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Expedition

Blue Lagoon

Madagascar

Powdery white beaches, palm trees and impossibly blue waters dominate everyone’s imagination of tropical island escapes. Even better if there is no one else there.

This is the case at Cap Masoala, the destination of our Blue Lagoon Expedition, where time might as well have stood still for the past few hundred years. Rural people survive here on a subsistence lifestyle and over the past 20 years have accepted us and our guests as part of the community.

On this expedition we combine our core area of Masoala rainforest with exploring the Blue Lagoon, its beaches, fringing reefs and offshore islets by kayak and by outrigger pirogue, walking the shores and snorkelling the coves while still finding time for night walks in search of lemurs and sundowners on old crumbling colonial lighthouses. Simple food, fresh air and midday siestas in shady hammocks are the order of the day.

Location

Some 50km from our base camp at Masoala Forest Lodge lies Cap Masoala, the very tip of the Masoala Peninsula. This remote location holds a small rural population that depends largely on the sea for subsistence and has the luxury of a fortnightly visit by a coastal trading boat for rarer goods. It really is miles from anywhere and as a result has an idyllic, disconnected feel.

Access is literally only by boat from Masoala Forest Lodge and guests can stay here only as part of the Blue Lagoon Expedition, the first nights of which are spent at Masoala Forest Lodge after first flying into Maroantsetra Airport some 90km from Cap Masoala.

Expedition: Blue Lagoon

Masoala National Park

Maroansetra Airport

15°26'16.12"S 49°41'20.58"E

Why here?

One of the greatest luxuries in the modern world is space and the ability to experience the planet as it was hundreds of years ago
Kilometres of white sand beaches, calm, warm waters, fringing reefs, offshore islets, mangrove rivers and coastal forests
The knowledge that the closest fellow tourist is at least 40km away.

Itinerary

Private charter (90 minutes) from Antananarivo to the small coastal trading town of Maroantsetra. Meet your guide and vehicle and drive to our private boat launch before heading offshore to the fascinating island of Nosy Mangabe in search of lemurs, chameleons and other wildlife. After a picnic lunch continue across the bay to Masoala Forest Lodge.

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Facilities

For some years we accessed this part of the Masoala Peninsula, known as Cap Masoala, only through our kayak expeditions and we camped at a handful of places including the island of Nosy Behento. In 2018 we started building a more permanent base, affectionately called Crusoe’s Cabin, that for the first few years we used only for family and friends. This timber cabin is now our base camp for the Blue Lagoon Expedition. Sometimes we spend all of our Cap Masoala nights here, while on other expeditions we still use dome tents to camp out on Nosy Behento, Nosy Nepato and other isolated idyllic retreats.

When we camp out we use light nylon dome tents, safari showers and short-drop toilets. The running water, flush toilet and timber Crusoe’s Cabin is always a welcome luxury respite though.

Rates

Our rates are fully inclusive (accommodation, meals, drinks and activities) and quoted in EURO on a per person per night sharing basis. We do charge a single supplement.

2023 Rates 2024 Rates

Explore with us

We love talking to past and future guests and helping plan trips of a lifetime, but we don’t take direct bookings.

Instead, we work with a wide network of specialist tour operators all around the world in order that our guests can liaise with someone in their own jurisdiction, time zone, culture and language to craft the perfect African expedition for them.

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