Making the most of Nosi Be Hell Ville
Use these notes to shape a realistic day ashore, then confirm any time-sensitive information for the date of your call.
Arriving at the port
As ships are moored or anchored in this port, you will be tendered ashore to Hell Ville Cruise Port.
3km from city. Taxis are generally available at the pier should you wish to go farther afield. Be sure to check the condition of the vehicle and negotiate the price before setting out. English-speaking drivers are in short supply.
Shuttles are in general provided for.
Printable map to take along.
The name Hellville, is derived from the name of an early French Governor, Admiral de Hell.
Nosy Be, the "Perfumed Isle." The therapeutic scents of vanilla, ylang-ylang, saffron and cinnamon will lure you in and the long stretches of beaches will implore you to stay. The largest island off Madagascar, Nosy Be is where a chosen few can be one with nature and one with the sea, in unison. Discover lush green forests and bright blue volcanic crater lakes; be serenaded by the harmonious sounds of nature; encounter mystical lemurs – indigenous to Madagascar. If there ever was an exclusive island paradise, it might just be Nosy Be.
The name of the small island Nosy-Bé translates as "big island". An attribute also indebted to the beauty of its beaches and its underwater world: they are magnificent. From the port Hell-Ville you will travel to the Nature Reserve Lokobe where you will be thrilled by the Canarium madagascariense and Potameia crassifolia: giant trees up to 40 m high. Alternatively, a boat trip to Nosy Komba will amaze you: the island impresses with a huge crater cone 5 km in diameter. Nosy-Mangabe continues the series of Madagascar's great attractions with a striking 520 hectares of rain forest. But there are also small attractions: the smallest chameleon in…
Palm-ringed sand beaches and quaint hotels offer lazy hours of swimming and sunning. Be aware that beaches are not very attractive during low tide.
Getting around
There are also boats and taxis for hire. A boat to go to Lemur Island is about $15.00 per person,
Food and shopping
Small shops in the town center and vendors at the pier offer embroidered tablecloths, blouses, shirts and children's wear. Local perfumes, spices, wood carvings and woven straw items are also popular. The local currency is the Malagasy franc. Most shops will accept U.S. dollars.
Money
The unit of money is the ariary. This unit preceded the French rule, and Malagasy franc notes had the value in ariary printed on them too (50000 francs = iray alina ariary = one million ariary). The ariary is worth about half a U.S. cent.
Staying connected
The remarkable thing about Madagascar is that the entire island speaks one language: Malagasy, (pronounced 'Malagash' or even 'Malgash', not as the spelling suggests) an Austronesian language. Because the island is so large there are many different dialects. The Merina dialect is the "Official Malagasy" of the island and is spoken around highlands of Antananarivo. Most Madagascans, however, speak Merina across the island.
French is the second official language of Madagascar. The government and large corporations use French in everyday business, but 75-85% of Malagasies only have limited proficiency in this language. Madagascans assume that all foreigners are French speakers and therefore can speak several different phrases. Attempts by foreigners to learn and speak Malagasy are liked and even encouraged by the Malagasy people.
The third offical language is English, though very few people speak English. It became an offical language in 2007.
Many cafes offer free WiFi.