• Testimonial from Alain
• Group trip for 12 people
• 3 weeks in May 2017
• Guide: Aurélien

To organize this trip, I contacted Aurélien—whom I discovered while browsing various blogs and travel websites—to ask him to provide a quote for a 3-week stay on the island for 12 people. I told him the places we wanted to visit, and my only non-negotiable requirement was that every hotel we stayed at must have a toilet and shower in every room and spotlessly clean bedding! (We especially wanted to avoid hotels like “Novotel, Sofitel, etc.”).

“Distribution of School Supplies”

After agreeing on the price and services, we booked our plane tickets. Since each passenger was allowed two 25-kg suitcases, I told Aurélien that we would be arriving with 12 25-kg suitcases full of school supplies to distribute during our trip… The first pleasant surprise: he suggested I not bring these supplies (notebooks, pencils, erasers, etc.) because we could buy them much cheaper locally, and besides, we’d be supporting local businesses, which really need the help! (Finally, someone who cares about his people!)

“We were completely in sync with Aurélien”

When we arrived, Aurélien was waiting for us along with a Mercedes bus seating about twenty people, complete with a driver, a driver’s assistant, and Aurélien himself. So there were about fifteen of us setting off on this journey in a vehicle that was in excellent condition and very clean. From the very start, we had asked Aurélien that all meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) be eaten together during the three weeks, and so our bond with Aurélien, the driver, and his assistant was complete…

“Moments of pure joy”

It would take too long to recount our entire trip, but I can assure you that for the vast majority of our group, it was a journey of discovery filled with extraordinary surprises that Aurélien had arranged to enhance our stay without increasing the original cost. : A Malagasy folk group before dinner at the hotel, a singing evening under the tent with the young singer who had won Madagascar’s Star Academy, accompanied by four guitarists and backup singers—moments of pure joy that gave us goosebumps…