Travel Guide Sainte-Marie

Sainte Marie (160 km² with a population of some 22,000) lies equidistant from Toamasina and Antongil Bay. The adventure begins at the airport in the south of the island. You'll be greeted by the hoteliers who have come to pick up their guests in station wagons, minibuses or 4x4s. The drive to the hotel is the start of your discovery of the island, which is 60 km long and 6 km wide.Ambodifotatra is Sainte-Marie's main town, with around 12,000 inhabitants. It is also the island's main port, the starting point for sea escapades and sea links with the Grande Ile. Here you'll find two banks, the main pharmacy, the hospital, souvenir stores and the island's main shops.The south (west, in fact) coast between the town and the airport is home to most of the island's hotels. However, don't imagine any buildings, shopping malls or the like, either near or far. The structures are small and for the most part well integrated into their surroundings. The road is paved (20 min by scooter from the airport to the center). The northern road is paved as far as the entrance to the natural swimming pool, in the village of Ambodirano, at the extreme north of the island. Bush cabs run as far as Ambodirano.The east coast is the wildest on the island and also the least built-up. Access is not always easy. There are some great excursions to be made in the area, on tracks lined with typical villages, or by pirogue in the mangroves...Towards more sustainable development. The Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) has made Sainte-Marie a pilot site for integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) to combat the ecological disaster caused by overfishing in the region. Indeed, in addition to the mono-activity of the locals, the Chinese have invested in the region and exceed the limits imposed by the State: in Majunga, crab has practically been eradicated, as has lobster in the south, and hundreds of fishermen plunder the coral reef in Sainte-Marie on a daily basis. The creation of the Anjaranay community training and health center (www.anjaranay.org) next to Boraha Village is part of this diversification strategy. Its mission is to offer an economic alternative to fishing by developing aquaculture, agriculture and handicrafts on the east coast.