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Travelers’ testimonials | Travelers’ Reviews 2022
Thore K. and Violetta K. – Norway – Nov 2022
Perfect arrangements, well pre-organized and also great spontaneous re-arrangements and adjustments organized by our driver/guide and by Rina.
The hotels were appropriate choice of accommodation. All hotels were fine, only in Vakona Forest lodge we had really bad breakfast (burned food, old bread). Otherwise OK.
The itinerary was well chosen for the destinations and the combination of visits. Recommendation: longer hikes also in the beginning of the program and not only toward the end.
It was an intense schedule but perfect timing by our driver. Reaching all the destinations on time, perfect scheduling of stops and breaks.
Our wishes and interests were considered. Rivo, our driver guide informed the local guides about our interests. He was an excellent and outstanding driver with perfect driving skills (fast but safe), adjusted the tour to our best and stopped any time for pictures or other needs. Extremely helpful and friendly.
Based on our experience we will recommend Cactus Tours to my colleagues and friends that also plan to visit Madagascar.
We are happy with our tours and still recommend Cactus tours with any doubt.
Thank you for your service!
Thore K.
Violetta K
Charles and Constance C. – United States – October 2022
Everything ran very smooth. Our drivers were always there on time.
About the hotels: La Varangue was very nice – Mantadia Lodge: beautiful grands, great food. Loharano: good food, nice people. Constance lodge was amazing.
Mamy, our driver was an awesome and great guy. Others we only had for a few hours but they were all nice.
We absolutely recommend Cactus. You guys were Great.
We thank you for an absolutely breathtaking experience. You were kind, helpful and just a joy.
P.S Also thank you for helping us to get souvenirs. We appreciate it.
Charles and Constance.
Julia S. – Germany — October 2022
Overall, we were very happy with the arrangements. The communication was incredibly positive. Rojo was always on time top of everything, responding quickly and answering all our questions and requests.
About the hotels: Varangue in Tana was incredible. Nature lodge: great beautiful and comfortable. We were looked after and everything we needed with friendly service!
We were very happy with the itinerary as it was adjusted to our preferences and requests.
The days were packed and sometimes we had extremely early morning with a transfer and then lots of tours during the day. All tours were great but maybe the schedule could have been different. The time from Tana to Andasibe was long as the road was so bad. But our driver was great.
The cars were comfortable. Perhaps consider having phone charger available.
Thank you for helping us having such a great visit to Madagascar!
It can be tiring but totally worth it!
Thanks to Cactus, we could sit back, relax and just enjoy our holidays.
Julia.
Karen K. – Denmark – October 2022
Good arrangements – and thanks for the 81 year birthday cake for my Mom.
We are satisfied as some of the areas is far out.
The itinerary was good. We understand the flight change but would have liked to book 2 nights in Andasibe rainforest from start instead of change.
Madagascar has beautiful nature and interesting culture.
Our guide and driver were both at expectation.
We have been very satisfied. Yes, we recommend Cactus Tours Madagascar.
Karen.
Elmar T. – Estonia – October 2022
Very impressed with Madagascar. The people, the landscape, culture.
Cactus Tours did a wonderful job showing us the country.
Jemmy M. – United States – September 2022
The arrangements were good. Everything sorted easily.
The hotels’ locations were great. Kirindy has good food and service. Olympe: good and service was not so good. Would like local dish on the menu.
The itinerary was good and covered everything.
Our guide was fabulous, explained everything. She was very helpful. The drivers were good especially Michele.
We recommend Cactus Tours as the tour was great.
It was a busy tour but well worth it.
Jemmy.
Laura K. – United Kingdom – August 2022
The tour was very well organized. Planning was easy and trip was fulfilling!
We love Madagascar.
All hotels very high standard and wonderful to stay in! We really appreciate the flexibility of Vanivola in particular, and the quality of food at Lemur’s Lodge!
The itinerary was GREAT!. We were able to pack a lot in 10 days and always stay busy and relaxed.
The timing was generally good. It did rain for few days in Ile Sainte Marie and Andasibe which did limit some activities but all amazing otherwise.
Our Instagram profiles have changed FOREVER!!
The guides were also great. We really loved Faly. An excellent driving skills in a rocky roads. Ludo’s sense of spotting the smallest chameleons and mouse lemurs and Rivo’s patience and flexibility in last minute change. All great.
Madagascar has so much to ofer and we need to spread the word about Cactus Tours and the destinations here.
10/10 and thank you again for helping the house keys back from Vanilla. You’re the best!!
Misaotra!!!
Laura K.
Andrew M. – United Kingdom – July 2022
The arrangements were all clear though a couple of things on our itinerary were missed: the volcanic lake and the rickshaw ride at Antsirabe and the visit in Ambalavao.
Some hotels were fantastic: Relais de la Reine, La Varangue, Plumeria, Vakona Lodge, Thermal hotel all good too. Relais du Kirindy was nice but lack of water and some electricity problem when at Laguna beach was fine. Unfortunately, we had bad service at Olympe de Tsingy and it was less clean but we understand it was the best available at the time.
