Reviews: "Love the newsletters! Keep them coming" Janice Fleming...MORE REVIEWS
Diving Mozambique
13 March 2024
There is some incredible diving in Mozambique. The Bazaruto archipelago has been a protected area since 1971. Here you can find dugongs, dolphins, whales and turtles. In Tofo, Inhambane you can see whale sharks and manta rays. Nacala to the north of Mozambique is a beautiful area with a great diversity of sealife. The Quirimbas National Park lies along the north east of the country.
Best time to dive
The rainy season in Mozambique runs from November to April. The water is warm throughout the year. February and August are often windy so the visibility may not be as good during these months. The best vis, and possibly the best time to go, is between May and September.
Don't forget the diving travel insurance
Some countries are advising against travelling to north Mozambique. Check you government's travel advice for where. Most visits elsewhere in the country are trouble-free, but don't forget to take out insurance which includes diving before you go.
Mozambique is an fascinating mix of first world and third world.
I have dived most of the coast of Mozambique it is fantastic, from Whales and Mantas to leaf fish and harlequin shrimps.
Simon
I'm very happy to see this page. Thanks! I've dived in other places too, and I still think Mozambique and northern South Africa has the best diving anywhere.
David Forbes
Dive Sites of Mozambique • Mozambique Dive Operators • Your Comments
Dive Sites of the Mozambique
"I learned to dive here and many of the people I dived with were very experienced and they all agreed that it was the best diving they had ever seen. Better than the Red Sea, better than Australia... the best. The diving possibilities are almost limitless. There is a beautiful, calm, incredibly bright lagoon. Coral reefs abound within 300 m to 3000+ metres of the shore in all directions. The weather is irrationally gorgeous and visibility was virtually unlimited even at 30 m. Tropical, aquatic life abounds including blue spotted rays, crocodile fish, whales and sharks (even great whites). I saw four 1-4 metre rays in one 24 min. dive. The coral is spectacular and varied with many arches and tunnels and caves for those who like to play. As if that wasn't enough, it is probably some of the cheapest diving in the world. I got 7 dives and NAUI certification for less than a quarter of what it would have cost me in the US"
Neal Winn
"Whale sharks, Manatees regularly, different rays, (lucky to see moon fish), you wouldn't see great white though...well maybe down at Zai Zai. Plenty of Murray eels, Lionfish and large potatobass, Barracuda and turtle."
Ane Munkeby
"Visibility 100%, mantas galore even 2 whale sharks nearby. Good value for money."
Tertius Hofmeyr
"A pinnacle at 18 to 28 m. There are always Manta rays on reef: they have a cleaning station there. Plenty of sharks and good viz. The reef is 10 km off Praia de Barra."
John Law
A marine protected area with dugongs, dolphins, whales and turtles. The local communities share in the tourism revenues from the marine park. The park covers an area of 1430 km2, and consists of the five islands in the archipelago and the surrounding waters1.
"Set out beyond the islands this amazing reef has swim throughs walls and pinnacles.swam with a turtle and listen into the whales."
Simon
"Huge diversity of species. Medium Shallow dive. Around 20 mts. Plenty of nudibranches, mantisshrimp, turtles, parrot fish, emperor angelfish, fungidae, etc..."
Carolina Jesus
"A shallow dive straight off the beach, easy and gentle."
Simon
"Bat fish here are incredible, whales enter the bay, sunfish - also shallower areas for fantastic corals and smaller fish. Not touristy!"
Gemma Steel
"Batfish galore they swim above you the entire dive."
Simon
Since 2002, along the northeast coast of Mozambique, sits the protected Quirimbas National Park.
"(Situ Island) can be booked as a private island so the entire experience is just amazing. Accommodation and food is very good value for money. Diving is excellent value for money. Two boats, excellent condition. Diving, fishing, relaxation. Situated in the Quirimbas National Park. "
Danelda Dicke, December 2015
"Beautiful tropical fish everywhere, including some beautiful juvenile fish! Schools of fish follow you around while you explore the beautiful reefs. Dolphins swam with the boat going to this site.
