When to visit Madagascar depends on where you want to go and the activities you want to partake in. This is a year-round destination due to the country’s distinct climatic zones.
Madagascar’s tropical climate provides for a summer wet season (November to March) and a winter dry season (April to October).
The best time to visit would be during the dry season as the national parks, reserves and roads are all open. With the vegetation becoming sparser as the dry season progresses, wildlife such as lemurs become easier to view. Speaking of lemurs, their birthing period is between October and November, so should you choose this time of year, expect to see many babies riding taxi on their mom’s backs.
If, however, you are more nautically inclined, the “dry season” is also whale watching season, so make your way to:
- Anakao and Ifaty: for humpback whales between August and September,
- Island of Sante-Marie: to see humpback whales between July and September,
- Nosy Be: for humpback whales and whale sharks between July and November.
Or if animal watching isn’t your thing, but exercising or partaking in sport in beautiful environs is:
- Cycling is best between May and October,
- Hiking is best from May to October,
- Kitesurfing is best practised during the peak of the windy season between June and September.
If the above still doesn’t quite float your boat, but you are still eager for more detailed weather-related information, the average daytime temperatures in the dry winter season are 21°C in the Highlands and 25°C along the coast, whereas night-time temperatures can drop to near freezing in the Highlands.
Average daytime temperatures in the wet humid summer season is 25°C in the Highlands and >30°C along the coast. Between November and March, the east coast experiences cyclones; the west and southwest heavy rains; and the semi-desert of the extreme southwest, the occasional drop or two of rain.
Looking at each of the five climatic regions in more detail:
- The North provides quite a challenge… The northwest coastal zone experiences a dry warm period from May to November and a hotter wet period from December to April. The extreme north around Nosy Be experiences the above, but its rainfall is more evenly spread throughout the year. The months of January to March can experience torrential rains which are associated with the cyclones.
- The Central Region, or Highlands, has milder temperatures but greater daily variations between minimum and maximum temperatures, particularly between June and September. Summer starts in November and ends between March and April.
- The arid South has a dry tropical climate with limited rain from January to March. The best time to visit is during the balmy winter months of June to September.
- The East’s tropical humid climate provides for constant rainfall, with decreased showers during the “dry” August to December period. I can attest this is a cyclone country, so from December to March, it is best avoided. Any visit here will require packing in rain gear!
- The dry tropical West is drier than the East with no rain falling during May to November, and this is the best time to visit.