Tulear

Tulear, also known as Toliara or Toliary, is a port and coastal town on the south west coast of Madagascar. There is over 100,000 inhabitants from various tribal origin, such as Vezo, Masikoro, Mahafaly, Antandroy and Karana. Tulear's grand lanes and colonial style buildings and many multi-coloured rickshaws will likely leave a lasting impression on any visitor.

Thanks to the many rickshaw's, there aren't many motorised taxis and other cars, at least not in relation to the size of the city, which makes it a pleasant location for staying a couple of days.

While Tulear itself lack the perfect beach for swimming, approximately an 4-kilometre walk north of town, across some salt-fields, Playa de la Batterie (close to the light tower) is worth visiting if not only for its large and beautiful sand dune.

Other nearby attractions for day-excursions is the botanical park of l'Arboretum d'Antsokay (or Antsokay Arboretum) 12km south east of Tulear, the Reniala Nature Reserve - a 45 hectare nature reserve 27km north of Tulear.

The perfect beaches of the area can be found either further north of Tulear at Ifaty, Madiorano, Salary and Andavadoaka or to the south, at St. Augustin Bay, Sarodrano, Beheloka, Itampalo and Anakao. For tourists, Tulear is usually a gateway to one of these destinations.

An airport connects Tulear with Antananarivo and other major airports with daily scheduled Air Madagascar flights.