I travelled from Antsirabe to Morondava (to go and backpack the Avenue of the Baobabs) in a Soatrans Taxi-Brousse, as I couldn’t afford to fly.
If you don’t want to fly to Morondava, the only other option is to endure the 700 km-plus trip in a taxi brousse.
I don’t recommend taking the cheap Taxis-Brousse. They are badly maintained and are prone to breakdowns. And the road is very isolated. If anything serious happens, you are in for a long wait. They will also destroy your soul, even if you are a travel-hardened crazy like me!
So I booked with Soatrans, who run premier taxis-brousse, that make the journey from Antananarivo/Antsirabe to Morondava.
Of course, any vehicle can break down, but Soatrans uses new vehicles that are maintained regularly. They also travel in convoys. Rumour has it that the drivers of the cheap Taxis-Brousse work with the ‘bandidos’, the highwaymen. On one particular stretch, we were three vehicles, travelling nose to tail at 80 km/h, whereas most of the time, we were out of sight of each other.
Make your Antsirabe to Morondava reservation as early as you can. It’s a popular route. The best way to do that is to go to the Soatrans bus terminal and make your booking directly.
I had to wait two days to get a seat, but they also made a reservation for my return journey, which I paid for on arrival.
The road was said to be bad. Well, it is in some places, but compared to the Tana-Toamasina road, it’s good. There are long stretches, in particular the second half from Miandrivazo, which is very good.
How long does it take to get from Antsirabe to Morondava
It is 484 km from Antsirabe to Morondava. If you are coming from Antananarivo, it’s an extra 166 km.
It took me 11 and a half hours. The ’10 am’ left Antsirabe at 11.15 am as it was late coming from Tana.
The fare is just 45,000Ar/€9.
Where to stay in Morondava when arriving on the Soatrans bus:
It will most likely be late when you arrive in Morondava, and the Soatrans agency/depot is two km from the town centre.
Luckily, behind the Soatrans agency/depot is the Anjara Hotel:
Easy to get a room. The security guard shows you your room, and you pay in the morning. For 50,000 Ar, €10, you get a great room. No Wi-Fi, but the generator runs all night, so you can charge your devices.
And then after a good night’s sleep, wander into town at your leisure.
And for the journey back to Antsirabe and Antananarivo, the Soatrans bus leaves at 3 am. Yup. 3 o’clock in the morning. So I stayed again at the Anjara Hotel for convenience.
Room 24 at the Anjara Hotel Morondava, Madagascar:
Room 15 at the Anjara Hotel, Morondava:
The Madagascar stage of the journey is winding down. Here, back in Antsirabe, enjoying the best coffee in Madagascar at La Gourmandise, before taking a bus to Tana:
