Visas

SA passport holders get 30 days upon entry. I stayed here for about 3 months in 2010, hopping over the border every month to renew.

Getting there

Overland is by far the cheapest. I used to take an InterCape bus from Joburg to Komatiepoort and then catch a local taxi from the other side of the border post to Maputo. I’d usually overnight in Maputo and then take one of the backpacker transfers up to Tofo. I did manage to do both legs in on day when in a rush, but that was a hellish long day (and arriving at Bree Street taxi rank at 1am wasn’t fun either!)

Places

Many people avoid Maputo, but I feel it has a shabby charm. Ponto in the south is “Moz lite” in my opinion and overrun with South Africans. Tofo is near to Inhambane (with an airport) and is the backpacker centre of the country. Further north Vilonculus with popular islands offshore, Beira and Pemba, but this is all uncharted for me.

Costs

I was surprised to see that Mozambique is 28% more expensive than SA, according to livingcost.org. That said, even when there in 2010 I got the feeling that prices had levelled out to about the same as SA and it wasn’t the same dirt-cheap bargain as when I first visited in the early 2000s.

But again, it’s all relative. If you like cashews, SCUBA or seafood, there are still bargains to be had.

Highlights

.