Weather in Madagascar

Madagascar's best travel window is from April through October, when the dry season brings clear skies, accessible roads, and comfortable temperatures across most of the island. May and September are widely considered the sweet spots — before and after the most popular school holiday crowds — with lush green landscapes from the recent rains still visible in some areas. The west and south are drier and more accessible year-round, while the eastern rainforest receives rain throughout the year and is best visited from September to November.

The wet season from November through March brings cyclone risk along the east coast and north, heavy rains that can make dirt roads impassable, and intense heat, particularly in the south. However, this period sees baby lemurs and reptiles in abundance, spectacular waterfalls at full flow, and rice paddies at their most vivid green. Whale watching season runs from July to September along the northeast coast near Île Sainte-Marie, where humpback whales come to breed in the warm waters of the Mozambique Channel — a genuinely extraordinary wildlife experience.