Île Sainte-Marie

Getting There:

There are a handful of companies that make the crossing between the mainland and Île Sainte-Marie. Cap Sainte-Marie have been doing the crossing longest, though they have had issues in the past. Blue Marine, a newer outfit, also provides safe passage to the beautiful island. Both agencies leave from Toamasina early in the morning and are roughly the same price (Blue Marine is a little more pricey but not too much to make a difference). So how do you pick which one?

It all depends on whether you prefer to be on a Taxi Brousse or on a boatfor longer. Cap Sainte-Marie's Taxi Brousse ride is roughly 3-4 hours to the ship, and their crossing from mainland to the island is roughly an hour. Blue Marine, on the other hand, offer a shorter bus ride of around an hour and a longer crossing of around 3-4 hours. So it really depends. Personally we enjoyed being on the top deck of the boat more than a crowded brousse so it was Blue Marine for us. The bonus of this was we even got to see quite a few Whales during the crossing.

You can book your return once on the island (you can generally book up to the day before your desired departure).

Where to Stay:

Once you get to the island, you will be surrounded by people trying to lure you to their respective hostels, scooter hires, restaurants and bars. Some are useful, some not so much. If you have already booked your hostel/hotel then you can take a tuk-tuk, if you have light baggage you may consider renting a scooter. Our hotel was 30km north of the main town so we booked a taxi to take us there. We stayed at Le Bon Endroit as we were a big group. It worked out at around $60 each for 5 nights including food. The remoteness from the main town and the private beach made you feel completely at ease and relaxed. Free kayaking and snorkelling was a bonus and the seafood cooked by Arnaud (the manager) was delightful.

Things to Do:

There are plenty of things to do on the island and hiring scooters to get around may seem expensive at first ($20 a day compared to $3 a day in Thailand) but it is definitely worth it. On the first day, Arnaud took us to the waterfall and natural pools nearby for a swim and then we took the snorkelling gear and went for an exploration of the nearby corral reefs. In the evening, we spotted some more Humpback Whales roughly 100 meters from the beach, see the amateur footage below.

On the second day on the island we hired some scooters to head to le Piscine Naturelle on the North Eastern side of the island where the dangerous Pacific Ocean waves crash into the rocks and form three beautiful natural pools to swim in. Here we enjoyed a quick dip in the pools and some rum in fresh coconuts.

The next day, a couple of us took one of the sea kayaks out to find some snorkelling spots. About 1km off the coast we found ourselves within 3 meters of two Humpback whales. This is a moment neither of us will ever forget, both frightening and exhilarating at the same time, and a memory that will be cherished forever.

The last evening on the island was spent in the town in order to be closer for the 4AM crossing back to the mainland. The town is not your usual backpacker haven and is actually pretty quiet. We ended up having dinner, playing some pool and hitting up a few of the bars.