Mozambique Travel Guide | Everything You Need to Know

M O Z A M B I Q U E

“But why Mozambique?” I shrugged my shoulders and smiled, “I heard so much about the pristine beaches and diving here, I had to see for myself!”

A country on the coast of East Africa, Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in 1975. I spent nearly two weeks in-country, from the capital of Maputo to the beaches of Tofo and islands off Vilanculos. Here’s everything you need to know about visas, transportation, traveling overland, and the best places to see in Mozambique!

Arriving to Mozambique

Chances are, if you’re coming from the US or Europe you’re going to need a visa to enter Mozambique. Luckily you can get a visa on arrival at the airport in Maputo! It costs $50 and you need to make sure you have a letter from your accommodation along with a printed return ticket. They’re really strict about it so make sure you come prepared!

Next comes the nitty gritty before heading into the city: sim card and money. Picking up a sim card is easy in the arrivals terminal; there’s a booth near the exit that you can stop at. Regarding money, I usually just pull out cash from ATMs instead of exchanging since rates are always poor at airports, but I would make an exception for Mozambique. I had difficulty being able to take out more than $50 worth at a time from the ATM in the airport (actually, any ATM for that matter) so I would highly recommend exchanging in this case. Since most places only accept cash, it’s important to assume credit cards aren’t accepted and make sure you prepare at the start of your trip.

Maputo

The goal was to get to Tofo Beach on the coast, but information online is so hard to find anything on transportation. The local transport is mostly mini-buses, or chapas, to get around cheaply. Since I didn’t really know the chapa schedule, I found Fatima’s Backpacker Hostel incredibly helpful; they offer a daily shuttle at 5 AM to their sister hostel in Tofo Beach. I had the first day to explore Maputo, but honestly there wasn’t much to see besides the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.

Update as of September 2023: Unfortunately I can no longer find the website to Fatima’s Backpacker Hostel, so I’ll provide a few other recommendations below.

WHERE TO STAY IN MAPUTO

Hotels

LIV INN GUESTHOUSE: When traveling in Africa for extended periods of time, as much as I’m flexible with whatever is thrown at me, I do need a clean place where I can unwind so I don’t get burnt out. Liv Inn Guesthouse is a great option since it’s not only a newer place, but it includes breakfast and has an airport shuttle.

HOSTELS

THE BASE BACKPACKERS: This hostel has both dormitories and private rooms if you’re just looking for something basic before heading towards the coast. Great reviews!

Tofo Beach

The chapa was nearly a 12-hour journey from Maputo to Tofo, but it dropped me off right at the hostel so I didn’t have to worry about changing buses several times. My plans were to go diving to see whale sharks, but the swell was too large for the boat to go out. Diving in Mozambique has been on my bucket list for a long time, so I was sad I didn’t get to go. Maybe one day I’ll return! The hostel I stayed at was right next to Liquid Dive Adventures, which was beautiful to just hang out at. They have AMAZING breakfast and juices, it felt like I was right back at home!

Update as of September 2023: Unfortunately I can no longer find the website to Fatima’s Backpacker Hostel, so I’ll provide a few other recommendations below.

WHERE TO STAY IN TOFO BEACH

HOTELS

LIQUID DIVE ADVENTURES: Like I previously mentioned, I absolutely loved this place and highly recommend it. The food was incredible and it was such a great place to relax.

HOSTELS

KITESURF TOFO HOUSE: Although I didn’t check this place out in-person, it has great reviews if you’re just looking for a good hostel to stay at!

Tofo Beach to Vilanculos

This trip was a little bit of an adventure via public transport. From the main part of the town in Tofo, you can take a chapa to Inhambane. Walk to the port and catch a boat across the bay to Maxixe. There’s an area in the town of Maxixe, a couple blocks from the port, where you can find a lot of chapas lined up. Just look for one that says “Vilanculos” and you’ll be on your way! There’s some larger buses that are much more comfortable, the chapas can get pretty hot and they pack them full until people are hanging out the door.

Vilanculos

If I could give any piece of advice: if you’re not a diver, just take the flight from Maputo to Vilanculos and skip Tofo and the headache of figuring out public transportation. The days are long and they run whenever they feel like it. The beaches in Vilanculos are amazing though and are so worth it! There’s not much to the town itself; it felt more like everything was centered around the resorts.

WHERE TO STAY IN VILANCULOS

HOTELS

BAHIA MAR: If you’re looking for something a little more luxurious, I loved Bahia Mar! Their service was outstanding and everything about it was absolutely fantastic.

HOSTELS

BAOBAB BEACH HOSTEL: If you’re on a backpacker budget, I recommend Baobab Beach Hostel. The huts are right on the beach and the food is incredible!

