Madagascar

Where to surf in Madagascar

Madagascar is surprisingly under-explored, particularly in the north where swell is far less reliable. Even in the regularly surfed south, large gaps await the curious between Vezo Reefs and the beginning of the Southwest Madagascar zone, as well as the swell overloaded SE-facing coast from Cap Sainte Marie to the Southeast Madagascar region and the beginning of the east coast. With few issues around crowding in the surf, plus particularly slow and difficult travel logistics to get around the world's 4th largest island, Madagascar is a surf destination for the adventurous and intrepid.

East Coast

The vast bulk of the east coast is featureless, windblown beachbreak, punctured by more rivermouths depositing murky, silt-laden water into unappealing, and what have long been considered sharky line-ups. Toamasina (aka Tamatave) actually has some good potential breaks on the bulbous headland and coral cay of Ilay Harandriaka Lehibe that help shelter the commercial port and the local fishing fleet help deter sharks in the area. Heading north up the lush yet desolate, straight coastline, there's not much quality surf or easy beach access, until the barrier reef at Foulpointe where resorts, hotels and golf courses make use of the naturally protected lagoon. Foulpointe reef is super wind-exposed and the beachbreaks that form in the reef gaps tend to be hazardous, where steep drop-offs, currents, and lots of rocks reside.

Because this NE coast needs an E swell angle, consistent or even good surf is never guaranteed and short-period windswell is often accompanied by strong SE onshores. There's more tourist accommodation near Mahambo, which maintains a small local surf population that ride a relatively reliable righthand reef that breaks close to the beach, is glassy in the morning offshores and even handles a bit of SE wind. There are also a few funky, shallow right and left reefbreaks in the vicinity.

In the Northeast are plenty of nooks and crannies to explore if you have a solid 4WD truck and driver/Malagasy translator. Up there, several points and countless reef passes beckon, and the rest of the coastline up to Diego Suarez, including Baie d’Antongil is absolutely loaded with potential greatness. Wind blown Ile Sainte-Marie is fenced by a massive barrier reef that curves in the south, has a pass in the middle and ends before the northern tip where rocky rights and lefts have been ridden. Of course, access is the problem throughout this region and a sturdy, ocean going boat trip would be the answer.

West Coast

The Mozambique Channel has a bit of a reputation for unpredictable seas and forms a 1000km long corridor that ranges from 1000km wide down to a 460km squeeze at Tambohorano, Madagascar. Here the coastline is gouged by large estuarine rivermouths connected by straight sandy beaches and the migrating bars pile up some impressive looking left set-ups. Of course muddy rivermouths in the Mozambique Channel are the last place surfers are looking, given the perceived shark threat. There are also long left points on the SW-facing coast opposite the tiny specks of near shore islands that also could be worth a scout around in the boat you would need to scope this coast. The French territories of Juan de Nova, Basses de India and Europa sit in deeper water, ringed by coral in atoll and fringing format, creating a shipping hazard, but little else. Back on the “big island”, the crazy sand deltas continue down the west coast past Morondava (which has air links with the capital), Belo sur Mer and onto the coastal town of Morombe. These areas can produce epic sandspit lefts but only on the biggest SW swells.