Location
Tulear is the capital of the southwest! At first impression it can seem to be a dusty, poor town that is halfway falling apart. After you spent a day or two, riding around in the Puss Puss and getting chatted up by pretty much anyone who passes by you will start to enjoy Tulear. It lacks heavy traffic, there is good nightlife and there are some really good restaurants as well as cheap & decent hotels to stay at. Besides being the take off point to surf destinations Anakao (south by boat) and Ifaty/Mangily (north by car) Tulear has some good waves itself! Local surfing crew in Tulear counts up to 4-5 people :)
Surf/Spot description
Joey’s – This is the north end of the Tulear Reef, another left hander, perhaps 2 km off shore. You will find it at the 1st of the three Light Towers, coming from the north. Best at high tide, at low tide the bare reef sticking up from the water might scare you away anyway. SE is offshore.
Pete’s – Discovered by a local Vazaha who is still living in Tulear (and regularly surfing this wave), Pete’s is a really beautiful surf spot, as well as a rare one in the area because you can actually paddle out! Overlooking the sand dunes of Tulear, you will find Pete’s peeling of just 1.5 km north east of Joey’s. A great fun left breaking over reef/sand
Pete’s – Discovered by a local Vazaha who is still living in Tulear (and regularly surfing this wave), Pete’s is a really beautiful surf spot, as well as a rare one in the area because you can actually paddle out! Overlooking the sand dunes of Tulear, you will find Pete’s peeling of just 1.5 km north east of Joey’s. A great fun left breaking over reef/sand
Many hotels in different price ranges and standards. Since you probably want to stay close to the sea (boats to Anakao, arrangement with boats to take you out to Tuelar surf etc) I would recommend staying in Manatana, Le Recif or one of the hotels in this street that is going along the beach/small boat harbor.
How to get there
Assuming you are starting your trip in Antananarivo :
To Tulear
If you rent a car it takes you 2 days to arrive in Tulear assuming you do not drive by night (not recommended) and you spend your days mostly driving . However, RN7 is BEAUTIFUL and if you have made the decision to rent a car you should spend at least 3 days or more, taking your time and getting to know the different parts of Madagascar as RN7 includes different pieces.
If you go by Taxi Brouse they leave around 16ish from Antananarivo, or gathering time is 16.00, Taxi Brouse) leaves when it is full. Usually you arrive in Tulear at 9ish in the morning the day after.
If you prefer to fly there are daily flights to Tulear, sometimes via Fort Dauphin. Another good idea, if you are just interested by the south west area of Madagascar is to look for flights to Reunion Island. From there you can find direct flights to Tulear. This might actually end up being the cheapest option to get here.
To Tulear
If you rent a car it takes you 2 days to arrive in Tulear assuming you do not drive by night (not recommended) and you spend your days mostly driving . However, RN7 is BEAUTIFUL and if you have made the decision to rent a car you should spend at least 3 days or more, taking your time and getting to know the different parts of Madagascar as RN7 includes different pieces.
If you go by Taxi Brouse they leave around 16ish from Antananarivo, or gathering time is 16.00, Taxi Brouse) leaves when it is full. Usually you arrive in Tulear at 9ish in the morning the day after.
If you prefer to fly there are daily flights to Tulear, sometimes via Fort Dauphin. Another good idea, if you are just interested by the south west area of Madagascar is to look for flights to Reunion Island. From there you can find direct flights to Tulear. This might actually end up being the cheapest option to get here.