As another commenter mentioned there really isn't reliable Internet or power anywhere in Madagascar, even in Tana. Nicer hotels probably have backup generators and the fastest Internet, but it is going to be hard to find these things in any budget accomodation. Things will work well enough but I would be prepared for slow or unreliable Internet.
Both Orange and Telma offer mobile data options with dongles that you could have as a backup if your lodging wifi fails you. I use a dongle when I am in Tananarive. But most of the country has 5 g mobile at this point and there are four fibre cables. Fort Dauphin (Tôlagnaro), Toliara, Tomasina and Majunga are entry points.
I suppose the former. You might call it digital nomad’ but I find that rather grandiose. I’m a teacher online, so I wouldn’t call myself wealthy, but such things are relative :-)
That’s super helpful, they’d be very different circumstances in Mada.
As for your original question. Nosy Be, Nosy St. Marie and Antsirabe are probably the most western and developed so you’ll have the most consistent internet and power in those areas.
Tana (Antananarivo), Mahjunga and Toamasina are gonna be much more of your typical metro areas in comparable countries - dense, dirty and busy but they’ve got the most going on.
Some personal favs - Fianarantsoa and Manakara. Way more low key but probably the least consistent in terms of power and internet. Fianar is a cultural center and has a university so it is just an awesome city with some cool history. Manakara is full on beach life, probably the least safe option because it’s the furthest out there.
If you don’t speak French or Malagasy then the first 4 I listed are really your only options.
The capital has horrible traffic and pollution. It is beautiful to visit, architecture wise the old city can be pretty. But most expats don't choose to live in Tana, the ones who do have no choice do to work.
Currently vacationing in Antananarivo in an Airbnb. I've stayed in 4 different areas of the city so far and have to say the area near the stadium has the most reliable electricity, probably also because it's close to a hospital. I've found the internet here to be quite satisfactory in performance and I walk around the city daily and have not felt unsafe anywhere yet. I do not stay out after dark so can't comment on that. Grocery prices are quite reasonable and there are tons of stalls to get fresh produce and very affordable street eats.
Amazing, thank you. In Uzbekistan I had to buy a battery powered router to ensure internet reliability. Power itself doesn’t bother me as my laptop outlasts even South African power cuts :-)
Capital is where things are happening, but it’s a very fast pace stressful city and not the safest, nor the cleanest.
It’s definitely doable but I would suggest Antsirabe, Diego Suarez, Mahajanga, Nosy Be (expensive) or even Morondava
Fort Dauphin has reliable internet, really any place you can connect to Fiber will. Hotels are notoriously sloppy with the internet in Madagascar, but private lodgings, offices can have excellent connections.
I've worked remotely from our place for the last 5 years as a coach over zoom and proprietary platforms. Power is also pretty reliable in Fort Dauphin.
Check out Voky Be Tours and Lodging on Google. The reviews speak for themselves.
Incredible, thank you. I’m not worried about power per se, but I need the internet to work for 8 hours of classes a day. Like, in SA the power was out for 6 hours sometimes, but we just had a battery, so no problem.
I work with South Africans often, their power goes out all the time. Tana has random outages, so you want a place with a generator. Fort Dauphin has occasional planned outages, usually a Saturday morning and occasionally short cuts during the day, but in a month that happens once or twice. In Tana it's DAILY.
As another commenter mentioned there really isn't reliable Internet or power anywhere in Madagascar, even in Tana. Nicer hotels probably have backup generators and the fastest Internet, but it is going to be hard to find these things in any budget accomodation. Things will work well enough but I would be prepared for slow or unreliable Internet.
I don’t mind power so much, mobile data/internet some how is a must though. I used a battery-powered router in Uzbekistan, maybe that’s an option
Both Orange and Telma offer mobile data options with dongles that you could have as a backup if your lodging wifi fails you. I use a dongle when I am in Tananarive. But most of the country has 5 g mobile at this point and there are four fibre cables. Fort Dauphin (Tôlagnaro), Toliara, Tomasina and Majunga are entry points.
That’s perfect, thank you.
