Changes

The boat from Maroantsetra to Toamasina goes each Friday and Monday and the price for a ticket is 180,000 Ariary per person (in 2015). The price inludes a 4-hour car transfer to [[Soanierana Ivongo]], a small town 163km north along the RN5, from where the Melissa Express leaves.  <HTML5video>URFIF_EkGeM</HTML5video> Usually passengers are told to come around midnight to the boat, but one shouldn't be surprised if the departure is delayed until 2am. [[Hotel Concorde]] at the [[taxi-brousse]] station offers simple clean rooms where one can rest until the final departure. The Melissa Express takes about 8 hours to Maroantsetra with a stop in [[Mananara]].