Africa > Mozambique

Beach riding and riding holidays in Mozambique

A tropical paradise! A centre based riding holiday in Mozambique offers a wonderful combination of daily beach rides along white sandy beaches with an array of water-based activities. Take a dhow to a nearby island, swim your horse in the warm Indian Ocean or follow riding trails inland through sand dunes and local villages. The clear blue waters are a haven for scuba divers and snorkellers, making this an ideal destination for riders and non-riders alike.
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From the horse’s mouth

  • Working holiday in Mozambique
    August 2022 Amanda aged 66
    A wonderful experience with a lovely family, fantastic horses and the most beautiful location. I met so many great people who looked after me and made me feel completely at home. The horses I rode were all lovely to ride and beautifully mannered. A special mention for the beautiful Serena but also Texas, Lady, Sharka... Read all
    More about this trip
  • Mozambique escapade
    Mozambique escapade

Visa & Health

Formalities

A passport valid for a minimum of six months beyond the intended date of departure from Mozambique is required by all nationals of Australia, Canada, USA, the UK and Other EU countries.
Please note that a minimum of three blank pages is required for your visa.

Visas
All visitors (except citizens of Swaziland, South Africa, Tanzania, Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, & Zambia) need a visa.
If you’re a tourist or travelling for work purposes from a country where there is a Mozambican diplomatic mission, you must get the appropriate visa before travelling.
If you’re travelling from a country where there is no Mozambican diplomatic or consular representation, you should apply for a visa from the nearest country with a Mozambican diplomatic mission before travelling.
You must present on entry a return air ticket (for air travellers) and either an invitation from family / friends or a confirmed hotel reservation.

Embassies
Mozambique High Commission in the UK
Telephone: (020) 7383 3800. Opening times: Mon-Fri 0930-1300 and 1400-1700.
Time required
Allow three days for visa processing. Visas can also be issued within 24 hours (express service) or within 90 minutes (same-day express service) for an additional fee.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION RE: TRAVELLING WITH CHILDREN
From 1st June 2015, South Africa have introduced tough rulings for anyone travelling with children, including passengers transitting South Africa to another destination.
- Two parents travelling with children will need to show the childs Unabridged Birth Certificate (UBC)
- One parent travelling with a child will need to show the UBC plus either: a Parental Consent Affidavit (PAC) from the parent not travelling OR a letter of special circumstance.
- Widowed parents will need to show the UBC and a death certificate for the deceased parent
- Children travelling with family friends will need a UBC, PCA, copies of the parents passports and contact details for the parents.

For more information click here: http://www.dha.gov.za/index.php/statements-speeches/621-updated-advisory-new-requirements-for-children-travelling-through-south-african-ports-of-entry

Contact South African Immigration for what is required for other circumstances.

Addresses of consulates

  • Paris Ambassade du Mozambique
    82, rue Laugier
    75017 Paris
    Tél. : 01.47.64.91.32
    Fax :
    embamocparis@wanadoo.fr
  • Ambassade de France au Mozambique
    Avenida Julius Nyerere
    BP 4781
    2361 Maputo
    Tél. : +258 (21) 48 46 00
    Fax :
    admin-francais.maputo-amba@diplomatie.gouv.fr
  • Mozambique High Commission
    21 Fitzroy Square
    W1T 6EL London
    Tél. : +44 020 7383 3800
    Fax :

Health

There are no vaccinations legally required to travel to Mozambique except that you need a yellow fever vaccination if you have travelled to a country (7 days or less before entering Mozambique) where that disease is widely prevalent (such as Zambia). Also, a cholera stamp is required when entering the country overland.
The usual recommendations for vaccination are for Diphtheria, Tetanus and Polio (DTP). Also both Hepatitis A and Typhoid are often recommended.
If you are staying longer than 3 months or have a particular risk you might consider a rabies vaccination. Vaccination against Tuberculosis and Hepatitis B are also sometimes recommended for stays longer than 3 months.
Malaria is prevalent in the country. Don't underestimate this tropical disease and take precautions. Buy repellent (preferably with 50% DEET), and sleep under a net.

Insurance

It is a condition of your booking with Equus Journeys that you have travel insurance which covers you for the riding activities to be undertaken. Your travel insurance should cover you for medical expenses and repatriation. Your guides will require your travel insurance details before they allow you to ride and may refuse to let you ride if you cannot provide them. You should take your insurance documents with you.

Voltage

220/240 volts AC, 50Hz. South African-style three-pin (round) plugs are used in the capital and most tourist areas.

Budget and money

Mozambique Metical (MZN; symbol MT) = 100 centavos. Notes are in denominations of MT1,000, 500, 200, 100, 50 and 20. Coins are in denominations of MT10, 5, 2 and 1 and 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1 centavos.
Note: The new Metical replaced the old Metical (MZM) on 1 July 2006. 1 MZN = 1,000 MZM. The old notes ceased being legal tender on 31 December 2006.
Credit cards are increasingly accepted in Maputo, but not generally beyond the capital.
Travellers cheques are not commonly accepted, and where accepted are slow to process and often attract high rates of commission.

