Holidays in Mozambique

Rewind back to the early 1990s and Mozambique wasn’t on the wishlist of any traveller. Still reeling from a 15-year long civil war, the country had been firmly wiped from the tourist map. Today, Mozambique has rebounded remarkably as a safe and peaceful place. It’s now an unsung jewel in Africa, a place where the masses are yet to return but those who do, discover the country is big on beauty.

Its 1,500-mile long coastline is Mozambique’s biggest lure and every inch the postcard-perfect luxury holiday. Here you can indulge in the simple life, a place where barefoot luxury rules. Swaying palms pepper miles of creamy sands which skirt the length of Mozambique’s untrodden coast; a handful of sun-seekers equals a busy beach day here.

It’s not a one-trick pony. As well as unbridled beauty, Mozambique has heaps of character, with the archipelagos of Bazaruto and Quirimbas revealing flashes of its colonial Portuguese past and traditional thatched villages. Offshore, dhow boats offer ways to island-hop around a number of retreats and endless turquoise waters offer marine playgrounds for snorkellers and divers.
Wherever you turn in Mozambique, you’ll realise you have most places to yourself. While you’ll wonder why somewhere so picturesque is ‘undiscovered’, you’ll be awfully glad it’s still a secret.

There's remarkable diversity when it comes to places you can stay in Mozambique. You can stay in an eco-retreat on an island that's well off the tourist trail, relax at beach resorts along the coast where the sands are as soft as the Maldives or, if you're the more adventurous type, camp out on secluded sands as you island hop on a dhow safari.

Mozambique has two distinct seasons, with the dry winter season occurring from May to November and the rainy summer season from December to April.

The dry season features cooler temperatures (though it rarely dips below the low 20s) with less rain. This makes it the ideal time to visit the archipelagos of Quirimbas and Bazaruto, their beaches looking their resplendent best. Head to Mozambique in the second half of the season and you’ll catch pods of humpback whales migrating from Antarctica (July to October). If you’re going on a safari holiday on the mainland, August, September and October are great months as the vegetation has thinned out towards the end of the dry season and the wildlife are drawn to watering holes.

The wet summer season brings higher temperatures and humidity, as well as stronger downpours, but it’s still a good time to visit. The months of January and February do see cyclones so it may be worth avoiding these months.