Mozambique is a country on the Indian Ocean coast of Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Tanzania to the north and has inland borders with Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Swaziland. Mozambique's eastern coastline along the Indian Ocean is more than 1,000 km long, a fantastic draw for scuba divers, fishermen, sailors and beach lovers.
Almost five centuries of Portuguese colonization came to a close for Mozambique with independence in 1975. Large-scale emigration by European inhabitants, economic dependence on South Africa, a severe drought and a prolonged civil war hindered the country's development. The ruling party formally abandoned Marxism in 1989, and a new constitution the following year provided for multi-party elections and a free market economy. A UN-negotiated peace agreement with rebel forces ended the fighting in 1992. Heavy flooding in both 1999 and 2000 severely hurt the economy. It's now slowly working towards building stability and an economy, and is slowly positioning itself as a major tourist destination. With all it has to offer, the future looks bright.
HOW TO REACH
Visas - Most nationalities need a visa, and while there are rumors that some borders and airports may issue them on arrival, don't count on it and obtain a visa before arrival. They usually cost around $25. Multiple entry visas are also available. South Africans do not require visas for holiday, only for business. At the South African land border (Lebombo/Ressano Garcia) you can choose the currency in which you want to pay for your visa, meticais being slightly cheaper than rand.
By plane - Most international flights arrive from South Africa, although direct international routes also exist between Mozambique and Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya and Portugal.
There are several flights daily from Johannesburg to Maputo, operated by South African Airways (SAA) and the Mozambican flag-carrier Linhas Aereas de Moçambique (LAM). These and other airlines such as Kenya Airways, Swazi Express Airways, TAP Portugal also fly from Durban, Swaziland, Dar es Salaam, Harare, Nairobi and Lisbon. In addition, local carrier Air Corridor may start operating one or more international routes soon.
By train - From Malawi - There is only one train line in Mozambique, which connects Nampula with Cuamba (near the Malawi border). The train carries first, second and third class passengers and is usually packed.
From Nampula, the train leaves around 5-6AM, although you should arrive earlier to buy tickets from the booking office at the station. The area is packed with people traveling towards Malawi so expect queues. Once on board the journey is long and slow but fairly efficient and will get to Cuamba mid-afternoon. From here chapas will take you to the border (Entre Lagos) as only freight trains use this bit of the line. Be warned that even hardened African travelers will likely find this stretch of road very rough - expect it to take a fair amount of time.
Once at Entre Lagos, the border formalities are located within the station building (easy to find as the town is a typical small border town). The process can take some time as this is a little used crossing. From here it is about a 1km walk to the Malawi side of the border. BE WARNED - the Malawi border closes before the Mozambique one, although there is a guesthouse if you get trapped. The easiest way to get from here to Liwonde is by train - sweet-talk the guards and they may let you share their compartment.
By bus - From Malawi - There are a number of border crossings to/from Malawi. By far the easiest and most frequently plied is at Zóbuè. The road is in good condition. Daily chapas run to/from Tete to the border, where you will have to walk about 300 m to get to Malawian transport. Daily through buses from Chimoio and Beira also use this crossing.
There is another border crossing to the north, at Dedza, which may be more convienient for Lilongwe but the public transport on either side can be sporadic.
To leave/enter Malawi to the east, there are two crossings, Milange and Mandimba. Milange is in the south-east of Malawi, and to get there you need to catch one of the daily vehicles that run between Mocuba and Milange. At Milange there is a 2 km walk to the border, and then another 1km to where Malawian transport leaves.
By Boat - Currently there is no scheduled sea travel to and from Mozambique. You might be able to hire a dhow from Tanzania, and then travel southwards along the coast. The best places to ask in Tanzania are the dhow ports of Mikindani, Mtwara and Msimbati. For travel from Mozambique to Tanzania, ask at Moçimboa da Praia and Palma.
STAY SAFE
Risks are much the same as many other countries in Africa (and significantly less than some, including parts of South Africa). Nevertheless muggings, robberies, rape and murder do occur, so the normal precautions should be taken. Women absolutely should never walk alone on beaches, in recent years, attacks on women have grown in tourist areas. In particular it's worth checking with local hostels and other travellers as to where dangerous areas are.
But in general the Mozambican people are extremely warm and friendly and you will encounter far less hassle than in almost all of the countries surrounding it.
Since Mozambique recovered from a brutal civil war that ended in the early 1990s there have been occasional reports of people being maimed by landmines or unexploded ordinance.
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