Great value for the money...great prices! I would recomend it for everyone. The beach here is breath taking! And, the best part, it is not crowded! What a great experience all around. Great hospitality, great people, great sights!"
Tiffany, USA
"Tons of tropical fish, honeycomb eels, parot fish, turtles, and beautiful coral. I also saw two Humback Whales up close at this site. There is a great swim through here too."
Tiffany, USA, 2007
"Colourful and vibrant, massive potato bass! "
Ryan Mahoney, 2012
"Prolific fish life covering the most diverse species in the Indian Ocean."
Melinda, 2008
"Lots of small stuff and big stuff. Nudis, so many, leaffish, Patato grouper, turtles, jacks, shrimps. Everything but sharks........for them do Pinnacles, but no guarantees."
Edwin, Netherlands, 2008
"Excellent site! I saw giant manta rays, a sea turtle, a prodigal son, a big sea bass (named Nuisance), tons of tropical fish and magnificant coral. The fish here are magnificant and some are absolutely giant in size! What a great dive! I saw more at this dive site than I have at any other!"
Tiffany, USA, 2007
"A deep reef starting 28m dropping off to over 40m, Huge potato bass congregate here, together with game fish which attract sharks of all descriptions, especially Zambezi, Hammerheads and the odd Tiger shark. Viz is usually around the 30m mark, it is an awesome "big blue" dive! "
Louie Bodenstaff, 2012
"Pinnacle at 35 m with Shark on every dive; Bull, Tiger, silver tip, Hammerheads, Manta, devil rays."
Melinda, 2008
"Hammerheads and tons of mantas. 40 m viz and 28 deg C water temperature."
Richard Labuschagne
"At 22 m, teeming with just about all the species found in the Indian Ocean plus an abundance of various corals (hard and soft)."
Melinda, 2008
"Water was green and not very clear and there was hardly any fishlife. The locals were using gillnets which has decimated all large fish populations in this area."
John Weller
"My best dive ever. Apparently this is one of Scuba Galaxy's treasured secrets and I found out why. We had 4 manta rays, a leopard shark, schools of barracuda, lion fish, sting rays, honeycomb morays, garden eels and more. I did not have enough eyes in my head to capture it all. Viz was about 30 mtrs"
Marcus, 2011
"Get lost in stunning rock formations. Lionfish, mantas, white tip sharks, diversity of corals. Great guide."
Carolina Jesus, June 2018
"Probably the best cave / swim through structures I have ever experienced. Huge underwater tunnels some over 20mtrs long and big enough to swim side by side. Not much big marine life but a few juveniles can be seen. The structure is amazing. Viz was about 15mtrs"
Marcus, 2011
"Huge turtles, huge spanish dancers, huge crayfish, a variety of nudibranches and lots of fish. They tell me the viz is not always 25mtrs, mostly 12-15, so I got it on a good day, but whatever the viz, it is an awesome site."
Marcus, 2011
" I filmed a great white on a dive in Tofo 3 days ago, it seems to be the first footage ever of that. It shows a beautiful animal with no intent to harm us. Both the shark and us (the divers) are calm and curious."
Huub Waaldijk, January 2018
High season here is October and November but you can generally see the whale sharks and mantas year round.
"In November: Snorkeling with whalesharks on the way to and from the diving spot. RIB shore entry very spectacular. On the dive at least 5 giant Manta rays. Even saw glimpse of Whale Shark during the dive.
Also lots of small stuff around: Giant frogfish, lots of nudis, mantiss shrimp, green turtle, hawksbill turtle"
Edwin van Velzen, November 2018
"Loads of mantas, spanish dancers, morey eel, crayfish, shrimps, paper fish, whale sharks, colourful fish..."
Hayley
Amazing, manatarays, lion fish, morays of colours never seen before, crays and much much more.