Please note that the metical is a restricted currency, so try to use up your meticais before you leave the country.

Telephone and jetlag

The dialling code for Mozambique is +258.
Roaming agreements exist with most international mobile phone operators. Coverage is expanding to all main cities in most provinces, but may be patchy in rural areas.
There are Internet cafes in most cities.
Mozambique is GMT +2 hours

Country information

Country ID

Population: 24.1 million (2013).
Population density: 30.1 per sq km.

Area: 799,380 sq km (308,642 sq miles)
Language: Portuguese is the official language. Many local African languages, such as Tsonga, Sena Nyanja, Makonde and Macua, are also spoken.
Political regime: Republic
Capital: Maputo
Religion: Christian (mainly Roman Catholic), Muslim and Hindu. Many also follow traditional beliefs.
Head of state: President Armando Guebuza since 2005
Head of government: Prime Minister Alberto Clementino Vaquina since 2012

Socio-economical data

Following the civil war, the Mozambican economy picked up strongly in the late 1990s. Devastating floods, drought and trade-related disputes in the new millennium have intermittently undermined progress, and required aid donors to step in. Growth was at a healthy 7.9% in 2006, but inflation was also high at 13.2%.
In mid 2006, the World Bank relieved Mozambique from much of its long-term foreign debt burden, and remaining debts were rescheduled under the IMF's Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.
Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy. Forestry is increasing in importance. Fishing is both an important source of food and a vital export earner. Manufacturing industry produces one quarter of GDP: products include processed foods, textiles, drinks, cement and fertiliser. Mining operations produce coal, salt, bauxite, gemstones and marble. In addition, natural gas is extracted from onshore fields and piped to South Africa.

History

Between the first and fifth centuries AD, waves of Bantu-speaking people migrated from the west and north through the Zambezi River valley and then gradually into the plateau and coastal areas. When Portuguese explorers reached East Africa in 1498, Swahili and Arabic commercial settlements had existed along the coast and outlying islands for several centuries. From about 1500, Portuguese trading posts and forts displaced the Arabic commercial and military leadership and Mozambique became a regular port of call on the new European sea route to the east. The Portuguese gained control of the Island of Mozambique and the port city of Sofala in the early 16th century, and by the 1530s small groups of Portuguese traders and prospectors penetrated the interior regions seeking gold, where they set up garrisons and trading posts at Sena and Tete on the Zambezi River and tried to gain exclusive control over the gold trade. During the 18th and 19th centuries the Mazrui and Omani Arabs reclaimed much of the Indian Ocean trade, forcing the Portuguese to retreat south. Many prazos had declined by the mid-19th century, but several of them survived. During the 19th century other European powers, particularly the British (British South Africa Company) and the French, became increasingly involved in the trade and politics of the region around the Portuguese East African territories.
As communist and anti-colonial ideologies spread out across Africa, many clandestine political movements were established in support of Mozambican independence. The Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO), initiated a guerrilla campaign against Portuguese rule in September 1964. This conflict, along with two others already initiated in the other Portuguese colonies of Angola and Portuguese Guinea, became part of the so-called Portuguese Colonial War (1961–1974). Mozambique became independent from Portugal on June 25, 1975. Within a few years, almost the entire ethnic Portuguese population which had remained at independence had also departed. Starting shortly after independence, the country was plagued from 1977 to 1992 by a long and violent civil war between the opposition forces of anti-Communist RENAMO rebel militias and the Marxist FRELIMO regime - the Mozambican Civil War. By mid-1995 more than 1.7 million Mozambican refugees who had sought asylum in neighbouring Malawi, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Zambia, Tanzania and South Africa as a result of war and drought had returned, as part of the largest repatriation witnessed in sub-Saharan Africa.

Geography

Mozambique borders Tanzania to the north, Zambia and Malawi to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and South Africa and Swaziland to the southwest. To the east lies the Indian Ocean and a coastline of nearly 2,500km (1,550 miles) with beaches bordered by lagoons, coral reefs and strings of islands. Behind the coastline, a vast low plateau rising towards mountains in the west and north accounts for nearly half the area of Mozambique. The landscape of the plateau is savannah - more or less dry and open woodlands with tracts of short grass steppe.
The western and northern highlands are patched with forest. The Zambezi is the largest and most important of the 25 main rivers which flow through Mozambique into the Indian Ocean. The major concentrations of population (comprising many different ethnic groups) are along the coast and in the fertile and relatively productive river valleys, notably in Zambezia and Gaza provinces.

People, culture and traditions

Shaking hands is the customary form of greeting. The courtesies and modes of address customary in Portugal and other Latin countries are still observed. Casual wear is acceptable. Formal dress is seldom required

Choosing the right riding holiday

Choosing the right riding holiday

The book "One Hundred and Four Horses" tells the story of Pat and Mandy Retzlaff and how they fled war-torn Zimbabwe with the horses they refused to leave behind. Eventually they reached Mozambique and set up home on the beautiful sandy beaches around Vilanculos. Some of the horses they rescued are still available for you to ride on our riding holidays in Mozambique