Mozambique

Portuguese is the official language, though most Mozambicans also speak a Bantu language such as Makhuwa, Sena or Changana at home. English is spoken in tourist hotels, dive centres and lodges, but is limited elsewhere, including most restaurants, chapas and rural areas. A handful of Portuguese phrases go a long way outside the main tourist spots.

Prepaid SIM cards are sold by Vodacom, Movitel and Tmcel at airports and phone shops in every city; registration requires your passport. Coverage is solid along the coast and in provincial capitals but drops off in reserves like Niassa National Reserve and on remote islands, so do not count on a signal everywhere.

Tap water is not safe to drink; stick to bottled or filtered water, including for brushing teeth in smaller towns. Malaria is present across most of the country, so antimalarial medication and mosquito precautions (repellent, covering up at dusk, a net if your room lacks screens) are strongly recommended. A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required if you are arriving from a country with risk of yellow fever transmission.

Pharmacies are well stocked in Maputo and other cities but limited elsewhere, so bring any medication you rely on. Private clinics in Maputo offer the best standard of care; for anything serious, medical evacuation insurance is worth having.

Most visitors need a visa to enter Mozambique. Many nationalities can get one on arrival at major airports and land borders, or apply in advance through the online eVisa system, which is often faster. Citizens of a handful of African countries can enter visa-free. Your passport should be valid for at least six months beyond your arrival date, with blank pages for stamps.

Visa and entry requirements change frequently. Verify current requirements with the official immigration authority or your country's embassy before travel.

Greetings matter: a handshake and a few words of Portuguese, even just "bom dia" (good morning), are appreciated before getting to business. Elders are treated with particular respect.

• Dress modestly away from beach resorts, especially in rural areas and at religious sites.
• Ask before photographing people; some may expect a small payment or simply prefer not to be photographed.
• Bargaining is normal in markets and with informal vendors, but not in shops with marked prices.
• Use "senhor" or "senhora" with a surname in formal situations.

Public holidays can close shops, banks and government offices for the day, and transport gets busier around them. Most shops in cities open Monday to Saturday and close or reduce hours on Sundays; smaller towns often pause for a lunch break in the early afternoon.

• By air: LAM, the national carrier, and a few smaller airlines connect Maputo with Beira, Nampula, Pemba, Vilankulo and Tete. Given the country's size and slow roads, flying is often the only practical way to cover long distances.
• By road: Shared minibuses called chapas are the main way most Mozambicans travel between towns; they are cheap but slow, crowded, and leave only once full. Long-distance coaches run the main routes, such as Maputo–Beira and Maputo–Xai-Xai, and are more comfortable.
• By rail: Passenger trains are limited to a few routes, including Nampula–Cuamba and short commuter lines around Maputo; most rail traffic is freight.
• By boat: Dhows and speedboats connect the mainland to island destinations like Bazaruto Archipelago, Ibo Island and Ilha de Moçambique.

Mozambique drives on the left.

Mozambican food blends Bantu, Swahili and Portuguese influences, and seafood is central almost everywhere on the coast. Breakfast is usually simple — bread (pão) with coffee or tea — while lunch and dinner often centre on rice, cassava (mandioca) or xima, a maize porridge, served with a meat, fish or vegetable stew.

The best-known dish is frango à Zambeziana, chicken grilled and basted in a garlic, lemon and piri-piri chilli sauce; the chilli itself was introduced by Portuguese traders and has been grown and cooked with here for generations. Matapa, cassava leaves stewed with peanut sauce and often prawns, is another staple worth trying, alongside grilled prawns and other fresh seafood along the coast. Street food includes chamussas (savory pastries) and grilled corn; tropical fruit such as mango, cashew apple and papaya is abundant in season. The local lager, 2M, and cashew-based spirits are widely drunk, and a strong tea and coffee culture reflects the Portuguese influence.

South: Maputo, the capital, has the country's widest choice of restaurants and nightlife, plus notable colonial architecture, including Fortaleza de Maputo. South of the capital, Xai-Xai and Inhambane are gateways to popular beaches and diving, including whale shark and manta ray encounters near Vilankulo and the Bazaruto Archipelago.

Central: Beira and Chimoio are the main hubs for reaching Gorongosa National Park, while Tete sits on the Zambezi River near the Cahora Bassa dam.

North: Nampula is the gateway to Ilha de Moçambique, a UNESCO World Heritage town built around Fort of São Sebastião, the oldest European fort still standing in sub-Saharan Africa. Further north, Pemba is the jumping-off point for the Quirimbas, including Ibo Island and its 18th-century Fort São João Baptista, and for the remote Niassa National Reserve inland. Quelimane, on the central coast, is a quieter alternative with its own colonial core.