Renee Ker, Australia
"This is the "cleaning station" for giant manta rays. It felt like you were diving in a National Geographic documentary on Manta Rays. They were everywhere - and stayed there for the whole duration of the dive. Huge turtles, and clouds of brightly coloured tropical fish accompanied us on our journey."
Maria Findlay
"10500 ton wreck from 36 to 53 m deep. Huge brindle bass, sharks,manta, schooling pelagic fish, it has all been seen here. Decompression dive for experienced and qualified divers only. "
Mozdivers, 2012
"Vibrant reef from 12 to 20 m with several manta ray cleaning stations in 12 to 16 m. "
Mozdivers, 2012
"This is almost certainly the best dive in the world, with towering underwater pinnacles and mountains that stretch for hundreds of feet to the sea floor, a large and thriving population of Grey reef sharks, coral as vibrant and rich as the great barrier reef used to be, and thousands upon thousand of fish of every variety, this picturesque, and stunning dive site, currently the residence of a world renowned director and his film crew shooting a film all about the beauty of these waters, this definitely deserves a place in the top 15, if not number 1 "
Anon, 2015
Mozambique Diving Operators
Ponta Do Ouro | Morrungulo | Nacala | Inhambane
On the road to main launch area
Ponta d Ouro
Maputo
Southern Mozambique
Tel: +258 844332267 / +258 845808541
blowingbubblesdiving@outlook.com
Offer un-baited shark diving. The main species of sharks encountered are Tiger, Hammerhead, Bull, Silvertip, Black tip, Leopard and Grey Reef Sharks and on occasions also Dusky, Java, Whitetip Reef, Spinner, Nurse, Guitar and Ragged Tooth Sharks. Also reef diving, dive courses, photography, videography with shark diving package. Operating hours: 7 am - 3 pm Monday to Sunday.
North Beach Road (200m N from Petrol Station)
Ponta do Ouro
Southern Mozambique
Tel: +258 846115589
backtobasicsadventures@gmail.com
Instagram: back2basicsadventures
We are small boutique dive center offering specialized shark diving and UW photography trips. We are always updated on the latest shark research and trends within our ocean, offering you the best possible dive of the day. A new feature is our exclusive 4 day trip exploring the lesser dived reefs in the northern part of our Marine Reserve where we have wrecks, caves and sharks.
LDA
Ponta do Ouro
Rua N* 125
Southern Mozambique
natalie@gozo-azul.co.za
mariet@gozo-azul.co.za
Gozo-Azul Ponta do Ouro is a family operated PADI 5 Star IDC Dive Centre, offering some of Southern Mozambique’s best scuba diving all year round. Scuba diving trips operate daily from their own boats. They offer all equipment rental, with dive sites suitable for beginner to technical divers. Offer all Padi dive course from beginner to professional levels in a variety of languages. Operate snorkelling trips too plus accommodation and Maputo or Kosi-bay border transfers.
Mozambique
Tel: (011) 803 4185
Fax: (011) 803 3861
"Jakes knows a lot about fish and the various dive sites around, here..beautiful diving."
Anton
Bonito Bay Resort
Morrungulo
Mozambique
Tel: +258 82 6344929
E-mail: scuba@bonitobay.com.
"We are a relatively new dive operation in Mozambique, having been here for a year now. This part of Mozambique was pretty difficult to get to in the past, as the roads were terrible and people got tired of taking extra tyres with them and having major damage to their suspensions etc. BUT NOW... the roads have all been properly tarred and are amazing. Our good fortune is that most of the dive sites are unexplored and in pristine condition."
Scuba Galaxy
"We stayed at Bonito Bay. It is a newish resort, very comfortable and reasonably priced. The owners are very social and go out of their way to make sure you have a good stay. The boat was very comfortable and the skipper made sure that you knew where everything was in his really funny briefing. Gear was all in pristine condition and the dive masters were brilliant. No stress diving is what I would call it. Good value for money as there were no hidden costs. Lots of variety, lots of marine life and many many dive sites.
