Toliara (Tulear, Madagascar)

Toliara (aka Tulear) is a seaport and the capital city of Madagascar's Atsimo-Andrefana region, with population around 170,000. Toliara is approx 930 km (580 mi) southwest of Antananarivo (the country's capital) via RN7 highway (~17-hours drive distance).

Port Toliara (locode MGTLE) is a major seaport serving the shipping of mainly agricultural products and livestock (cattle, goats). The main exports are soap, sisal, cotton, maize, cassava, rice, peanuts, salt. Except for ilmenite mining and oil production (at Toliara Bay) the city has no other major industries. The main tourism activities are traditional arts-crafts shopping, scuba diving/snorkeling, surfing, deepsea fishing, sailboat tours.

As cruise port, Tulear is visited (mainly on Around the World Voyages and around Madagascar itineraries) by smaller- to mid-sized ships operated by top-luxury cruise line brands like Ponant, Hapag-Lloyd, Crystal, Azamara.

Toliara Airport serves mainly domestic flights by two airlines (Air Madagascar, Tsaradia) linking the city to Antananarivo, Morondava (Menabe), Tolanaro (Anosy). Regular flights (by Air Madagascar) also connect Tulear with France's Reunion Island (Saint-Denis).

The town (as Toliary) was founded by French pirates in the 17th century, to serve their trade and ship provisioning. As city, Tulear started to develop in the early-20th-century. Tourist attractions include several nearby sand beaches (the most popular is the Ifaty Beach), an Arts and Traditions Museum, Antsokay Arboretum (1980-established botanical garden covering 52 hectares), the Shell Market (outdoor shopping area for mainly hand-made arts and craft products).