Toamasina
Introduction
Toamasina, whose name means "like salt" or "salty", sits on Madagascar's east coast on the Indian Ocean and serves as the capital of the Atsinanana region. You may also see it called Tamatave, the name used unofficially and in French, or Port aux prunes as it was known in the past. It is the country's chief seaport, lying northeast of Antananarivo, Madagascar's capital and largest city.
Before you go
Before you go, know that practical safety information for Toamasina is limited, so plan to gather current local advice from official sources before you travel. Check your government's travel advisories for Madagascar and confirm your route, accommodation and onward transport in advance, since you won't be able to rely on a detailed safety section here.Getting there
Toamasina is reachable by air, road, bus and rail. Air Austral flies in from Saint-Denis de La Réunion, and you can also use Air Austral to travel via Réunion onward to Mauritius or Nosy Be. Madagascar Airlines, with an office on Avenue De Independence, connects the city with Antananarivo and Sainte-Marie.
- By car: the drive from Antananarivo covers 355 km and takes about six hours.
- By bus: Cotisse Transport runs to and from Antananarivo, a journey of roughly nine hours, with several departures a day.
- By train: trains leave Toamasina railway station every Saturday for Moramanga, 152 km away, passing through Brickaville at the 102 km mark.
Getting around
Toamasina's centre is compact and flat, so walking covers most of it. Avenue de l'Independence and the seaside strip put shops, markets and eateries within easy reach of one another, and the waterfront running north from the city hall is a pleasant stretch to wander, with port views and scattered bars and restaurants. Two things to keep in mind: street planning is inconsistent and streets are not always clean, and taxis are considered necessary after dark, so plan your day so you are not relying on walking once the light goes.
The signature way to move around is the pousse-pousse, a bicycle rickshaw available throughout the city and the affordable choice for short hops; motorised tuk-tuks and conventional taxis are also widely available. Agree the price before you board any of them, not after, and expect to pay more at night. Town taxis can be hired by the hour, half-day or for out-of-town excursions, but confirm explicitly whether the driver covers fuel or whether it comes out of your agreed price. There is no metro, tram or useful urban bus network, so rickshaws and taxis are your best bet in town. For leaving the city, taxi-brousse minibuses run from the local taxi park (sometimes more than one, serving different directions), where touts compete for your business; keep your luggage with you rather than letting it be loaded onto the roof straight away, or you can end up stuck in an empty vehicle that will not leave for hours. A useful trick is to enlist a town-taxi driver to help you book a seat on a vehicle about to depart. An ordinary bag of around 20 kg travels free, anything beyond that incurs a negotiable supplement, and front seats with seatbelts cost noticeably more. Scheduled coaches to Antananarivo are a more predictable alternative. National Road 2 leads west to the capital and National Road 5 north to Maroantsetra. Rail is a curiosity rather than a solution: the train runs weekly to Moramanga via Brickaville, and reservations are all but impossible to secure in advance, so go to the station the day before and allow a large scheduling window. Cycling is not practical for most visitors, given insufficient bike lanes and difficult traffic and road conditions.
Where to stay
Budget options cluster along Boulevard de la Libération and its neighbours, within walking distance of the beach and the bar scene. Hotel Plage is an old, rundown place with large doubles and their own cold-water bathrooms, handy for the bars and about five minutes from the sand. Hotel Mahatoky, behind the Cotisse transport stop, offers clean doubles with or without private bathrooms and mosquito nets in every room. JRJ Hotel, opposite the FJKM Betela church in Bazarikely, has clean air-conditioned doubles with hot-water bathrooms, cable TV and free Wi-Fi. Beryl Hotel in Tanambao provides doubles with private bathrooms and free Wi-Fi, and Hotel Les Flamboyants is another option on Rue de la Libération.
For something more comfortable, Hotel Joffre on Boulevard Joffre is a classic old-style property, fully renovated, in the downtown area, with an excellent French restaurant. Rooms on the top floor get very hot from the sun on the roof, so aim for the first floor. It has both an old wing and a new wing, with doubles, twins and family rooms in each.
Food & drink
Toamasina keeps eating and drinking simple, and the budget end of things is where most of the action is. LA Terrasse is a bar and restaurant serving food and drinks at good prices, making it an easy choice if you want a full meal without spending much.
- LA Terrasse — bar and restaurant, good-priced food and drinks
- Sarkis Bar — on Boulevard De La Liberation, for a drink
What to see and do
Toamasina's most prominent landmark is Saint Joseph Cathedral, known in French as the Cathédrale Saint-Joseph de Toamasina, a stop worth making as you get your bearings in the city. For something on a larger scale, head for the Canal des Pangalanes, a waterway both man-made and natural that effectively runs halfway down Madagascar's east coast. Overnight trips along it are possible, and the boat service is run by a French operator who only departs when there are enough passengers, so it pays to ask early. Enquire at the Hotel Joffre or at the travel agents nearby to arrange a place.When to go
Toamasina has a trade-wind tropical rainforest climate, so there is no true dry season and rain is possible at any time of year. Temperatures stay fairly constant, dipping slightly in July and August, while January and February are the warmest months and also fall within the wettest stretch of the year, bringing heat alongside heavy rain.
- September to November: the noticeably drier stretch, offering your best odds for drier conditions and more comfortable outdoor exploring, though rain still falls.
- February to April: the wettest period, with frequent and heavy rain that can leave travel soggy and disrupt outdoor plans.
- July and August: the coolest months, milder than the rest of the year, but still wet enough that rain remains possible.
Three days in Toamasina
Day one: Arrive in Toamasina, the main port city of Madagascar on the Indian Ocean, in the Atsinanana region. The city is also known by its French name, Tamatave. Before you check in, note that Air Austral connects Saint-Denis on La Réunion, and there are also links to Mauritius and Nosy Be, while Madagascar Airlines serves the route from Antananarivo. Start your stay along Avenue De Independence, the main avenue, and take in the town's port character.
Day two: Travel onward from Toamasina by Cotisse Transport, which runs a scheduled service on Saturday. The route follows the National Road through Moramanga and Brickaville, on the way toward Antananarivo. If you prefer the coast, Sainte Marie and Maroantsetra are among the places reachable from the city.
Day three: Return to Avenue De Independence and agree a plan for your final day in town. Two days are enough to see the main streets, so use the time to revisit what you liked along the avenue before your onward travel.