Dave and Desiree run an amazing operation at the Bonito Bay Resort in Morrungulo. Reasonably priced, super friendly... arrive as a client...leave as a friend!! Their knowledge of the area and marine life is incredible."
Marcus
Bonito Bay Resort
Morrungulo
Mozambique
Tel: +258 86 4151925
.
Nuarro Lodge (DEO) PO BOX 88
Nacala Bay
Nampula Province
Mozambique
E-mail: info@nuarro.com
Praia da Barra
Inhambane
Moçambique
GPS: 23º47’36.12”S 35º31’28.47”E
WhatsApp: +258 843 227 272
Tel: +258 823 227 272
see@sentidosbeachretreat.com
Located between a lagoon surrounded by mangroves and the deep blue of the Indian Ocean. Offer diving and a range of PADI courses.
Zavora Lodge
Inhambane Province
Mozambique
Tel: +258 82 776 6417
E-mail: jon@mozdivers.com.
Offer Recreational and technical diving and courses from IANTD and PADI: rebreather friendly, nitrox, trimix. All levels of diver catered for. The only fully equipped technical facility in Mozambique Situated in Zavora Lodge which has a wide variety of accommodation from backpacker to double en suite.
Albatroz Lodge Backpackers
Tofo
Inhambane
Mozambique
Tel: 00258825505661
E-mail: steve@peri-peridivers.com
"Peri-Peri Divers are part of Tofo Beach's thriving dive industry. Owners Steve and Nick combine their 15 years of local experience and enthusiasm to offer a bespoke range of diving experiences, including ocean safaris, PADI training courses and dive packages in association with the neighbouring Albatroz Lodge. Peri Peri offer a personalised service that rivals the larger more commercial operations by taking smaller groups of divers to explore Tofo's world famous dive sites."
Steven Counsel (Peri-Peri Divers)
Liquid Dive Adventures, PADI 5* IDC center and Green Star Resort
Tofo
Inhambane
Mozambique
Tel: +258 84 827 6026
Whatsapp: +258 84 827 6026
E-mail: info@liquiddiveadventures.com.
Suite 128
Private Bag x11326
Nelspruit
1200
South Africa
Tel: +27 (0)13 751 2220
E-mail: info@mozambiquetravelservice.com.
Will take care of all travel arrangements.
1261 Prospect Street
Hatfield
Pretoria
0083
South Africa
Tel: +27 827195100, +27 764614310
E-mail: info@bluechillisa.com
Adventure company from southern Africa that runs diving tours to Mozambique. Offer a 10% discount on group outings from dive schools and companies. Dive tours include: 13 Day Bush and Beach Diving Tour, 13 Day Indian Ocean Scuba Experience, 11 Day Wet and Wild and 7 Day Nemo Seeker.
Umkomaas 4170
KZN
South Africa
Tel: +27 82 336 8573
E-mail: dive@scubasafaris.co.za
Tour operator specialising in dive and adventure safaris in South Africa and Mozambique. Typical trips are 7 Species in 7 Days - Shark Safari and the South African East Coast Safari for the first months of the year; June the Sardine Run starts. Also have an exclusive new dive adventure: which is diving with the Nile Crocodiles in the Okavango Delta (Botswana) - with two boats at all times, only one client in the water with two guides, qualified paramedic on site, all inclusive private camp setup on private island or luxury houseboat. Back to Sardine Run in August for another couple weeks. Then its windy season and November will be Shark Safari and/or South African East Cast Safari.
Tel: 039 9721895
Mobile: 084 2600157
E-mail: john@toptoursafrica.com
Further Reading and References
1Community conservation in Bazaruto Archipelago National Park, Mozambique, WWF.Your Comments
Please send us your comments on the Mozambique. Do you want to recommend a diving centre or dive site? Let us know. If you own a dive centre get yourself added.