Mozambique

As it is impossible to exchange Meticais outside of Mozambique it is advisable to change a small amount of currency if arriving at a land border in mid to late afternoon to cover taxis and meals for the first night, currency exchanges generally close at 6PM and due to sporadic ATM failures access to currency is by no means guaranteed out of hours. When accepted by merchants foreign currency has an extremely poor exchange rate.

By ship

Currently there is no scheduled sea travel to and from Mozambique.

By plane

Most international flights arrive from South Africa, although direct international routes also exist between Mozambique and Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya and Portugal.

There are several flights daily from Johannesburg to Maputo, operated by South African Airways SAA (http://www.flysaa.com) and the Mozambican flag-carrier Linhas Aereas de Moçambique LAM (http://www.lam.co.mz.Federal) Air fly daily direct to Vilanculos International airport (http://www.fedair.com/moz...) . These and other airlines such as Kenya Airways (http://www.kenya-airways.com), Swazi Express Airways (http://www.swaziexpress.com), TAP Portugal (http://www.tap.pt) also fly from Durban, Swaziland, Dar es Salaam, Harare, Nairobi and Lisbon. In addition, local carrier Air Corridor (http://www.aircorridor.co.mz/) may start operating one or more international routes soon.

There are also several flights during the week from Johannesburg, Dar es Salaam, and Nairobi to Pemba in the North, operated by either South African Airlink SAA or LAM. If you make a telephone booking with LAM and will not be paying for your flight until check-in you must reconfirm the flight 72 hours before departure or they are liable to cancel it.

After checking in you need to get a tax stamp on your boarding card. For internal flights the tax is 200 Mts and for International flights 500 Mts to be paid in cash.

Visas And Border Fees

All visitors except citizens of Swaziland, South Africa, Tanzania, Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius, Zambia and Zimbabwe need a visa, which can be obtained on arrival at some airports Maputo, Vilankulo and Pemba, at some land borders and at Mozambican and some British embassies/high commissions/consulates. Visas on entry can be purchased in Meticais and US dollars, in the south South African Rand are also accepted.

As of January, 2011, the cost for EU and US passport holders at the recently opened and modern Maputo International Airport facility was US$82 for a single entry visa. Euros and US dollars are accepted, although be prepared to have currency that has been issued within the past five years. They will not accept older currency due to the possibility of counterfeiting. A visa can be picked up at the Mozambique embassy in Pretoria, costing R750 for US citizens and issued the same day- often even within minutes.

Not all borders and airports issue visas, contact your nearest Mozambican embassy, high commission or consulate to ensure that the border you intend to use does, otherwise you should apply for a visa before travelling to Mozambique.

If you require a Mozambican visa, you might be able to apply for one at a British embassy, high commission or consulate in the country where you legally reside if there is no Mozambican diplomatic post. For example, the British embassy and consulates in Jeddah, Riyadh and Al-khobar (http://www.ukba.homeoffic...) accept Mozambican visa applications this list is not exhaustive. British diplomatic posts charge £50 to process a Mozambican visa application and an extra £70 if the authorities in Mozambique require the visa application to be referred to them. The authorities in Mozambique can also decide to charge an additional fee if they correspond with you directly.

Land borders may also charge a stamping fee on entry, which is generally USD $2, but is often waived if you buy your visa at the border. In addition, you must use the visa forms provided at the consulate or border as self-printed versions will not be accepted; at borders, these are free, but Mozambican embassies/consulates generally charge USD $1 for the form. If applying at a British embassy, high commission or consulate, the application form is available free of charge from the UK Border Agency website (http://ukinguatemala.fco....).

A tourist visa is valid for 90 days after issue and permits a 30 day stay. This can be extended by a further 30 days at immigration offices in provincial capitals, but given the risk of passport theft, it is much safer to exit via a land border and re-enter to obtain a new visa.

There is a USD $100 a day fine for overstaying a visa.