Mozambique Travel Safety Guide

The short version

The United States places Mozambique at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, for health issues, crime, civil unrest and terrorism. That is the same overall rating as Malawi or Madagascar.

But the country rating is not the whole story here, and reading only the headline would be a mistake. Both governments restrict travel to the far north, and the restricted area contains places a Mozambique vacation would otherwise be built around.

What the United States says

The State Department names three areas as Do Not Travel, all for terrorism:

• Cabo Delgado Province.
• The Niassa Special Reserve, inside Niassa Province.
• Certain districts in the north of Nampula Province.

Its country summary adds that unplanned protests remain possible throughout the country and can become violent quickly, that protests may temporarily block major roads including toll booths and border crossings, that violent crime such as mugging is common, and that the health infrastructure is weak with medicine availability variable and often in short supply.

One detail is worth reading carefully: the advisory was reduced from Level 3 to Level 2, on a decrease in election-related protests, at the same time as the Niassa Special Reserve was added to the Do Not Travel section. A source written a year ago will tell you this is a Level 3 country. It is not.

What the United Kingdom says

The FCDO draws the same map in more detail, and in two grades.

• Advises against all travel to Cabo Delgado Province, except Palma town and the area around Pemba and Afungi.
• Advises against all but essential travel to Palma town and the area around Pemba and Afungi.
• Advises against all travel to the districts of Memba and Eráti in Nampula Province.
• Advises against all travel to the districts of Mecula and Marrupa in Niassa Province.

Its reason is attacks by groups linked to Islamist extremism and clashes between insurgents, armed vigilante groups and Mozambican security forces. It notes that security forces have set up roadblocks throughout the province.

What that means for an ordinary trip

The Quirimbas Archipelago is in Cabo Delgado. So is Pemba. They appear in a great deal of travel writing about Mozambique, they are genuinely beautiful, and both governments currently tell you not to go. We are not going to write about them as though that were not true.

What is not restricted is most of what an ordinary trip uses: Maputo in the far south, the Inhambane coast, the Bazaruto Archipelago off Vilankulo, Maputo National Park, and the Island of Mozambique, which is in Nampula Province but not in Memba or Eráti. That last distinction matters: a province appearing in a warning does not put every place in it off limits, and saying so is more useful than either alarm or reassurance.

Terrorism, described plainly

The FCDO's assessment is that terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Mozambique, and that the main threat is from IS-Mozambique, a group with links to Daesh that is mainly active in Cabo Delgado and has carried out attacks in neighboring districts. It also notes the standard global caution that applies to British nationals anywhere.

The risks more likely to affect you

Crime. Mugging is the common one. Treat a city the way you would treat any city where you are visibly a visitor: nothing in a back pocket, no phone in your hand on a sidewalk, a hotel safe for documents, and a taxi rather than a walk after dark.

Protest. The point is not that protests are frequent but that they are unpredictable and can close a road you were counting on, including a border crossing. Build a spare day in before an international flight.

Health, which is a safety question here. The FCDO says hospital facilities are of a lower standard than in the UK, especially in the north, and that in cases of serious illness or injury medical evacuation to South Africa may be necessary. Travel insurance that covers evacuation is not a formality on this trip. There is also a cholera outbreak in central and northern areas, and malaria is present countrywide, which is why the CDC recommends prescription medicine to prevent it for everyone traveling here. See our health notes in the packing and senior travel guides.

The emergency ambulance numbers the FCDO publishes are 848888 and 823388.

How to use this

Check both advisories yourself before you book and again before you fly. They change, and this one changed recently. The two governments do not always agree on wording, and where they differ it is usually because they are describing the same facts to different audiences.

Sources

• 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.
• 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.
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Mozambique health advice, including the cholera outbreak, the emergency numbers and the standard of healthcare. Accessed 14 September 2026.
• US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Travelers’ Health, Mozambique: malaria prophylaxis for the whole country, chloroquine resistance and the recommended drugs. Accessed 14 September 2026.