Advice for anyone who is packing his bags

Weight

When you make the check-in at an Italian airport you will not have problems with an extra baggage weight. But know that at Nosy Be, this does not happen.
Also the scales at Nosy Be shows always more weight than in Italy. This could be caused because of the curvature of the earth at the equator, or the Coriolis force..., and is also known between travellers that dirt has its specific weight, and also the humidity (also the water remained inside the jacket).

Customs

Fascene airport is a crazy place, very hot, poorly organized. It could happen that officers will ask you for money to avoid baggage checking and waste your time in that sauna that separates you from the blue sea. Please be strong... leave them to check the baggage because nothing will happen... What they can find? Drugs..., parts of a human body..., millions of euros? I don’t think that swimsuit and sun tan lotion could be a risk for a tourist that arrives to a tropical place for a holiday!!!
A trick: if you put up all your staff two or three books, they will close it immediately.

Not necessary

The shoes!!! The flip-flops are always good. You can bring a pair of sneakers if you want to go ride a QUAD or if you want to go into the forest. It happen the same long pants. After a sunny day whatever you dress on will give you nuisance!

Necessary

Sun tan lotion: with high protection 30 or 50, (even if you’ve never burned).
Johnson’s & Johnson’s oil or similar: the only caution for Mosquitoes (locally called Mokafui). Mosquitoes repellent for excursions into the forest or at the sunset... they are not voracious as Italian mosquitoes but in the evening you will find some...
A cup: Our boats are uncovered so to see better and take pictures of the whales!!!
A rain coat: We are in the tropic. This is very fluorising country. Nevertheless, this be also useful as wind stopper in the boat, and of course useful from July to September, (winter) and from January to March during the rain season.

Books

... so if you fished them in time, you can leave them to us. ;)

USB key and memory card, for cameras

Here the prices are really high... if needed this will be a calamitous.
Traditional medicament for intestinal diseases and fever (dysentery appears in us when we are in Italy, to all of you, sometimes when you arrive here) bandages and disinfectants may also be useful. Here you find medicaments but the pharmacy is not around the corner.

For divers

Normally we suggest 3 mm diving suits for all the year, but for the chillies, from July to September a 5 mm diving suite could be justify. It is always useful the "layers’’ system, an under diving suite to dress only if needed.

Left to Malgasy

Please do not give candies to children!!!! This give them satisfaction, it is true, as they are very grateful. But when they have to go to the dentist, what can they do? The only solution for all of them is to remove the tooth out… and imagine which kind of instruments they use to do it… It will be much better if you give them as a gift a tooth brush or vision glasses (with the glasses). Some turists also bring to children used clothes, book notes and pencils… of course this is a very interesting gift. If you have old working mobile phones that you do not use, instead of throwing them away, bring them here, as this will be a very nice gift to someone who deserved it.

Leave to us 

Films, music, books, magazines, we have a hard disk with a very high capacity but a very poor internet connection to fill it!! Please don’t tell us which book or film we would like to have, just brought us what you like or you prefer.

If you have space in excess ...

If you will travel with light baggage and with enough space on it, and if you want to give us a big favour, write us before you come.... we often need get material from Italy... we know how to reward you…