We really appreciated the daily briefing of the next day’s schedule. More information about the length of the drives when arranging the itinerary would be very helpful just for preparing ourselves.
Madagascar is absolutely outstanding. The national parks are all incredible and so different from each other! We love all of them.
Our guides and drivers: Nandih and Dimby were fantastic, very warm, enthusiastic and professional! We loved that they had different styles. Appreciate their knowledge and help and always felt we were at safe hands. Local guides were great too.
The cars were great – clean, and roomy and very comfortable. There was a problem with the A/C in the car Dimby drove but we managed.
Yes, we absolutely recommend Cactus Tours.
Having now experienced Madagascar, we are very happy we booked a private tour with Cactus. The value, flexibility and level of care was excellent.
We really enjoyed our experience with Cactus. From making the itinerary, quick answers to all our questions, to all the support while in Madagascar. Everything was great. A special thanks for arranging large part of our trip on our behalf to accommodate us falling ill. We were so grateful that this meant we didn’t have to miss any of the most important parts of our trip. We will definitely recommend Cactus and Madagascar to everyone – Thank you!
Andrew.
Lucianara F. & Luis C. – United States – July 2022
The schedule was tigh (our choice) and everything went well.
As expected in Kirindy and Tsingy and above our expectations in Andasibe. We just did not appreciate that none was able to take our credit cards.
The program was tight but good. Your staff is great. Always on time, despite our health incidents.
The driver and guides could not be better. Amazing
The cars were great for Kirindy and Tsingy. OK for Andasibe. A 4wd would be better given the poor road conditions.
Definitely, we recommend Cactus Tours. Yes we will.
It was an unforgettable experience. Thank you so. Much for your attention and dedication! Beautiful country, with beautiful people. Remarkable!
Lucianara and Luis
Cecilia C. – Argentine – July 2022
The arrangements were excellent. All the details were taken care of. Rojo replied promptly and organized everything flawlessly. The itinerary was well planned.
We were interested in baobabs and lemurs and we saw both.
We also got to see many other things, all wonderful.
The drivers were highly skilled. Very professional and kind.
The guides were excellent, especially Ms. Manda. She took care of very need of us. She tailored her guiding to our interests. She kept a note of every animal and plants that we encountered and was always checking that the hotels were up to the standards. She was patient and very knowledgeable. She was passionate and fun.
The other guides at Tsingy, Kirindy and Andasibe were excellent too.
We will recommend 100% this company to everyone I know.
Thank you Cactus Tours for showing us the beauty of your country. We will remember this trip forever. We have learned a lot from Malagasy people.
A point to review is the payment gateway for credit card to use one that is more secure.
Cecilia.
Steve V. d. P – United Kingdom – July 2022
We had excellent communication up to and including our time in Madagascar.
The hotels in Tana could be located closer to the airport between flights. Ludo and Dimby were excellent guides.
The itinerary was also excellent. Great for what we asked for and the timing was good.
It was nice of you to meet with us and welcome us at the start Rina.
Yes, we recommend Cactus Tours.
Steve.
Jennifer Z. – United states – June 2022
We loved all. The itinerary was very good and timing as perfect.
The guides and drivers were all great.
We will definitely use Cactus Tours again when we return.
Jennifer.
Jessica S. – United States – June 2022
The arrangements were good. Rina was responsive by email and helpful in making adjustment to the itinerary.
The hotels were very good and comfortable.
The itinerary was good but the afternoon forest walk at Kirindy on the day of arrival from Morondava was not necessary becayse there were not so many animals going out this time of day.
The driver/guide was friendly, polite and a safe driver. He planned each day well and I appreciated the trust. He bought snack for the drive and for hikes.
I do recommend this company.
Jessica
Hannah E. – United Kingdom – May 2022
We had a very good communication with Rina before the tour we organized at the very last minute and Rina accommodated all of our requests.
The hotels were very good and comfortable.
The itinerary was also excellent – very well planned.
Timing was all perfect (although we wish we could have stayed longer).
The parks were amazing. Journey: lots of opportunity for learning about Malagasy culture.
The driver was fantastic, professional, knowledgeable and very friendly. He went above and beyond to provide a great experience and looked after us so well. The car was very clean, comfortable and reliable.
The driver and the local guides worked together really well to provide a professional and excellent experience. They are knowledgeable and passionate about what they do and we learned so much whistle having a great time.
Cactus’ staff were so professional from start to finish – booking airport pick-up and during the tour we were very impressed and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Cactus.
Thank you!!
Hannah
Dianne E. – Germany – April 2022
All the arrangements were very good. Everything worked as planned and was chosen very wisely for my time frame.
The hotels were excellent, very clean, the personnel were friendly and helpful.
The drivers were both very nice, attentive, well trained and I felt safer and lucky being with them.
Regarding the timing, it was perfect, always ready to appointment. My dream of it were less nice than the reality.
We are definitely recommending you.
It was magic. One of the best time of my life.
Thank you.
Dianne
