Tour operator based in Fort-Dauphin. The owner, Brett Massoud (English-speaking), an Australian passionate about Madagascar, who has been living in the country for over 20 years, designs and organizes unique and personalized itineraries with his team. Most of the proposed tours start when you arrive in Tana, but Dadamanga can help you plan your stay in only one area, and of course in the Fort-Dauphin area. Brett Massoud is also president of the Filana association and vice-president of the Anôsy Regional Tourism Office.
Did you know? This review was written by our professional authors.
Book the Best Activities with Get Your Guide
Members' reviews on DADAMANGA
The ratings and reviews below reflect the subjective opinions of members and not the opinion of The Little Witty.
1. Apparently we went quiet after he paid us. The truth is, he did not pay us until the day before his tour started, we had to go to his hotel and collect cash, which is totally against our usual procedures, but we agreed to this, just the same way we agreed to his many other unusual requests. We were in communication with him constantly, in real time (on WhatsApp or Email) most of the time, during his entire journey, even while he was in Masoala Forest Lodge (not arranged by us), he was in communication with us.
2. There was no danger, there was a sudden local change of plan about whether cars will be escorted by police, or not, from Belo Tsiribihina to Bekopaka. They decided to discontinue the escort, we were not informed, local decisions by rural police are not something that we can manage in our office.
3. The client called me especially to be sure that this same driver was going to be his driver for the final part of his tour. I imagine if the driver had been so bad, the client would have asked for a replacement driver, not to ensure that absolutely should have the same driver.
The client was very disappointed when his requests for discounts were all politely refused. He even expected us to negotiate a discount with Madagascar National Parks, which they also refused, and that, apparently, was also our fault. This review is sour grapes because we refused his requests for discounts.
I was not provided with the service that had been agreed, I.e. meals not provided and places not taken to, or I had paid extra for services which were unnecessary, because they were already included in my hotel- but their lack of experience showed they didn't know this.
We were also involved in a car accident, where I had to tell the guide and driver what to do in terms of repairs, and as a sole traveller was given zero support and left at the hotel with no instruction of when they'd return the next day.
I hugely overpaid, especially as I made friends with all the hotel owners, and it was clear there was a complete lack of experience on certain days.
Brett was rude and aggressive on more than one occasion. He constantly claims he's the best agent in Africa. I'm a frequent traveller, I've travelled over 60 countries, and never had an experience or been spoken to by any agent the way he talked to me. In fact I tend to develop good relationships with every hotel owner/ tour agent/guide, hence why I can safely say I overpaid and received an incomplete service.
I gave every opportunity for Brett to remedy the situation and have been ignored. I didn't want my money back but a donation to local charities at my direction. Any gesture or apology wouldve been received.
I spent 1 month in Mada and organised everything myself, using other amazing agents and guides. Mada is incredible- I'm happy to give any other recommendations, but the worst 3 days of my trip were 3 of the 6 days that I went through Brett.