Family holidays with children in Mozambique - attractions and entertainment

Africa is a mysterious and attractive destination for European tourists. If you plan to visit Mozambique and explore this country together with your kids, you need to make certain preparations like to purchase medical insurance and get vaccinated against such diseases as yellow fever, tetanus, and malaria. Examine hotel offers in detail to find the most suitable hotel for families with children. To get to Mozambique, the majority of travelers fly to its capital, Maputo. This is the largest city in the country with a population of more than 1.1 million people. Maputo has an air connection to Lisbon (Portugal), Johannesburg (South Africa), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Nairobi (Kenya), and some other destinations.

The distance from the airport to Maputo is 6 kilometers. It is possible to get to the city by taxi, minibus, or chapella (a small 3 wheeled car). The latter two options are not suitable for children. Minibuses are always full, and chapellas are small and look unsafe. Mozambique is a poor country. Local people are kind-hearted but they are somewhat reckless when it comes to safety. They are friendly with white tourists, but this doesn’t mean that foreigners do not attract swindlers and pickpockets. Maputo is not different from most cities in the world – if a tourist is careless, there is always someone who wants to benefit from this.

For tourists, it is always more comfortable to stay in coastal cities – Maputo, Inhambane, Beira, Vilankulos, Pemba, the Island of Mozambique, and the Bazaruto Archipelago. In Maputo, consider visiting Feima Park (Parque dos Continuadores FEIMA) as it has amusements even for small children. Each of the places mentioned above has a quality hotel for any taste, but the majority of them are not suitable for vacationers with children. The star rating doesn’t always reflect the true comfort, not all hotels have a standard set of services. Restaurants open in hotels usually offer both European and national cuisines. Fish and seafood dishes are available everywhere, but the children’s menu might be not easy to find. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Tourists who value comfort and want to feel united with the tropical nature of Mozambique will find the Bazaruto Archipelago an excellent choice. This is a calm and tidy area with developed tourist infrastructure. Some of the best restaurants in Mozambique are open in Bazaruto. Even the staff in these restaurants is mostly white. Beaches with white sand, transparent coastal water, amazing tropical flora, serene views of the Indian Ocean, delicious cuisine, and comfortable infrastructure – isn’t this an ideal resort? Moreover, Bazaruto is suitable for families.

Resort hotels (Anantara, Azura, Marlin) of the two large islands of the archipelago – Bazaruto and Benguerra – offer everything for comfortable and trouble-free recreation. Tourists can rent villas with the bathtub, shower, kitchen, and full board. As a rule, restaurants at such hotels have separate menus for children. Turquoise water, endless beaches, kayaking, whale watching, snorkeling, and diving for older guests – all these can make a vacation here unforgettable. That being said, these are not all activities available to tourists. Add here boat and helicopter rides, horseback riding excursions, and crocodile watching in the freshwater lakes of Beguerra, and you will understand why this resort is so popular.

Vilanculos is the closest mainland settlement to Bazaruto. The town is not big but it still has several dozen hotels for any taste and budget. Tourists can find a suitable and affordable hotel here because the rates are significantly lower than on the islands. From Vilanculos, tourists can make daily excursions to the protected areas of Bazaruto or enjoy the same activities. Comfortable and tranquil holidays in resort hotels of the archipelago are significantly more pleasant than in the mainland. Consequently, hotels on the islands are more expensive – it is not rare so see US$2,000 per night. For example, tourists can lie on the sand wherever they want in Bazaruto – everything is perfectly clean and tidy. In Maputo, it is hard to imagine the same. Beaches in the capital are not very clean and the coastal water is not transparent. However, it is not hard to find a hotel that costs US$100 per night in Maputo.

The Gorongosa National Park, which is located 150 kilometers from Beira, can easily excite all members of the family and make them want to stay here for several days. Beware of monkeys in this park. They are everywhere and can easily steal your belongings. Children usually find such moments very amusing. Accommodation and food are good. Gorongosa Campsite is a neat place with a quality restaurant that offers both Mozambican and international cuisines. The camp is located in the middle of a beautiful park. Gorongosa Campsite offers unique experiences such as a safari in a protected area of 4,000 kilometers. This is a truly picturesque place: savannahs, tropical forests, rivers that start in Mount Gorongosa, and lakes in the valley that these rivers flow into. This region is home to many African species of animals and roughly 400 species of birds.

Visitors can see such famous African animals as elephants and zebras, baboons and crocodiles, hippos and lions, gazelles and antelopes. Some animals come very close and it is possible to see them in detail. Of course, tourists cannot see all these animals at once because they migrate in the park. This region looks like a giant zoo with one difference - this time people are in caged vehicles and animals live their ordinary life in the wild. In the south of Mozambique, tourists can see the diverse animal world of Africa in such national reserves as Machangulo Private Nature and Maputo Special Reserve. Safari is the primary reason why people visit these parks. As a rule, children love safari too. There are not many hotels but they look tidy. The prices can be very different, and the beaches are clean.

Don’t forget that tourist resorts are intended for foreign guests and they are safe to stay even if they might look not clean enough. Rural areas, in their turn, do not have any tourist infrastructure. People are poorer in these areas too. This part of Mozambique is not suitable for vacationers with children. Family tourism is not developed in the countryside. National reserves and safari are the only amusements available to tourists.