Mozambique itineraries: 1 week, 2 weeks and 3 weeks

The route you can actually do depends on three things: how you enter (visa and flight), which month you travel, and whether you can afford internal flights. Most nationalities need a visa for Mozambique; check the current rule and whether you can get it on arrival or online before booking anything.

Month sets the coast. May to November is the dry, cooler window with the clearest water for diving and the whale season from July to October. December to April is hot, wetter and cyclone season on the centre coast, which can close roads and dive boats.

Budget decides whether you fly or sit on a bus. Internal flights between Maputo, Inhambane and Vilankulo are the single biggest cost saver of time; a road shuttle is far cheaper but eats a full day each way.

Two nights in Maputo is enough to see the Baixa on foot, eat prawns at the fish market and hear live music, then leave. Give the rest of the week to Tofo: whale sharks, manta rays and humpbacks from May to November, with dive sites a short boat ride offshore.

The leg between them is the decision point. Flying Maputo–Inhambane takes about an hour and protects your beach days; the shuttle is roughly 7–8 hours in daylight (check current schedules). Do not attempt this drive at night.

If you would rather not move twice, swap Tofo for Ponta do Ouro or the Maputo National Park coast and stay south the whole week.

Ten days lets you keep the Maputo–Tofo spine and add Vilankulo, the dhow base for the Bazaruto Archipelago. Tofo to Vilankulo is about 4–5 hours by road (check), so it is a half-day transfer rather than a flight.

From Vilankulo, three to four nights covers a dhow trip, Two Mile Reef and, in season, dugongs around Bazaruto and Benguerra. Fly out of Vilankulo to Johannesburg to avoid backtracking to Maputo.

With 14 days, start in the Kruger area of South Africa, cross at Lebombo early, then run Maputo, Ponta do Ouro, Tofo and Vilankulo. Ponta do Ouro needs a 4x4 and is best for dolphins and reef diving.

Three weeks is enough to add Gorongosa National Park, reached via Beira, and Ilha de Moçambique, the UNESCO stone town on a coral island. Gorongosa's roads open roughly May to November; book the park's own camp or a lodge well ahead.

Ilha de Moçambique sits in Nampula province. The parent country guidance keeps travellers out of Cabo Delgado, Niassa and Nampula while advisories stand, so treat this leg as conditional: check your government's current advice before booking, and drop it if the advice has not changed.

A workable three-week shape is Kruger or Maputo first, the southern beaches, Vilankulo, then a flight to Beira for Gorongosa and a separate flight north only if advice allows. Fly every long leg; do not plan a single overland run down the coast.

Do not try to drive the whole coast. Distances look short on a map but the road is slow, and night driving outside cities is not advisable.

Carry cash. Cards work in Maputo hotels and larger lodges, but beach villages and fuel stops often need meticais; see the money page for tipping norms.

Book dive boats and island trips ahead in the May–November high season, and build one spare day into any itinerary that depends on a domestic flight.