Mozambique holds the longest stretch of Indian Ocean coastline in Africa with some of the most unspoiled beachfront. 2600km of mostly unexplored and often unnamed beaches make this a destination for backpackers and eco-tourists.
Among these beaches two has already becoming an attraction due to the presence of some kind of touristic infrastructure: Tofo and Vilanculos which lies in front of the magnificent Bazaruto Archipelago
Many other beaches are yet to be “discovered” like the Quirimbas Archipelago among many others mostly because they are difficult to reach. North of Vilanculos roads are bad, public transport is sporadic, and there are frequent troubles due to the political situation between the ruling FREELIMO party and its couterpart RENAMO.
A part from this difficulties, distances are immense so if you plan to explore the north plan to have plenty of time. For now we would like to give you all the infos we have on the easiest ones: Tofo and Vilanculos (sometimes spelled Vilankulo)
Tofo Beach – How to reach it
Tofo is a small village on the east side of the Inhambane Peninsula, situated 500km north from Maputo, Mozambique capital city. Inhambane itself is a nice little town and you can stay here for a night if it’s too late to go straight to Tofo. We suggest Africa Tropical as a good, cheap place to stay.
To get here from Maputo you have two options: the first is to go to Junta Station and catch any bus going north to Inchope, Beira, Nampula or Pemba, and ask to drop off at Maxixe , which lies in front of Inhambane across the Bani bay. The cost should be around 700Mts. It is a long journey (8-10 hours) and buses starts usually at 4,30 or 5 am, so it’s best to book a ticket the day before. If you stay at Fatima’s Backpacker in Maputo there is a “shuttle” service that costs 1000 Meticais, which is basically the same as the public ones (a “Chapa”), very uncumfortable and crammed with people, so it may not be worth the extra Mts.
Once you get to Maxixe head for the small port and buy a ticket (15 Meticais) for the ferry that goes across the bay to Inhambane (20mins). Once in Inhambane you can choose to sleep here, or if there is enough time, catch a Chapa (Minubus) to Tofo (150 Meticais) which is at 22km on the other side of the peninsula. You should be able to do this last leg in about an hour or so.
The other option is to fly to Inhambane (expensive – 180-200$) and then take a Chapa straight to Tofo which is some 15km away from the Airport.
Of course, if you have a car you can just drive north on the N1 “highway”, which is all paved and in good conditions, straight to Inhambane and then do the last 22km, also paved, to Tofo Beach.
