Travelers’ testimonials | Travelers’ Reviews 2019 - 2020

2023 | 2022 | 2019 – 2020 | 2018 | 2017

Robert B. – Sweden – December 2019

The itinerary was perfect, and the timing was good.
Thank you for a perfect planned tour round Madagascar and for memories for life and a safe trip!!
And a friend for life, Mamy.
Thank you.

Malin and Robert

Paul L. – United Kingdom – December 2019

Thank you for a safe and interesting trip in Madagascar.
Yes, definitely recommend Cactus.

Paul.

Allisson R. – U.S.A – December 2019

All were excellent! Especially Mantadia Lodge, Eden Lodge and San Cristobal (wow, a suite).
The itinerary was excellent, but I was glad to get an exdgra night at Eden Lodge instead of Ankarana Lodge.The wildlife was exceptional – especially Andasibe and Eden Lodge!Every drivers and guides were excellent, especially Nandih, William and Phillip.Absolutely, we recommend Cactus Tours and already have! My nice may contact you for her honeymoon trip in December 2020.I truly can’t thank you enough! It’s been the trip of a life time! The lemurs and whale shark excursion were even better that I though it would be!!

Allison

Carole F. – Australia – December 2019

Overall exceed any expectations. Love it. I hope to see you again. Everyone was very friendly.

Great communication with Rojo.

Thank you!!
Carole

Razvan P. – Romania – December 2019

Rojo was great in answering all my questions, checking Tsaradia flight time and always supportive.

Our hotels:
La Varangue was very good, the only complain is about the eggs which came very late every morning.
Vakon was average, there is a room of improvement because the hotel has big potential. The restaurant manager was not customer oriented, he let us wait for 25mins to take our dinner order. Smell in the room was bad but improved after we left the windows opened;

This time, we wanted to see the lemurs and the mighty baobabs.
Next time, we will look for fossa, verreaux lemurs and whales.
Rivo was the best as driver. He drives safe, he is very polite and took great care of us.
Both cars we had used from Tana to Morondava were very good.

Yes, I highly recommend Cactus Tours.

We were impressed by the professionalism of the staff. We will come back to Madagascar to see the north and the south.
Big thanks to everybody that made our journey great!!

Razwan

Ashleigh L. – South Africa – December 2019

Thank you for all the arrangements. The tour was well manage and you accommodated our needs.
The itinerary was great. Good mix of adventure and leisure.
Madagascar is beautiful country with a lot to see. Really enjoyed the rainforest and the city tour of Tana, as well as the beautiful beaches.

Thank you for all the arrangements. We highly recommend Cactus Tours.

Ashleigh

Hervé M. and Nicolle S. – France – November 2019

Très contents de ce tour. Rija est un guide parfait, sympatique, compétent et attentif.
Le programme a été respecté dans son intégralité.

Sans réserve, nous recommandons Cactus tours.

Hervé et Nicolle.

Adrian L. – Singapore – November 2019

The trip was very well conducted, very professional and we appreciated the nice hospitable touches along the way: the guides getting us local food, fruits to try, ensuring that we go to see the flora and fauna we wanted (especially the Fosa !).

And Cactus arranging dinner for us in Palissandre Hotel room when our flight from Tulear to Tana was delayed till 8:25pm and we only got into Tana after 10:30 pm when restaurants were closed.
A big thank you!! Misaotra!

Mr. and Mrs. Adrian

Joanna B. – Australia – November 2019

Safe and organized. No need to worry during the trip.

We do not hesitate to recommend Cactus Tours.

All the best.

Karen B. – U.S.A – November 2019

Everyone was prompt and helpful. Everything went very smooth.
All the hotels were fantastic with good food, friendly staff. Very accommodating our our needs.

The itinerary was perfectly planned with just enough time at each location to maximize our experiences.
Our interests were birding and natural history.
We can’t say enough about all the drivers and guides. Especially Bruno our bird guide who kept us safe and comfortable and showed us amazing wildlife beyond our expectations. We also especially enjoyed Rivo and Jacko as drivers.

We definitely recommend Cactus Tours.

Karen

Miao G. – United Kingdom – November 2019

It has been an amazing trip and a learning journey. Absolutely love Madagascar and Malagasy.
We had an excellent guide. I would like to have him as a guide again for my next visit.
I highly recommend your company.Thanks for the enjoyable trip. Will come back.

Miao

John L. – Canada – November 2019

We were very pleased overall, with all aspects of our trips – from initial contact with Rina by email to our eventual tour. All the information provided was clear and timely. The hotel and the restaurant selections were excellent.

