Island Boat Trip · Full Day or Overnight
Cruise to the most photographed sandbar in Madagascar — two islets joined by a ribbon of white sand that appears at low tide.
The boat leaves Ambatoloaka in the morning for roughly ninety minutes across the Mozambique Channel, with a first stop at the tiny islet of Antsoha for snorkeling over its coral reef. From there it is a short hop to Nosy Iranja, where the famous sandbar connects Iranja Be and Iranja Kely. You will have several hours to swim, walk the sandbar, climb to the old lighthouse designed by Gustave Eiffel's workshop, and visit the fishing village.
Lunch is a fresh Malagasy meal prepared on the island — typically grilled fish, seafood, coconut rice and tropical fruit. Make it a two-day escape (140€ per person): you stay overnight in a simple beachfront bungalow and have the sandbar almost to yourself at sunset and sunrise, long after the day boats have left. All your meals are included — lunch, dinner, breakfast and a second lunch the next day before you head back to Nosy Be. Between May and November you may spot sea turtles, and Iranja is a known nesting site.
✓ Boat transfer, experienced guide, lunch, bottled water, soft drinks, beer, island entry tickets and a flexible itinerary. Overnight option adds dinner, breakfast, second lunch and bungalow accommodation. Snorkeling gear and life jackets provided.
The sandbar emerges around low tide. We plan each departure around the tide table so you arrive when it is at its widest.
Usually calm in the morning; the return can be choppier. Our boats carry life jackets, and tours are rescheduled free of charge in bad weather.
Swimwear, sunscreen, hat, towel and a light jacket for the boat. For the overnight: a change of clothes and mosquito repellent.
Reserve online through our contact form — no payment, card details or transfer are needed to hold a date. For some tours we ask for a deposit the day before departure, paid in cash to your guide when you meet. Everything else is paid to your guide on the day of the tour, in cash (EUR, USD or MGA) or by mobile money. We never ask for online payments or bank transfers — if anyone contacts you claiming to be us and asks for one, it is not us.
60 € per person for the day trip, or 140 € per person with the overnight stay. Children pay half price on the overnight option. You pay your guide on the day of the tour, in cash or by mobile money — nothing is charged when you reserve.
Boat transfer, an experienced guide, lunch, bottled water and soft drinks, island entry tickets, snorkelling gear and life jackets, and a flexible itinerary. The overnight option adds dinner, breakfast, a second lunch and bungalow accommodation.
Yes. Private boat charters are available for families and groups — your own boat, crew and guide, and you choose the departure time. Send us your dates and group size on WhatsApp and we will send you a quote.
See all our excursions on the Nosy Be tours page, or combine Iranja with the Nosy Komba & Tanikely tour on a second day.
The real magic of Nosy Iranja is its tidal sandbank. At low tide a long tongue of pure white sand links the two islands — Nosy Iranja Be and Nosy Iranja Kely — and you can stroll from one to the other barefoot, warm ankle-deep turquoise water on either side of you. At high tide it slips back beneath the sea and the islands stand apart again. We time your visit around the tide so you catch the walk at its very best.
Climb the gentle hill on Nosy Iranja Be and you reach a historic lighthouse dating from 1909, famously credited to the workshop of Gustave Eiffel — yes, the engineer behind the Eiffel Tower. The climb rewards you with the finest view on the island: the whole sandbar curving away below, the reef shifting colour with the depth, and open ocean stretching to the horizon.
Around midday we lay out a proper island lunch right on the beach — freshly grilled fish, rice, sautéed vegetables, tomato salad and sweet seasonal fruit, with the sea just a few steps away. Simple, fresh, and somehow it always tastes better here.
Most guests come for the full day, but if you would rather not rush you can stay overnight in a beachfront bungalow, with lunch, dinner, breakfast and a second lunch before you head home. Sunset and stars over an empty sandbar, the day-trippers long gone, is something quietly unforgettable.
Watch
Newly hatched sea turtles reaching the ocean on Nosy Iranja (seasonal).