What it is necessary to bring
Your luggage should ideally weigh 12 kg maximum due to the numerous transshipments and portages. We recommend a classic travel bag or a
What you need to know
We systematically organize a friendly briefing the day before each departure around 4 p.m. in our premises. This is very important, regardless of the duration
Madagascar climate
The island of Nosy Bé, in the northwest of Madagascar, is the starting point for our trips to the Malagasy “Great Land” Our universe
Local people
We're talking here about the Sakalava people of the north-western coastal region of Madagascar between Nosy Be and Majunga (400 km of coastline). Physical characteristics,
The dhows of Madagascar & Alefa
What is a dhow? These are solid, good-running boats, intended for transport; and their shallow draft allows them, as
The pirogues of Madagascar & Alefa
The Sakalava pirogue is a member of the large "outrigger pirogue" family found mainly in Asia, Polynesia and South America.
Madagascar Fauna and flora
Until the beginning of the 2000s, very few scientists were interested in this 320 km stretch of coast without any road access (not even
A typical day with Alefa
During each of the cruises we offer in northern Madagascar, we get up early (about 6:00 a.m.), because we have to leave early.
Water supply in bush villages
Ten years of partnership between Alefa and Ranomamy Ten years ago, water flowed for the first time from the newly installed hydrant.
Madagascar
The "Grande Terre": that's what Nosy Be calls the Malagasy coastline, which unfurls its silent mystery off to the south.
Pirogues and dhows have been sailing up and down this coast for centuries, and we are extremely fortunate to be able to sail in this region, which we consider to be unique in the world; light and limpid air, underwater diversity, specificity of the primary coastal forests, mangrove networks, endemic plant species (over 80%), endemic bird species (over 60 %), a climate bordering on the indecent due to its regularity, the absence of trade winds between Nosy Be and the Radama islands, the calm of the sea, the kindness and humor of the Sakalavas, the visual harmony of the villages, the deep-rooted relationship with tradition and the sacred.....
The world we visit exudes a rare, authentic sense of freedom that is best appreciated with your feet in the sand, your head in the stars, your nose in the water lilies, or aboard a pirogue or sailing dhow.
English 
French 
