12 days · Adventure · Beach · Culture · Luxury
Northern Mozambique in 12 Days
Ilha, Nacala's reefs, the Quirimbas islands and Ibo's stone town — the least-travelled quarter of the country.
The north is where Mozambique gets genuinely remote. This route links the World Heritage island of Moçambique with the diving around Nacala and the coral islands of the Quirimbas, finishing on Ibo, a Swahili-Portuguese stone town where silversmiths still work inside an eighteenth-century fort. Distances are long and schedules are loose — flexibility is essential.
Day by day
- 1
Day 1
Arrive Nampula
Arrive and visit the National Ethnography Museum. Overnight in Nampula.
Domestic flightAirport is close to the centre
Nampula → - 2
Day 2
To Ilha de Moçambique
Cross the bridge onto the island in the afternoon and walk Stone Town at golden hour.
Road transferAbout 180 km, 3 hours
Island of Mozambique → - 3
Day 3
Ilha: heritage day
Fort of São Sebastião, the 1522 chapel, the Palace of São Paulo and the museums, then Makuti Town in the late afternoon.
On footEverything walkable
Island of Mozambique → - 4
Day 4
Dhows and sandbanks
Sail to Goa Island or the offshore sandbanks for snorkelling, and back for sunset on the waterfront.
DhowShort crossings, tide-dependent
Island of Mozambique → - 5
Day 5
North to Nacala
Move up the coast to Fernão Veloso bay. Afternoon on the beach.
Road transferAbout 80 km
Nacala → - 6
Day 6
Diving at Nacala
Nacala's deep bay gives steep drop-offs and clear water. A full day of diving or snorkelling, arranged in advance.
BoatReefs are close to shore
Nacala → - 7
Day 7
Fly to Pemba
Fly north to Pemba. Afternoon on Wimbe beach, where the reef starts metres from the shore.
Domestic flightAround 1 hour in the air
Pemba → - 8
Day 8
Pemba to the Quirimbas
Transfer into the archipelago. Settle into island time: reef, mangrove and very little else.
Light aircraft or boat30–45 minutes by air
Quirimbas Archipelago → - 9
Day 9
Reefs and channels
Wall diving or snorkelling on the outer reefs, then a dhow through the mangrove channels between islands.
Dhow and dive boatTide-dependent
Quirimbas Archipelago → - 10
Day 10
Ibo Island
Cross to Ibo. Walk the stone town, visit the Fort of São João Baptista and watch the silversmiths working filigree in the old cells.
Boat transferCrossing timed to the tide
Ibo Island → - 11
Day 11
Ibo: sandbanks and silver
A slow day: sandbank walks at low tide, a community-guided tour of the island, and sunset from the fort walls.
On foot and by dhowLow-tide sandbank walks
Ibo Island → - 12
Day 12
Return to Pemba and depart
Fly back to Pemba for onward connections south.
Light aircraft or boat then flight30–45 minutes by air
Pemba →