Also known by its colonial French name of Tamatave, Toamasina is the principal port city and second-largest city of Madagascar. We visited it in January 2024 and stayed for three nights before continuing to the country’s remote and pristine northeastern coast.
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Following a 7-hour bus trip from Andasibe, we arrived in Toamasina in the late afternoon. We settled in Hotel Beryl near the bus station. It was basic but cheap and comfy enough for a brief stay. I can recommend it if you’re also looking for an economical and convenient place to crash before traveling further up the coast to places like Mahambo or Sainte Marie. If you’re after a more comfortable stay, you can explore options on the map below.
As our hotel didn’t have a restaurant, I was out shortly after dawn in search of caffeine. There was an open breakfast stall beside our hotel’s entrance. I perched on the ledge with a zinc cup of coffee and, while being a spectacle to the passers-by as much as they were to me, I got to observe the thickening traffic. That consisted almost exclusively of pedestrians, cyclists, rickshaws, and tuk-tuks, with hardly any cars. There was also a peculiar kind of electric tuk-tuks with two passenger seat rows that I hadn’t seen elsewhere in the country, or anywhere for that matter.
As I had to wait for the mobile repair shop to open and change my phone’s screen that had gone kaput while exposed to a storm, we went out to explore at midday. Even with a regular breeze, the heat was violent. The earlier busy streets were now all but vacant. On the brink of passing out from heatstroke, we followed every available vestige of shade to make our way downtown.
We went through a market whose shop owners napped in the shades amid their wares; past the landmark church of Notre Dame de Lourdes whose soaring steeple was visible from much of the city; down the broad Independence Avenue with its palm-studded median strip; and finished on the city’s east-facing beach.
It was bestrewn with make-do food-and-drinks places with plastic tables and chairs under parasols. We sat at one of them and had a coconut and a Coke while enjoying the breeze and the view. The place was a favorite among local families. While parents chilled at the tables, kids sloshed about in the sea and older boys played football barefoot on the sand. Roaming vendors kept passing with baskets of mango, watermelon, peanuts, and prawns.
In the cooler afternoon, we continued our walk along the coast and toward the port on the tip of the city’s promontory. The area was quiet, with only the occasional truck driving in or out from the port area. We then entered the sandy backstreets and visited two nice parks called Place Bien Aimé and Place de la Colonne. Both were shady and pleasant to walk through. The first one featured some imposing, gigantic trees with buttressed trunks resembling the ones of the sacred fig trees.
Our second day in Toamasina was mainly one of preparations for our upcoming trip north. Avoiding yesterday’s mistake, we went out in the early morning to get back to our hotel before noon. We booked our bus tickets, withdrew some money, did some shopping, and looked for a nice breakfast place. We first tried a place called El Barco, which was a favorite among expats. The ambiance was great, but the staff was a bit indifferent, rude, and ironic. We stood up and left while giving our order. We went to another place called Salon de The Naka, which offered friendly service and better prices.
For the rest of the day, we didn’t venture anywhere farther than two meters from our room’s whizzing fan. We only went out at dusk for a walk around the neighborhood and dinner. The city was much livelier in the night than in the day. And then we slept soundly before leaving for Mahambo in the morning.
Toamasina Photo Gallery
View (and if you want use) all my photographs from Toamasina.
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