Madagascar seems to have slipped beneath the cloak of the Brit holiday radar, writes Clare Smith.

Some might say that this is a good thing, for Costa del Tropica it certainly is not.

Most of us think of Madagascar, if we think of it at all, as a far away, mysterious place at the end of the Earth, like Timbuktu or Shangri-La, whose exact location we can't quite remember.

However, it is in fact the fourth largest island in the world and lies off the East coast of Africa, close to Mozambique.

Of the few tourists who make the long voyage there, old colonial links draw large proportions of French people to this odd place in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

So what are we missing? Or perhaps more importantly, why should you want to holiday here when for a fraction of the cost you can go to somewhere like the Caribbean or Goa?

On this, my first visit, I stayed in Fort Dauphin, a smallish town on the southern coast, a further two hour flight from the capital Antananarivo.

And what you notice straight away at the end of your flight is that the airport is rather like a car park (and about as big).

The taxis are a little battered and there are more holes than road on the way into town, but everyone is friendly enough and, if you arrive during the day (and the dry season), then the sun will probably be beating down gloriously.

Fort Dauphin is surrounded by fabulous beaches, and overlooked by a ridge of blue mountains that provide a dramatic backdrop from almost every vantage point in town.

You can find hotels, cafs, souvenir shops and a supermarket (about as big as your local Spar) in town, though the roads are made of dirt. There are few streetlamps to light the ways at night.

However, many areas are still very underdeveloped and basic. Town people live in huts made of wood and grass, and most have no sewerage or water systems; indeed, many still collect water from wells.

Only the hotels and caf's have modern amenities and if you want a real Malagasy experience and so avoid the tourist traps, then it can all take a little getting used to.

But trust me, it's worth it - when you get past these barriers, you'll start to discover the real Madagascar by means of a cumulative curve.

Everywhere you'll happen upon something a little bizarre; find something to marvel at - a frog on your bath soap, perhaps, or goats chained up outside your hotel, zebu cow skin in a wheelbarrow (above left), or bugs unlike anything you've ever seen nestling next to your wine glass.

The Malagasy people, of course, won't bat an eyelid. In fact, you'll quickly realise they have a certain way of thinking about life that doesn't involve any sort of sense of emergency (or just getting things done).

This may frustrate you at first, but you will soon come round to their way of thinking and eventually not mind at all if the local taxi brousse is four hours late, or slides into a ditch on its way to your destination.

The rule of thumb is: expect things not to work and then if they do, well, that's a bonus! You just have to chill out and go with the flow.