Cap Sainte Marie

Very bad experience, do not use this company! Yesterday we came back from Saint Marie to Tamatave, the boat was very crowded and then when we took the bus, it made a lot of noises (the brakes, the suspension, the gear change ...) and it was obvious that is was about breaking down. And effectively, after two hours the bus broke down and the choffeur didn't give us any solution. We had to take a taxi-brousse (very very crowded) and pay for it.

Not my most favorite ferry, but i have never had any problems. The buses to Soaerana-Ivongo are not very nice, but they don the job. (This severak months later) I will not be using this company again, if I can help it. Especially from Tamatave, the guy who runs the office is a little bit of a jerk. The vans are not in great condition, and from others experience not trust worthy if you break down. There are other companies like Gasikara Be and Blue Marine El Condor!

Do not ever use this company. Their service is of the worst I have ever known. On our first leg (Tamatave-Sainte Marie) everything was late. We left an hour later than scheduled. Finally, after getting in a delapidated old van we got on the road to Ivongo. We then broke down in the middle of nowhere and the driver had to replace a brake on the back wheel. More delays. We the. Eventually got to Ivongo and caught a crowded ferry (they handed out vomit buckets to some people, we didn't get one). On the way back (Sainte Marie-Tamatave) we had another late departure in a crowded ferry (people just climbing on and standing in between the seats) and on the road journey we again broke down after 1 hour. The driver tried to fix the clutch for about 30min but after driving again for 10min the clutch eventually have in and we stopped indefinitely. We expected, at the very least, another transport service to pick us up but the driver told us that we had to make our own way back to Tamatave (in other words, hitchhike from the middle of nowhere!). We eventually found another taxi brousse that would stop for us. We had to pay them for their service and we were told that Cap Sainte Marie would pay us back for the extra taxi but when we got to their Tamatave office it was closed. They do not reply to emails, so we are likely to never see this money again. In addition, I would like a full refund of all services but I doubt this will happen. Again, do not use this company.

Worst shuttle ever. According to the website, the trip should take 3 hours in an air-conditioned coach on a beautiful road with a beautiful view ..... All of it is a lie. Drive took 5 hours, the road conditions were catastrophic, the van was an old bus that was not air-conditioned at all and had too many passengers, so you had to wait the whole ride squeezed. The last 15 km, he has slowly given up the ghost, the driver has made no move to inform the people, etc. The boat was also crowded and you have only potholes distributed. The boat trip took 2 hours instead of 1 even though the water was calm. In the very worst service and not recommended, not even if you want to save money !!!

By going on the website, we are rather reassured: In three hours of a beautiful road overlooking the east coast ... without waiting our air-conditioned buses ... on the edge of the Marimbona River where our star Cap Sainte-Marie you board for 1 hour crossing. Already everyone knows that the RN5 is in poor condition, so it took us 5:30 rather than 3 hours ... Then the air-conditioned buses, it will be rather the Toyota taxi bush ... And the crossing lasts more than 2 hours. So, azafady, if you could update your facebook page and your site, it would be better than doing false advertising, I really found that dishonest on your part.