Diego Suarez Trips & Tours

A northern gem for nature lovers, home to private reserves, pretty bays and a super slow pace of life…

If you’re travelling to northern Madagascar, chances are you’ll find yourself spending a couple of nights in the genteel town of Diego Suarez (officially Antisaranana since 1975), and that’s not a bad thing. The surrounding ring of rolling hills and the Rio-esque Sugarloaf mountain give you plenty to flash your camera at, and the deep-water harbour is one of the most beautiful in the world. With its wide colonial streets, lined with fragrant stalls of vanilla pods and home-brewed rum, impressive buildings and melting pot of cultures from Creole to Chinese, the town itself is colourful, compact and a whole lot of fun. Just don’t try to do anything between 12pm and 3pm when the locals retreat for their well-earned siesta…

Things to do

What to do in Diego Suarez

This northern Madagascan harbour town captivates with its vintage French architectural elegance and the second-largest natural bay in the world, where waters shimmer in impossible shades of turquoise. Charter a private yacht to the Emerald Sea for world-class snorkelling among vibrant coral gardens, or catch the wind at Sakalava Bay, renowned globally for kitesurfing. Nature enthusiasts should head to Amber Mountain's misty rainforests to spot playful crowned lemurs and tiny chameleons, while the otherworldly red limestone formations of Tsingy Rouge make a dramatic backdrop for sunset champagne stops. The cultural heritage reveals itself in traditional Sakalava fishing villages, where you can master local seafood recipes with freshly caught ingredients. Why not conclude your adventures with a horseback ride along the beach, pausing to watch the sun dip below baobabs while sipping something perfectly chilled?

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