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, sharky line-ups. Toamasina (aka Tamatave) heralds the start of a lush yet desolate coast, open to cyclonic devastation and occasionally some quality surf. The region’s poor infrastructure prevents easy beach access, the SE trade winds can be brutal, and the oceanic real estate is some of the world’s sharkiest. Because this NE coast needs an ESE swell angle, consistent or even good surf is never guaranteed. In Toamasina where swimming is banned due to a huge shark population attracted to the abattoir and pollution, there is some good form on the reef off the port, but it is almost always blown-out, and you would be crazy to enter the water. Up the coast there is resort accommodation near the Foulpointe reefs and hazardous beachbreaks, where steep drop-offs, currents, and lots of rocks reside. Mahambo maintains a small local surf population and 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, Belo sur Mer and onto the coastal town of Morombe, which has air links with the capital.