasy flavours. Local rum can be enjoyed neat, blended with coconut-milk or in any way your bartender cares to serve it.

Dubbed ‘Nosy Manitra’ (‘the scented island’) by locals, you’ll be surrounded by the aroma of fragrant ylang-ylang, frangipani, vanilla orchids, and other tropical blooms wafting across the island.

Frangipani flowers, Nosy Be. Image: Piaxby

Away from the beach, explore the Nosy Be’s unique vegetation and take a guided tour to find saucer-eyed lemurs, with their long slender tails and bouncing gait, or visit the markets and handpick vanilla, pepper and other spices.

Dhow off the coast of Nosy Be. Image: Getty.

Explore one of the most beautiful coastlines in the Indian Oceana and discover that every moment on Nosy Be is magical. The island’s also easy to get to as Airlink flies directly from Johannesburg to Nosy Be in under four hours.
Visit flyairlink.com or speak to your travel agent to book your escape to Nosy Be, Madagascar.

You may also like






yoast-primary - 1012442
tcat - Inspiration
tcat_slug - inspiration
tcat2 - Inspiration
tcat2_slug - inspiration
tcat_final -