Toamasina

Toamasina needs a day: the port (Madagascar's most important) and the nearby Ivoloina Zoological and Botanical Park are the main stops. April-November is the recommended dry season, since the city frequently gets cyclones in summer. It's inexpensive, without major tourism development despite being the country's second-largest city. It's Madagascar's main sea gateway, through which most of the country's foreign trade flows, though its real tourist appeal lies in the surrounding area (the Pangalanes Canal, nature reserves) rather than the city itself.