Getting Around Mozambique

The shape of the country decides the trip

Mozambique is very long and comparatively narrow, strung along the Indian Ocean. The distance from Maputo in the far south to the far north is the kind of distance that is a flight rather than a drive, and an itinerary that ignores this turns into three days in a vehicle.

The practical consequence: pick one or two regions, not the whole coast. A first trip that takes in Maputo, Maputo National Park and the Inhambane or Vilankulo coast is a real holiday. The same two weeks stretched to the far north is mostly transit.

Flying

Domestic flights link the main centers and are how most visitors cover the long legs. They are also the part of an itinerary most likely to move, so treat every domestic hop as a thing that can shift by hours.

The rule that follows from that: never connect a domestic flight to an international one on the same day. Build an overnight in between. This is the single most useful scheduling habit on this coast, and it costs one hotel night against the price of a missed intercontinental flight.

Roads

The main north to south highway is the spine of the country. Away from it, surfaces vary and unsurfaced roads can become difficult or impassable in the wet season, roughly November to April.

Two things the FCDO and the State Department both raise are worth taking seriously. Protests can temporarily block major roads, including toll booths and border crossings, and security forces maintain roadblocks in some areas. Neither is usually dangerous to a visitor, but both are reasons not to plan a drive with no slack in it.

Do not drive at night between towns if you can avoid it. Unlit roads, livestock, pedestrians and vehicles without lights are a combination that does not reward confidence.

Boats, which are not optional

A number of the places worth going to are islands, so a boat is part of the route rather than an excursion. Transfers to the Bazaruto Archipelago run from Vilankulo, and the Island of Mozambique is reached from the mainland.

Boat transfers are weather-dependent in a way flights are not. Swell generated by a system a long way offshore can cancel a crossing under a clear sky. Ask your accommodation what happens if the transfer does not run, and get the answer before you are standing on a jetty.

The dhow, the lateen-rigged wooden sailing boat you will see everywhere along this coast, is genuine working transport as well as a photograph. If you take one as a visitor, take it through your accommodation, ask about life jackets, and treat a hot afternoon crossing with no shade as the thing it is.

Around a city

In Maputo, use taxis arranged through your hotel or a ride-hailing app rather than flagging one down, and agree the fare or confirm the app price before you set off. The shared minibuses that carry most people are cheap and are not designed for someone with luggage who does not know the route.

Routes to rule out before you plan

This is the part a transport guide usually leaves to the safety page, and it should not be.

• Cabo Delgado. The FCDO advises against all travel to the province except Palma town and the area around Pemba and Afungi, and against all but essential travel to those. The US lists the province as Do Not Travel. That rules out overland routes into and through it, and it rules out the Quirimbas.
• The Memba and Eráti districts of Nampula, and the Mecula and Marrupa districts of Niassa. All travel advised against.
• The Niassa Special Reserve, which the US lists as Do Not Travel.

Note what is not on that list. Nampula Province contains the Island of Mozambique, which is not in either restricted district. A province appearing in an advisory does not close everything in it, and the districts are named for a reason.

Crossing a border

Mozambique shares land borders with several neighbors and the South African crossings are busy. Allow far more time than the distance suggests, carry your documents in print, and remember that a protest can close a crossing at short notice.

Sources

• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Mozambique regional risks, province by province. Accessed 14 September 2026.
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Mozambique safety and security, including the assessment of terrorism and of IS-Mozambique. Accessed 14 September 2026.
• US Department of State: the Mozambique travel advisory, currently Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, with Do Not Travel areas in the north. Accessed 14 September 2026.
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Mozambique travel advice and the areas it advises against traveling to. Accessed 14 September 2026.