Madagascar break: Day 5

Nosy Be
An island in the north of the island

This small island of 321 km2 is without doubt THE seaside destination of Madagascar. It's got it all: a delightful, tiny capital, Hell Ville; beaches fringed with coconut palms; a hotel infrastructure and activities to die for; countless boutiques; restaurants and discos; Ambatoloaka, a small resort with very hot nights; pretty little satellite islands that can be reached in 30 minutes; and a hinterland buried in lush vegetation. Nothing like what you'll find on the other islands of the Indian Ocean. Everything is more real, more simple. Even if you can easily guess that, behind the charm of the palm-fringed walls of the huts that spring up everywhere, are hidden brave lives that are not easy every day.

Millot plantation
Gone with the wind

The trees are a hundred years old, and so is the house. It's white with colonnades and, fittingly, set at the end of a majestic avenue of mango trees. All that's missing is the crinolines and lace to give you an African version of Scarlett O'Hara's life. As for the rest, it's all there: the workers busy around large stills, the delicious perfume distilled by the ylang-ylang flowers, the cocoa beans spread out in the sun... Master chocolate-makers come from all over to get their supplies here, because, as Magdalene Agha Dunoyer, the director, likes to say, "the beans produced here are among the best in the world". Groups are welcome here, and are set up in large tents with a touch of "out of Africa" about them, and invited to dine under the tall trees. As you might expect, the kitchens have prepared some fantastic chocolate cakes for dessert.

Plantation Millot. BP 23 Ambanja
- Tel.: + 261 32 04 631 24
- E-mail : madoagha2000@yahoo.fr

The hotel
Le Royal Beach : Nosy Be by the sea

Its strength lies in its location, 15 minutes from Hell Ville, the capital of Nosy Be island, and 30 minutes from Fascène airport: no mean feat when you consider the island's improbable road network. As a result, all kinds of excursions are possible, in the hinterland as well as on the sea. In itself, the hotel, although it boasts four stars and a certain level of comfort, is not exactly an architectural prodigy. It's a little stiff on the plastic side, something from the 70s that the charming shingled roofs don't manage to lift. The rooms, all with balconies and furnished in rosewood, are set around a garden, a swimming pool and a beach restaurant. In the evening, however, the second restaurant, the Nautile, overlooking the beach and serving inventive cuisine, is the place to be.

42 rooms, 6 suites, 3 villas, 2 restaurants, boutique, swimming pool, hammam, sauna and events room for 120 people. BP 58, Hellville, 207 Nosy Be
- Tel.: + 261 32 05 322 44
- E-mail. : royalbeach@royalbeach.mg
- Internet: www.royalbeach.mg

Alternative
Hotel Amarina: a little corner of paradise

And then the asphalt suddenly stops. You have to insist, really insist, for the driver to agree to leave the would-be walkers there. And yet, the two or three kilometre adventure on this path, on this gap in the earth that sometimes cuts through the tropical forest, sometimes through the ylang ylang plantations, is well worth it. You walk past huts buried in the green. You meet locals who are quick to smile. You listen out for the unfamiliar sounds of the forest, the songs of birds that are just as unfamiliar. Suddenly, at the turn of a hairpin bend: the dazzling reception hall of the Amarina hotel, almost incongruous at the end of so much nature. The gigantism, the luxury, the profusion of island woods, the sea breeze, the perfection of the welcome... All of this is reminiscent of the extreme sophistication of the best Mauritian establishments. The rest is the same: a sublime unspoilt beach, landscaped pools, bars and restaurants. And, on two levels, 58 rooms in 15 villas, all on the beach, all overlooking the sunset. Marcello Spadoni, the manager, is particularly attentive to the needs of business tourism groups. The Hotel Amarina is also very committed to sustainable development.

BP 202, Hell Ville 207, Nosy Be, Madagascar
- Tel: + 261 20 86 921 28.
- Skype: resa-amarina
- Internet : www.amarinahotel.com