WHAT TO DO IN VILANCULOS

One of the best things to do is to take a boat trip out to the islands of Bazaruto and Benguerra for the day. Sunset Dhow Safari had a great package that includes snorkeling; the first island we went to, Bazaruto Island, was great for lunch but my personal favorite was Benguerra Island. The water was an insane shade of blue and green, everything I thought Mozambique would be. Another great activity is either a sunrise or sunset traditional dhow cruise! Dhows are lateen-rigged sailboats, typically found in the Indian Ocean.

Health and Malaria

I was traveling with a friend of mine who had been in Central African Republic prior to Mozambique, where he believes he contracted malaria unknowingly. The signs are different for everyone, but I noticed he started acting strangely like hallucinating and had a really high fever, until he collapsed and was unresponsive. I was able to carry him from the hotel to find a tuk-tuk to take him to the hospital, where they confirmed it was malaria right away. They gave him a series of injections for three days, then had him continue to take tablets. He made a full recovery, but if you’re feeling unwell, don’t ignore the signs. Go to the doctor right away.

Another key item to note is the health care system in Mozambique; there are public hospitals and private hospitals. Sadly, the public hospitals are in poor condition and are extremely corrupt. My first night in Maputo I had a UTI in the middle of the night and went to a public hospital, but that was a huge mistake. That in itself is a long story, but to make it short, go to a private hospital if you have any health-related issue. I’m so glad I had that knowledge before my friend came down with malaria, because it saved his life. The private hospitals are extremely clean, the doctors are very attentive, and the service was amazing.

Where to get a PCR in Mozambique?

Since we were in Vilanculos at the private hospital, we decided to just get one done there instead of Maputo. All-Around Medical Solutions clinic was the only place to get a PCR in Vilanculos anyways, so your hotel can set up an appointment here!

Update as of September 2023: PCR tests are no longer required to enter Mozambique as long as you have a COVID-19 vaccination certificate. PCR tests are no longer required for exit.

Comoros Islands Travel Guide | Everything You Need to Know

COMOROS

A tiny cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean, the Comoros Islands are a unique off-the-beaten-path destination with gorgeous beaches and friendly smiles. Comoros wasn’t really on my radar until my plans to visit Malawi were cancelled and I had to find another destination that Ethiopian Airlines flew to, and was open during this time.

Entry Requirements

• PCR Test Within 72 Hours Of Arrival

• Health Declaration Form

• Visa On Arrival Application

VISA ON ARRIVAL

The VOA application is relatively new at no extra cost; if you’re staying at a local guesthouse this must be filed with a local guide, otherwise if you’re staying at a major hotel like The Golden Tulip there’s no need for this. My guide had to go to immigration with my passport and airline ticket info and file the paperwork. He then sent me the application confirmation signed and stamped. The VOA is 30€/$50. Highly recommended to bring Euros since USD does not exchange well. Also went to four ATMs around Moroni and the only one that worked was Exim Bank.

I spent 3 full days in Grand Comoros; I found it to be quite pricey as a budget traveller so I didn’t go to the other island Moheli unfortunately, but I hear it’s incredible to watch the turtles hatch on the beach and stay at Laka Lodge. There’s 2 main hotels in Grand Comoros, but my guide fixed a guest house for 40€/night near the Golden Tulip. Once I spoke to the guest house owner I realized that my guide was up-charging a lot so it’s a lot cheaper to contact the owner directly. It was perfect to be able to walk over and use the wifi at the Golden Tulip and hang out at their private beach. I also got a Huri sim card for 10€.

When my guide picked me up from the airport, he took me into Moroni to sign my name in to take a PCR test the next morning. Since there’s only 1 place in the whole country to take a PCR, there’s hundreds of people that line up everyday so you need to allot 3 days at least for them to process your test. Luckily the guesthouse owner was able to make some phone calls to get my name at the top of the list. It used to be a lot cheaper but with the huge number of people trying to take PCRs, it’s now 100€ — they put the date of the PCR as the date of your flight so you don’t have to worry about it expiring. My guide told me that he had a guest that only spent 1 day in Comoros and they pretty much spent the full day doing the covid test and having to personally deliver everything to the lab for 250€, but this is not recommended and was nearly impossible to pull off.

The next morning my guide picked me up at 6 AM to take me to the testing center; even though we were there early (it opened at 8 AM) there was already over 100 people lined up. He mentioned that everyone is vaccinated and “there’s no covid anymore,” but a lot of locals are traveling now for work, which is why there’s a huge influx of testing. I was nervous that something would’ve happened and I wouldn’t get to take the test first since I didn’t see my name on the sign-up sheet, but luckily they did call my name! Afterwards he took me around the island for a day-trip and saw all the main sights: the kissing rock, Bouni beach, Lac du sâl, Mitsamouli beach.

On the last day, my guide picked up my PCR test results in Moroni then dropped me off at the airport. I’ll share more soon, but for now, I hope this helps someone looking to visit these gorgeous islands!