Mozambique

Mozambiqans are lovely people! People were very friendly and would go out of their way to help us. We also felt 100% more safe than we did in South Africa. I always recommend keeping your valuables safe & and your wits about you when traveling but we felt okay leaving the car in public parking lots with all our valuables in it or unlocked at our campsite where in South Africa we were more cautious.

Always have some cash with you.

1. We liked withdrawing cash from BCI ATMs since they didn’t have additional ATM charges.

Always confirm prices before you buy something or commit to a service.

Almost all prices are negotiable, especially out of season.

1. NOTE: Locals are not offended by negotiating; it’s very common in Africa.

If you’re only traveling the coast of Mozambique, you’ll get by with English, but if you plan on going into more rural areas, you will need some basic Portuguese phrases. You may also get by with Spanish or Italian  

Make sure when you’re leaving the beach, you cover up, either with a T-shirt or a sarong. I tried leaving the beach in my bikini, and it was a big no-no.

Sim cards are easy to come by, but it is cheaper to buy them from an actual shop than the guys on the side of the road. We paid 1000 Meticals (CAD 20) for 30GB of Vodacom data.

Drive the speed limit always; police will fine you for any speed over the limit.

We did get stopped by a ton of police and had to show driver's licenses and passports. We often had officials ask us for something to drink; we don’t drink anything other than water. Most of the time they didn’t want that, and we were still all good to go.

Bring everything you need with you; don’t plan on shopping when you get there except for souvenirs.

1. Bring things like sunscreen; the sun is very strong in Africa, and you’ll be paying a huge markup.

2. We wanted snorkel gear & and fins to explore some of the local reefs but couldn’t find them anywhere for purchase. You can rent them, but they charge a lot!

Dairy products aren’t the easiest to come by, so either go without them or be prepared to pay.

Please don’t give the local children sweets; this may be difficult, but we had so many kids running to our car yelling “SWEETS!”

1. Find sustainable ways to give back to local communities by donating to a local school, shopping locally, buying groceries for a family, finding a local non-profit, etc.

If you are driving to Mozambique, make sure you get a TIP (Temporary Import Permit) form for your car!

POV: We got lost a fair bit on some bad roads; try to map out your route beforehand and stick to the main roads even if the road seems longer

1. If you are relying on Google Maps triple check your routes! We use Tracks for Africa, Maps.me & Google maps to help navigate the way (We still got lost because some roads closed or got washed away due to heavy rains but it was all part of the adventure) ​