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Hilary Bradt
Publisher, travel writer, lecturer and sculptor
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Hilary Bradt 
Plans are afoot to develop a museum in Belo-sur-Mer to preserve and showcase ancestral knowhow around traditional shipbuilding in the region. The museum’s objective is to safeguard and promote this living heritage, while raising public awareness of the ecological issues linked to the sustainability of local artisanal practices. It is a project of the documentary filmmaker Fred Bouvier, co-owner of a traditional 8-person schooner called Nofy Be that was built in the shipyards of Belo-sur-Mer in 2008. The Nofy Be and its crew are available for tourists wishing to make 6- to 10-day cruises, for exploration, diving or fishing; contact: nofy-be.com.
Despite being by far the smallest of Madagascar’s national parks, Nosy Tanikely is now also the most visited of the country’s parks and reserves. As a result, it can get very busy. To avoid the worst of the crowds, visit before 11:00 or after 14:30.
Manga Soa Lodge, located on the western shore of Nosy Be a little way north of Lokobe National Park, is accessed by a 4km (20min) dirt track which starts right outside the airport.
The uninhabited ‘desert island’ where Phillip Schofield’s recent Cast Away mini-series was filmed was Nosy Ankarea in the Mitsio archipelago. Only 20km away, in the same group of islands, is Nosy Tsarabanjina, where Joanna Lumley was cast away for a similar length of time for a 1994 BBC television programme called Girl Friday.
Nosy Be is becoming increasingly connected to the rest of the world, with its airport now directly served by the regular scheduled routes of a total of seven airlines. In addition to the domestic services of Madagascar Airlines subsidiary Tsaradia, there are routes to Dzaoudzi (Ewa Air), Johannesburg (Airlink), Reunion (Air Austral), Addis Ababa (Ethiopian Airlines), Milan/Rome (Neos Air) and Warsaw (LOT Polish Airlines).
The Marine National Park of Nosy Tanikely is increasingly seen written ‘Tanihely’. This is not an error but rather the proper name of the island in the local dialect. As with the national park Lake Tsimanampetsotse (formerly written ending in -a rather than -e), it appears to be the policy of Madagascar National Parks now to use the local dialect spelling.
Eden Lodge (located on Baobab Beach opposite Nosy Be) has a luxury 3-bedroom villa in addition to its 8 tented bungalows. The hotel has built a school (for 150 kids) and dispensary in the nearby village where most of its staff live.
Hell-Ville’s popular bar Nandipo is still open. They sell pizzas, including for takeaway.
Le Papillon restaurant and café in Hell-Ville remains a local favourite. The furnishing and décor are modest but the food is excellent and the prices very affordable. Contact: mob 032 84 791 56; FB: lepapillonresto.
Les Siciliens is a pizza restaurant in Hell-Ville, Nosy Be. Casual Italian-style eatery. Open daily except Thursday. It is located on Rue Albert I, opposite Nandipo. Contact: mob 034 86 102 94; email michel1976@hotmail.it; FB les.siciliens.
There is a BFV ATM outside Nosy Be Airport.
In recent years, aye-ayes have often been seen around Eden Lodge in April and May, as they come to feed on the terminalia tree near the restaurant.
There are no black lemurs on Nosy Tanikely anymore, but common brown lemurs can still be seen there.
Located just south of Vanila Hotel in Nosy Be is its sister hotel, Exora Beach. The hotel has a magnificent swimming pool (and separate children’s pool) next to which is the Exora Falls Bar, as well as two massage rooms. Exora has 24 guest rooms, each with a terrace and sunset view over Sakatia Bay. The rooms are equipped with Wi-Fi, phone, sat-TV, AC, safe, minibar & en-suite facilities. Contact: mob 032 05 360 00; email reservation@exorabeachhotel.com; web exorabeachhotel.com.
In June 2022, Nosy Be’s Vanila Hotel & Spa announced the completion of many months of renovation work, which includes the installation of a beautiful sea-view infinity pool
Kiban Hotel bungalows at 50,000Ar per night, located around 5 minutes from the beach near Ambatoloaka on Nosy Be. Wi-Fi; swimming pool access. Mob 034 39 930 20.
Since 2014, there has been a great deal of development at Mont Passot (in the centre of Nosy Be) to exploit its potential as an ecotourism site – and more is still planned. At the top, there is now an excellent restaurant called The View – so named for its breath-taking panorama – created by Belgian Eric Wyvekens as ecologically as possible and opened in October 2020. It is a contemporary building that uses solar power and groundwater, serving refined cuisine that is cooked with vegetables and poultry grown/raised on the site. Open daily 10.00–22.00 (bar) / 12.00–14.30 & 19.00–22.00 (restaurant); mob 032 69 355 16, 032 25 501 40; email contact@restotheview.com; Facebook restotheview.
The owners of Madaplouf Dive Centre in Nosy Be, Jennifer and Michele, left Madagascar in late 2020. The business now operates under the same name but with new owners Jacques Vieira (of Madagascar Extreme Diving Adventures) and Nicolas Jeanmart (of Menabe Plongée).
Madagascar Extreme Diving Adventures and Menabe Plongée continue to exist alongside Madaplouf Dive Centre, but with a primary focus on liveaboard dive experiences.
The South African founder of Kayak Safaris Madagascar, Bert Spalding, sadly passed away at his home on Nosy Komba in 2020. Bert had been a pioneer of kayak and sailboat cruises in the region during his 16 years there. Kayak Safaris Madagascar will continue under new owner Vincent; the email and website remain as listed in the 13th edition of the guidebook, but the phone number is now 032 11 288 00.