We always felt very well cared for and welcome in your country.
We would not hesitate to recommend Cactus Tours to friends and family interested in visiting Madagascar. We learned a great deal from our guides. They were all excellent.
Many sincere thanks to the Cactus’ Team.

Mihaela T. – Netherlands – November 2019

We were very satisfied at the end. Prompt feedback and coordination from the team to the changes in our schedule for flights.

The hotels were good to very good. We love the hotels and staff at Relais du Kirindy.

Given the available time we had, the trips and visits were planned perfectly as requested to see as much of nature.

About the timing, pickups were sharp on time, departures were manageable only the sunrise at the baobab avenue was a bit tiring for everyone.

All interests were met as per the time we had.

Our guides were fantastic, very polite and kind and has a lot of knowledge on the local culture.
Ludo makes miracles and has so much knowledge about the animals, birds and local culture.
Liva, our guide for the east part was very passionate about his work and he know how to show it to tourists. We have seen a lot of lemurs and animals thanks to him and learned a lot as well. We loved the fact that he can imitate birds and animals so accurate and easy.

Thank you very much for allowing us to visit a small part of Madagascar in a short time and very comfortable, relaxing and safe tour.
We love Madagascar and we will come back.
Keep in touch.

Mihaela.

Sheila R. – U.S.A – November 2019

All the arrangements were very good. From initial contact to delayed arrival and throughout the tour, everything has been efficient and excellent.

The hotels were mostly extremely good. La Varangue was very different. Relais des Plateaux as excellent and more standard. Coleur Café was our favorite.
Andry, our bird guide was absolutely excellent. His knowledge and skills are exceptional from birds and their calls, other wildlife, ethnic groups and their customs and culture to daily life in all the areas we visited. We were also impressed with the drawing skills and we both leave with examples.

The whole tour from the start to finish has been excellent. Andry and Rivo and later Mamy have gone out the way to make us feel welcome and deal with all the arrangements in the various venues.

Sheila.

Matthew B. – U.S.A – October 2019

Fantastic trip. All of our drivers met us promptly at the arranged times and were flexible with any changes we wanted to make. They were all great. They spoke good English and got us around Madagascar safely and efficiently.

The hotels were also fantastic. We loved the Tamboho Suites in Tana, and especially the Palissandre in Morondava.

The itinerary was very good. We saw all that we wanted to see!

Everyone was punctual. There as a little variation from the schedule that emailed.
Madagascar was beautiful. We learned so much about this country.

We were very happy with the cars. Air conditioning was appreciated.

We absolutely recommend Cactus Tours.
Overall, we loved traveling with Cactus Tours. We had a great time!!

Matthew.

Carol W. – U.S.A – October 2019

Good program. We enjoyed the trip and the guides. There is so much to see and the road make for lots of driving.

Madagascar is fantastic.

Yes, we recommend Cactus Tours, for sure.

Carol.

Martijn P. – Netherlands – October 2019

Thanks a lot for this wonderful and amazing trip to your country. We have enjoyed every minute of it and hope to come back another time.

Jacqueline and Martijn.

Jason F. – U.S.A – October 2019

Thank you so much to organize our trip with short time. We bring back more than we expected originally. We definitely recommend Cactus Tours. Jason

Volker J. – Germany – October 2019

Great tour to two diverse parts of Madagascar with a densely packed program. Reliable guides and drivers, quality hotels. Lots of insights into Madagascar’ nature and everyday life. We definitely recommend you! Thanks!!

Stanley K. – U.S.A – September 2019

Wonderful arrangements. We appreciate your flexibility.
Our guide, Nandih was fabulous. The BEST!
The cars are mostly excellent.
Cactus Tours was great! We loved Madagascar, especially seeing animals and scenery.

Thanks.

Stanley

Cinthya W. – U.S.A – September 2019

All the arrangements went well. Communications was well done.
The hotels were all good. Very special to have my room close the restaurant. Thank you.

Good choice for the itinerary for the camping.
I enjoyed the flora and fauna.
My driver/guide was excellent. He tried to anticipate ahead what I wanted, which was appreciated.

The car was well kept. Good windshield wipers. It was kept clean and the 4 wheel-drive worked. Excellent air condition. The engine was good, the breaks were good, smelled clean. When the battery went bad, a new battery was brought from Tana.

I surely recommend Cactus Tours. A very reliable company.

Thank you.

Cinthya

Michelle F. – Canada – September 2019

The arrangements were good, and I was pleased with the transportation and ease of getting to different destinations.

The hotels were nice. La Varangue was beautiful.
The timing was good. I would have liked to learn a little more about the culture and people.
The drivers and guides were all good.
No complaints with the cars.

We highly recommend Cactus Tours.

