Guide To Traveling Vilanculos and the Bazaruto Archipelago, Mozambique

Bazaruto Archipelago National Park is a remote cluster of six islands located in picturesque southern Mozambique. These nutrient rich waters contain such a hotbed of biodiversity that they are considered to be the ‘Galapagos’ of the Indian Ocean. I spent a few days in this little piece of paradise sailing through the islands on a dhow.

This visit is all part of my Mozambique Travel Itinerary which breaks down my trip to all the wonderful places in Mozambique.

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Getting to the Bazaruto Archipelago

The Bazaruto is a group of islands in southern Mozambique known for its incredible beaches and marine life. Getting to the islands is not easy but has become easier recently.

Vilanculos, a sleepy town full of South African ex-pats is home base for travel to the islands.

Lowtide boat resting on the beach in a cloudy day in Vilanculos.

Vilanculos can be reached by flight from Johannesburg via SAA airlink, or driving from the SA/Mozambique border (~10 hours). There are a few backpacker resorts in Vilanculos and from this town, a few companies organize dhow safaris to visit the islands. Because there is a large South Africa presence here, it is more developed and tourism infrastructure is good.

Our little hotel stop, Smugglers, in Vilanculos before heading to the Bazaruto.

Dhow Safari of the Bazaruto Archipelago

Part of an overland tour I did with Nomad, this was the highlight of our 2 week trip through Swaziland and Mozambique. We did a 2 day, 1 night dhow safari through sailaway.co.za departing from Vilanculos, a sleepy beachside town full of South African ex-pats and also the gateway town to Bazaruto. As this was already organized and we had already paid for it, I didn’t bother asking around for better rates. However, I think these guys are probably the most expensive.

The group stopping for lunch on the drive up from Tofo to Vilanculos.

Nevertheless, there isn’t much to write about when it comes to the Bazaruto, pictures are all that’s needed. There are five islands that make up this Archipelago: Bazaruto Island, Benguerua, Santa Catalina, Magaruque, and Chizungune. We ended up visiting Magaruque and Bazaruto. These islands are all home to ultra-luxury lodges ($500-1500/night) and some islands can only be visited with a reservation.

Magaruque Island

Our first stop on our dhow safari was Magaruque Island, a deserted beach paradise. The Bazaruto is famous and particularly unique to me because of its dramatic sandbars that appear and disappear with the tides. As we sailed towards Magaruque, it was still low tide and we could barely see the sandbars but as we got to the island, the tide was coming in, and a large sandbar appeared in the distance. It looked so beautifully inviting that I felt like I could swim there!

We set up camp here for a few hours, while the crew of our dhow safari cooked us up a delicious seafood lunch, and snorkeled. After lunch, we sailed back towards the mainland (they are no longer allowed to set up camp in the Bazaruto as the islands all belong to someone), where we sleep in tents and await the morning.

Our ship captain also preparing our delicious seafood lunch

Margaruque Island Mozambique — Beautiful Margaruque island!

Lounging after a long day sailing around the Indian Ocean.

Bazaruto Island

Day 2 of the dhow safari begins with some snorkeling next to Benguerra Island. The snorkeling was excellent. There is diving available here too as we saw a few dive boats. God, all these islands are just incredible. We sailed past some of the private resorts and my goodness they were incredible, as they should be for those exorbitant prices. Some day!

Ridiculous views, this picture does NOT do it any justice. The views of the sandbanks up on a huge dune is something else.

Bazaruto Island sand dunes vilankulos mozambique — Bazaruto Island!

bazaruto island dunes vilanculos mozambique desert — Playing on the dunes on Bazaruto Island

dunes bazaruto island mozambique beach — Bazaruto Island Dunes

With all that said however, Bazaruto Island is definitely the highlight. There is a huge sand dune on this island that we could see from a distance. As soon as we docked, we ran straight towards the sand dune. Sand dunes are incredible enough as it is but when it is surrounded by beautiful, tropical colored water, that is something very special. It was like Sossusvlei meets Zanzibar. You can jump around, scream, and yell because there is no one else around!

From talking to the locals, the smaller and less visited islands around the Bazaruto are supposedly even more nice than the two islands we visited of Margaruque and Bazaruto.

Thankfully, I would be heading up to the Quirimbas in Northern Mozambique shortly, which in my opinion are even more stunning than the Bazaruto.

Luxury Resorts in the Bazaruto

To actually stay in the Bazaruto, you’ll need to stay at one of the ultra luxury resorts. Each island within the archipelago has one or two ultra fancy resorts. Prices for these resorts can easily eclipse $1,000 a night. From Vilanculos, there are private boats or private helicopters that will take guests to these islands. Here is a list of the nicest resorts in the Bazaruto