gassitours - local tour guide in madagascar, tsiribihina river, trip to Madagascar

Testimonials

I was a 20 year old single female travelling to Madagascar for 6 weeks so it was a huge relief to be welcomed at the airport in Tana by Belaza and our driver Alan. I did the Tsiribihina river and Tsingy tour and enjoyed it so much that I ended up doing a second tour of the south. The best part about having Belaza with me the whole time was that it gave me the opportunity to interact with the local Malagasy people and we found ourselves out most nights in the villages drinking THB with them. Belaza really went out of his way to make my trip as easy and memorable as possible. He also took into account that one of my main reasons for visiting Madagascar was to see wildlife (chameleons in particular) so he made sure we saw a lot of them which I was very pleased about. He also included a visit to a reptile reserve (ReserVe Peyrieras) on the way to Andasibe. Thank you for everything Belaza, this really was the trip of a lifetime and I will definitely be back! Veloma! (Karissa, QLD Australia)

I have just returned from the river decent and Tsingy trip in Madagascar with an excellent tour guide called Belaza (gassitours.com).
The tour was very well organised with drivers and guides that are also wonderful people and who Belaza has known for some years. The people, children, wildlife and scenery were nothing short of spectacular. A very carefully orchestrated trip which left me spellbound by the remarkable things I had seen each day.
Belaza went out of his way to make sure our trip was beyond fantastic . I broke my camera by knocking it into a tree chasing Indri Indri around the rainforest, but Belaza took a detour the following day to several camera shops until we could find someone to fix it. He also arranged an additional days activities and a driver at short notice at the end of my trip as I had 48 hours to fill to await my flight.
Belaza took care of everything for us, allowing us to relax and get absorbed in the adventure. He had a detailed knowledge of the history, wildlife, villages and their communities and a fantastic sense of humour. He was keen for us to learn everything and have a wonderful experience of Madagascar. He made us feel very welcome, personalising the trip to meet our specific interests. I felt very safe with Belaza as my tour guide and I will be recommending him to everyone.
I have travelled extensively and this trip is bar far the best I have ever encountered. The whole experience far outweighed my expectations and I would recommend everyone to try the river and Tsingy tour in Madagascar with gassitours.
Elen HICKIE

Just a short note about my recent trip to Madagascar with Gassitours. I arrived at Tana airport at 1.30am (Air Madagascar flight was late) and I was so pleased to be met by Belaza and his driver, they had been sending SMS to me to let me know they were there, I was very glad to see their smiling faces. From then on for the next 11 days I was treated like a "queen", so it became my nickname as they opened doors and helped me through the entire tour. I am a 62 year old female lone traveller and I thought I was fairly fit but their helping hands assisted me into the dugout canoe for the river trip, made me comfortable in my own tent on the sand banks of the river, cared for me on the four wheel drive over some unbelievably rough roads, gave me encouragement and a strong hand to climb over the little Tsingy rocks. It was quite an adventure. I can thoroughly recommend Belaza and his tour company Gassitours which means your money stays in the country for the people of the country. Beleza has his own website Gassitours and you will find him. If you would like to know anything more about Madagascar please just ask and I will try to reply. One hint don’t take Australian Dollars, go for Euros to exchange. Cheers one weary but fulfilled traveller.
Jeanette Ann WILTON ( Australia, May to July 2011)

Dear all

We had a truly fantastic experience in Madagascar, the people we met were all very welcoming and the very different experiences were amazing. Travel in Madagascar is though difficult without a tour guide and had we tried to go it alone we would not have had half the experiences we had. I would recommend Belaza to anyone, he was always friendly and informative, his knowledge of people wildlife and customs in Madagascar is extremely good as his his command of English. Nothing was too much trouble and Belaza seems to know everyone in Madagascar! Finally his sense of fun kept us all going. Don't believe him though when he says everything is 'mora mora' (slowly slowly) he still expects you to get up at the crack of dawn! (though I have to say sunrise in Madagascar is well worth it).
If you wish to spend your holidays in Madagascar, we highly recommend Belaza as your friendly tour guide.

Jill, Sue, Holly
Yorkshire ( August 2010 )

From: Julien (Australia)
During this time I found Belaza's service outstanding in many ways; he was always on time, his English was excellent and I found Belaza always willing to add extra value to our tour to make it the best. Belaza would negotiate with guides, co-ordinate our accommodation and even cook during our river trip, of which, he handled with ease.
The specialty of Belaza is his knowledge of the Malagasy culture and the flora and fauna within the areas we visited. In particular, Belaza took my partner and I to see real Malagasy culture, in his own time, I was very impressed with his dedication. I have travelled to over 30 countries and had many guides; I would rate Belaza as one of the best.

Julien

R. Mailer (Berlin)
We booked the Tsiribihina Tour and the visit of the Tsingy National Park. Belaza was our guide during the 5 day trip. He is a very nice guy and he answered all of our questions to his knowledge. He provides a lot of information about Malagasy culture and translates the name of every little village we went through. During the river descent he worked tirelessly: paddling, cooking, preparing of tents and late night entertainment (some drinks to bring the beautiful day to its end). He speaks English very well, if you he's not speaking French...(he does this too, of course). These trips were organized very well, and met my expectation perfectly.

R. Mailer

From: Heather (Australia)
Belaza was my guide during an 8 day trip from Tana to Morondava. As promised, he was waiting our arrival with his trademark warm and friendly smile. I immediately trusted him, and he lived up to my initial thoughts.
At all times Belaza put the client's needs and wishes ahead of his own giving priority to our comfort and care. He was unfailingly polite, well groomed and always on time. His English was excellent and he was easy-going providing a wonderful learning experience. Belaza was a great cook, managing to cater to our vegetarian needs with ease. His knowledge of the animals, birdlife and Malagasy life was exceptional.
I would recommend Belaza highly.

Heather

From: Krista Doucette
Belaza is very charismatic with a great personality, his English is great (which is not so common) and the adventure tour I was part of was very enjoyable, however not for the faint hearted! Belaza's tour was well organised and suitably flexible to meet the groups' need. His tour gave me great insight into Malagasy life and culture. The highlight for me was Tsingy and also meeting the local children who never seem to tire from shouting "vazaha!".

Krista Doucette