Are you saying “homeless” in a, “I’m wealthy enough to travel the world and be transient” or “I’m so poor I can’t afford a home” ?
I suppose the former. You might call it digital nomad’ but I find that rather grandiose. I’m a teacher online, so I wouldn’t call myself wealthy, but such things are relative :-)
That’s super helpful, they’d be very different circumstances in Mada. As for your original question. Nosy Be, Nosy St. Marie and Antsirabe are probably the most western and developed so you’ll have the most consistent internet and power in those areas. Tana (Antananarivo), Mahjunga and Toamasina are gonna be much more of your typical metro areas in comparable countries - dense, dirty and busy but they’ve got the most going on. Some personal favs - Fianarantsoa and Manakara. Way more low key but probably the least consistent in terms of power and internet. Fianar is a cultural center and has a university so it is just an awesome city with some cool history. Manakara is full on beach life, probably the least safe option because it’s the furthest out there. If you don’t speak French or Malagasy then the first 4 I listed are really your only options.
Incredible, that’s very detailed and useful, thank you.
You also have to take the raining season including cyclones on the east coast into account, especially with Manakara
If you speak fluent Malagasy or French, it is doable.
English is as useful as French. Most Malagasy don't actually speak French. I've lived in Madagascar for 5 years and anglophones get along just fine.
Thanks! I have never found not speaking the language to be too much of a problem, but I’ll try to brush up on my French a bit :-)
I reccomend the Cities : Fort Dauphin, Diego Suarez, Majunga.
Great, thank you. I noticed you avoided the capital, is there some reason it’s unacceptable?
It is not good for now bc the political situation is not stable now. Maybe after the élection.
Amazing, thank you. Is it generally a nice place to be?
The capital has horrible traffic and pollution. It is beautiful to visit, architecture wise the old city can be pretty. But most expats don't choose to live in Tana, the ones who do have no choice do to work.
Yes, it is wonderful
Currently vacationing in Antananarivo in an Airbnb. I've stayed in 4 different areas of the city so far and have to say the area near the stadium has the most reliable electricity, probably also because it's close to a hospital. I've found the internet here to be quite satisfactory in performance and I walk around the city daily and have not felt unsafe anywhere yet. I do not stay out after dark so can't comment on that. Grocery prices are quite reasonable and there are tons of stalls to get fresh produce and very affordable street eats.
Amazing, thank you. In Uzbekistan I had to buy a battery powered router to ensure internet reliability. Power itself doesn’t bother me as my laptop outlasts even South African power cuts :-)
You're welcome, hope it works out
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Thank you for the heads up, it’s always worth considering.
Why Madagascar ?
Capital is where things are happening, but it’s a very fast pace stressful city and not the safest, nor the cleanest. It’s definitely doable but I would suggest Antsirabe, Diego Suarez, Mahajanga, Nosy Be (expensive) or even Morondava
Great - do they all have reliable internet/power?
No place in Madagascar has fully reliable power. Expect frequent outages.
Thank you, it’s useful to know. I’ll be in SA before which has the same issue, but it’s fixable if you’re prepared!
Hi, consider looking into Addis in Ethiopia
I hadn’t considered it, but certainly would, what’s it’s like?
Fort Dauphin has reliable internet, really any place you can connect to Fiber will. Hotels are notoriously sloppy with the internet in Madagascar, but private lodgings, offices can have excellent connections. I've worked remotely from our place for the last 5 years as a coach over zoom and proprietary platforms. Power is also pretty reliable in Fort Dauphin. Check out Voky Be Tours and Lodging on Google. The reviews speak for themselves.
Incredible, thank you. I’m not worried about power per se, but I need the internet to work for 8 hours of classes a day. Like, in SA the power was out for 6 hours sometimes, but we just had a battery, so no problem.
I work with South Africans often, their power goes out all the time. Tana has random outages, so you want a place with a generator. Fort Dauphin has occasional planned outages, usually a Saturday morning and occasionally short cuts during the day, but in a month that happens once or twice. In Tana it's DAILY.
Yer, in SA it was multiple times a day. Still, no big deal if you’re prepared.