Cheers,

Michelle

Ines F. – Austria – August 2019

I liked most of all things we did, just much. I enjoyed the authentic things more. I liked the route a lot. I got to see many different areas at the beautiful country. The timing was very good. I had enough time everywhere to look and to take pictures. I really enjoyed my stay in Madagascar. It was wonderful to see so much nature, the animals and go to learn so much of the culture. My guide was amazing and probably the best thing about my trip. I was able to ask him any thing I wanted to know about the country, the people and the culture. He was proud and happy to share so much with me. I really had a good time with him. Of course, I will recommend you to other people. I will share as much from my visit here and will tell everyone that I had a good and interesting time in Madagascar. It was a pleasure to visit Madagasar and I really enjoyed my time. I got to learn a lot of things I am happy about. Mamy made my trip unforgettable and some of the other guides too. (Liva and Feno were amazing too and shared so much with me). It was a wonderful. Thank you for the great organization that everything went so well and easy and that you were able to do everything so fast!! All the best Ines.

Thore K. and Violetta K. – Norway – Nov 2022

The arrangements were excellent and very well planned. The hotels were very nice, beach or sunset view. Cactus Tours was great!! We absolutely recommend. Rob and I had a great time!! Thank you so much.

Christine R. – U.S.A – August 2019

Timothy M. – United Kingdom – July 2019

Rojo was very helpful in organizing and customizing a tour without flights (thank you!!) About the hotels: Hotel Urban has beautiful room (amazing bath). We recommend the tapas. Vakona: very nice location, good food, good accommodation Palmarium: we loved living so close to the nature and the staff were exceptional. The timing was very good, no really early starts We enjoyed all of our experiences from spotting lemurs to experiencing local culture. Rivo, our driver/guide has been excellent. He’s very friendly and knowledgeable and is always happy to help. A very good driver. The car was large enough to carry a lot of luggage and comfortable for long journeys. Good air-con. We definitely recommend Cactus Tours with its friendly, knowledgeable staff who can taylor make your itinerary to what you’d like to do. We’ve had an amazing time. We are so grateful that Cactus organized wonderful extra experiences for our honeymoon. The dinner at the beach at Palmarium was an excellent surprise and a once in a lifetime experience. Thank you so much to Cactus and Palmarium staff for that. Misaotra. Thimothy.

Danciu Family – Romania – July 2019

All arrangement were just in time.

All the hotels were perfect except from one exception at Olympe de Bemaraha.
The itinerary was perfect and attractive.

We were most interested in Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park, which is superb and Isalo.
Isalo as also very nice.

We had a car problem at Kirindy in Morondava but it was solved very quickly.

For sure, we will recommend Cactus Tours.

Danciu

Jamie G. – Malta – July 2019

We promptly receive replies to al emails. The arrangements were flexible with schedule.
We definitely got what asked for and were very happy with places we visited.

Mamy, our tour guide is 10/10, excellent, helpful and looked after our safety, comfort at all times, polite, friendly and knowledgeable.

Very satisfied with the service throughout.

We definitely recommend your Cactus Tours.
Thank you.

Corina E. – Switzerland – July 2019

The trip was perfect, and all perfectly done.

I absolutely recommend travelers to use Cactus Tours Madagascar.

Corina.

Dag F. – Norway – July 2019

The trip was very well organized.
The hotels were good and in general, the itinerary was great but there could have been extra day in Tsingy or Kirindy.
The drivers and guides have always met us in time. They were excellent. Nandih has been helpful, informative and full on knowledge.

The cars have been good for the purposes and the drivers have held them clean and presentable.
We will surely recommend Cactus Tours Madagascar.
You have given us a very good impression about what Madagascar can offer.

Thank you.
Dag

Armand and Agnese F. – Turkey -June 2019

We planned; we didn’t have to wait for anything. We felt welcome everywhere we went.
All the hotels were lovely! La Mira no hot water, Séjour Centrest not tasty food and the least beautiful, Relais de la Reine: everything was perfect.

The itinerary was well planned. We managed to see as much as we could during our trip.
We saw lemurs, baobabs and beautiful nature and people of Madagascar.
Our car was comfortable and nice.
We enjoyed Madagascar! People are so friendly and nature is very beautiful. Thank you Rina and your team!

Yes!! We recommend you to other people.

Armand and Agnese

Paul F. – U.S.A – June 2019

The arrangements: very good, clear, and quick responses.

The hotels:
– Green palace trio room was great
– At Ifaty, the bungalow on the beach was great.
– Isalo, all great rooms

The itinerary was good and the drivers were flexible and could change tours. Being able to change itinerary was great.
Mamy was excellent. Good driver. Rasolo drove a little fast at times but was very nice.

