Mamirano Lodge

Location: Mamirano Bay Ecolodge is a small rustic hotel located on the splendid beach of Ambatomilo, in the south-west of Madagascar. Welcome to the most beautiful off the beaten track lagoon of Madagascar. This is one of the best-kept beach secrets in Madagascar, it’s extremely isolated and completely unknown. During the tides, the sea goes away very far, around 1.5 km away from the beach, transforming the beach into a white desert. This is absolutely incredible and truly magical! It looks almost like the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia!

How to get here: To get here you will have to fly to Toliara (TLE) and then travel through deep sand tracks and remote villages in a 4×4, as the sand can make it hard to control the car. Driving time between Tulear and Ambatomilo is around 5 hours. You will need an experienced local driver as the location is really remote and you can get lost and stuck very easily.

Structure: Mamirano has stylish, simple, but authentic bungalows with quite modern bathrooms. It is placed 10 min walk from the glamping of Mikea Lodge. The host is an excellent cook who buys fresh seafood from local fishermen. In this isolated paradise you will eat as in a 5-star hotel! If you don’t like fish or seafood, she cooks excellent home-made pasta and other recipes. You will experience sensational sunsets, when the gigantic sun and the clouds are playing with all palettes of colors in the sky.

Why staying here: This is one of the best places to stay in Ambatomilo. Ambatomilo is part of the Great Barrier Reef of Tulear, creating one of the most beautiful lagoons in Madagascar and worldwide. Due to the reef, this part of the coast has shallow lagoons with sensational scenery and sea color. When the pirogues float on this turquoise water it seems like if they are flying. Totally surreal scenes! You can do some amazing trips to visit white sand dunes, a very cool baobab forest and the Assassin’s Bay.