SOBEHA TOUR AGENCY

You may ask this question so many times while planning your next holidays. This is a personal decision and there is no answer-fit-all. This article from our Sales Department will help you to make decision.

Madagascar Self-drive – Car Rental Experience
Experienced travelers often prefer to rent a car and go for self-drive. This option gives much more discretion as you will travel by yourself and you are free to go wherever you want to go. It is important to compare offers before taking that option. Self-drive is generally more expensive than car rental with a driver in Madagascar. So many car rental agencies have removed the self-drive offer from their service due to the complication that they have encountered. The road is bad and there is no sign. Usual maps including Google map and Maps.me are not accurate on some region of Madagascar. Pay attention when you go off road as the practicable road may change time to time depending on the season and the security. The car replacement often takes more than 48 hours and people are blocked without any alternative plan. It is difficult to find a good garage when you have a problem along the road and the phone coverage is sometimes very poor. Remember that all drivers who make an accident encounter a problem. They could be lynched by local people and the car is often burnt or destroyed before the arrival of policeman regardless who is guilty. The bureaucracy often takes time. Be careful when you drive and it is better to stop when there is an animal or people crossing the road.
We do not accept self-drive because we prefer keeping everything under control.

Rent a Car with a driver in Madagascar
This option is generally cheaper than self-drive. Although the food and accommodation of the driver are already included into the daily price, it is highly recommended to read the Terms and Conditions of Sales before signing the contract. The driver is the first responsible of his car. He will repair it when there is a problem. A Malagasy Experienced Drivers needs to be good on mechanics. He knows the best garage nearby if he cannot repair it by himself. The driver will assist you if you need any extra service. This option is likely better and much more suitable to everyone compared to the self-drive.
Hire a car with a driver and Tour Guide

This time, there will be a tour guide in addition to the driver. So, count two persons. Very few drivers speak English fluently. Therefore, you should hire a tour guide if you want to learn more about Madagascar. The tour guide is the responsible of your trip while the driver is the responsible of the car. When your car has a problem, you will not feel a big difference. Your driver will stop with the broken car and you will move to the other car with your tour guide. The tour guide is your translator when you visit any places. He will help to arrange extra activities. Sometimes, the guide of national park doesn’t speak good English. In that case, the national tour guide will help him to translate and talk more about specificity of each region. Some tour guides are very helpful and they accept to carry backpacks, kids, etc. The national tour guide is optional. You can skip it if you are on limited budget.

What About Madagascar Activities?
Paid activities are listed on your proposal. You can ask to add other activities if you have enough time. The driver and the tour guide will add free activities for sure according to your timing and expectation. It saves time if you have activities included into your package. Note that during the high season of tourism, all good guides of national parks are booked by travel agencies and tour operator. Travelers who come without booking activity in advance often go with animal spotters. They will show animals but they do not speak English and do not know much about story, description and all other things that professional guides usually talk about.

Choose and book Madagascar hotel by yourself
Now that most of hotels are online, you can book your hotel by yourself without any problem if you travel with SOBEHA TOUR AGENCY. You can go to the platform that you prefer including Booking.com or Expedia or Airbnb or Kayak and choose. We will help you to contact the hotels that do not answer your mail and follow-up if necessary.
Self drive tourists often ask for a roof tent. Unfortunately, camping is not recommended in Madagascar for safety reasons. You cannot stop the car next to the road and camp. It is often prohibited to camp at the parking of hotel and national parks. Remember that the night visit inside national parks is prohibited. No one can camp inside the park anymore. Very few private reserves have a place for camping and it doesn’t worth it. So far, camping is only recommended for the people who want to go on multiday Trekking.
Low cost hotels are available everywhere in Madagascar. It is easy to find small, clean and cheap hotel at each village and nearby parks. They have a room from 15 euro per night. We do not include this category of hotel into our proposal because it is necessary to visit the room first before taking it. Cleanliness and security are not always guaranteed.

SOBEHA TOUR AGENCY proposes three categories of Hotels: ECONOMY – MIDRANGE OR STANDARD – SUPERIOR OR HIGH END. We work only with hotels that meet tourism standard for your safety and your security.
All Inclusive Tour means peace of mind if we understand each other. We do not talk about money all along the trip. The Malagasy Ariary, the local currency, is difficult to carry on because the bank notes take space. However, you have different travel options. Feel free to ask if you have a question.