I think you should give people choice of more traditional hotels or bed & breakfast in Antsirabe. But I did like Holy a lot and the food and traditional dance were great.

We certainly recommend you!!

All the best.

Paul.

Melissa, Emily, G., C.– U.S.A – June 2019

Everything went smoothly.
The food in the hotel in Tsingy was just ok not fantastic.
The itinerary was good but a lot of driving.
The drivers and tour guides were excellent.

Overall, an excellent experience!! Loved what we saw and did.

Thanks so much!!

Joe C. – U.S.A – May 2019

Everything worked out as planned.
Hotels were very good in all cases.
The itinerary was quite good and worked out well.

Because I came to run a Marathon, my timing was based on that. It is a quite time of the year seeing birds, but we did very well.
I wanted to see lemurs and birds and we did it well both actually.
The driver and guides were both excellent as was the local guide, Ludo.

I very much recommend Cactus Tours.

Thank you

Helen B. – Canada – May 2019

Rina was a pleasure to work with and very helpful with trip suggestions.
About the hotels, Relais des Plateaux was good but we stayed briefly.

Vakona forest lodge room was very nice but rusty/moldy smell – the staff was very nice as well as the food.
We loved the Palmarium hotel. Food was excellent and the bungalows were great. We had a wonderful daytime walk!!
Hotel La Pirogue was beautiful with very large bungalow – good food.
Princess Bora lodge was absolutely splendid.

The itinerary was just right.
Celine was a great guide. She was excellent and very knowledgeable and patient. Rado was a very good driver in some difficult roads. He was courteous, helpful and punctual.
The car was also comfortable and clean.

Definitely, we recommend Cactus Tours. It was a wonderful experience.

Well organized and wonderful suggestions for the visits and lodgings.

Helen

Wong C. – Hong Kong – May 2019

All was good. Hotels and arrangements. The itinerary was fruitful and not too packed.
The timing was great. Could not be better.

The driver/guide Rivo is super and helpful and caring. Taking good care of us throughout the trip. Think of every details and precautions for us for every session. Big applause to him. Tour guides of individual sessions are professional.
Definitely, we recommend the Cactus Tours.
Great team to support our trip. Quick reaction to contingency and truly appreciate for your professionalism.

Thank you.

Mr. and Mrs. Wong

Wesam B. – A.E.U – April 2019

Excellent arrangements and very good hotels.
We were interested in Baobabs, lemurs, Tsingy , people and culture and villages.
The drivers were all excellent and very professional.

And of course, we recommend Cactus Tours Madagascar.

Thank you. We enjoyed our trip and had nice memory, photos and great experience.

Behbehani W. – A.E.U – April 2019

Thank you so much for the wonderful trip and experience in Madagascar. We had memorable trip and great photos & learning. Especial thanks to Rina, Mamy and all other guides in our trip.

We highly recommend Cactus Tours. Best-tour company ever, well done!!

Behbehani.

Thomas W. – United Kingdom – April 2019

Excellent and smooth arrangement. Clearly communicated and fast response to mails and flexible. Well communicated whilst in Madagascar too.

The hotels were good and all varied. Setam lodge rooms was basic but great food. La Varangue wasn’t available as booked out. Would like more Malagasy food on hotel menus.

We had an excellent itinerary + well-paced. We didn’t really like the visit of the precious stones shop, nor the reptiles park with things in cages.

We loved all the national parks and would like to have learnt about villages and towns life vs. wildlife.

The drivers and tour guide well excellent!! We felt safe. They are knowledgeable, interesting and approachable and helpful. Lent us money when we got stuck. Organized and good communication.

The cars were comfortable and have lots of rooms for us, luggage and guides.

Yes, we definitely recommend Cactus Tours other people and travelers. We’re amazed more English people don’t come.
Thanks for organizing a fantastic tour. We’ve really enjoyed our experience. Love seeing all the wildlife, going a long treks, easting great local food and experiencing part of Malagasy life.

Thomas.

Jacke L. – USA – April 2019

All were just great from the arrangements to the timing and accommodations.

Thank you so much.

Ulf F. Sweden – March 2019

The arrangements were great !! It made a good use of our time. Very well organized.
About hotels: Vakona forest lodge was outstanding. Fabulous breakfast.

La Varangue was outstanding as well.
Ankarana Lodge was lovely with the swimming pool.
Loharano hotel was nice, great with greed boat tour to beach. Great breakfast. Lunch and dinner not as good.

Our interest on Madagascar is NATURE.
The drivers and tour guide were all great. An extra golden start to the lemur guide at Andasibe.

Overall, a very well organized tour. Would love to come back one day and explore the South.

Thank you.