Nosy Be
A resort island off Madagascar's northwest coast, with white-sand beaches, ylang-ylang plantations and island-hopping. Seasonally, you can swim with whale sharks
Nosy Be, meaning 'big island', covers about 320 square kilometers and is Madagascar's most established island resort. The main town, Andoany (formerly Hell-Ville), has colonial-era buildings and a market. In the northwest, the Andilana and Ambatoloaka beach areas have the highest concentration of resorts and restaurants. The island is dotted with ylang-ylang plantations, the source of a perfume ingredient, which has earned it the nickname 'Perfume Island'. Popular activities include: taking a boat to hop between islands and snorkel with turtles at the Nosy Tanikely Marine Protected Area; visiting Nosy Iranja, where two small islands are joined by a white sandbar at low tide; seeing black lemurs on Nosy Komba; spotting nocturnal lemurs in Lokobe Nature Reserve; and climbing Mont Passot, the island's highest point, to see a volcanic crater lake and the sunset. From September to December is whale shark season, when you can join boat trips to swim with whale sharks, following distance rules. In October and November you may also see humpback whales and Omura's whales. Fascene Airport (NOS) has flights to Antananarivo and some international routes. On the island, you can hire a car with driver or rent a motorbike.
Opening hours
All day
Nearby sights
- Mont Passot
- Lemuria Land
- Hell-Ville (Andoany)
- Hell-Ville Market
- Lokobe National Park
- Sacred Tree of Mahatsinjo
- Andilana Beach
- Ambatoloaka