Overland Mozambique Travel
East Africa > Mozambique
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Contents
- 1 Visiting Mozambique
- 2 Entering Mozambique with a Car or Motorbike
- 3 Driving in Mozambique
- 4 Gas price in Mozambique and Diesel price in Mozambique
- 5 Safety and Security Considerations
- 6 Camping in Mozambique
- 7 Navigation
- 8 Special Overland Travel interests
- 9 Vehicle Maintenance
- 10 Buy or sell a car or motorbike in Mozambique
- 11 References
- 12 Helpful External links
Visiting Mozambique
Mozambique is well known for it's tropical beaches with fantastic ocean life and activities. Locals are friendly and kind, and in recent years the Police are much less bribery-happy.
Entering Mozambique with a Car or Motorbike
Correct as of: March 2018
Travel Visa for Mozambique
Virtually all nationalities can get the visa on arrival at any border crossing. It appears you can either pay in Mozambique's currency, the Metical, or whatever currency the country you are coming from uses - i.e if you are coming from South Africa you can use Rand to pay.
The price of the Visa seems to change a bit based on Nationality and which border you are at, recently it was $75.00 USD coming from Swaziland.
Required Paperwork
- Passport of registered owner.
- Drivers license of registered owner.
- Original vehicle registration.
- (OPTIONAL) Carnet de Passage
(no copies are required)
Process at border
- Get yourself stamped in at Immigration.
- Go to Customs to get a temporary import for the vehicle. Using the vehicle registration the officer will write out an import form, valid for one month.
- If you have a Carnet de Passage, you don't need the import form and you pay nothing.
Cost of entry
The Temporary Import Permit or the Carnet entry are both free.
You will be required to buy mandatory 3rd party insurance specific to Mozambique, cost is $20.00 USD for a 4x4 for one month.
There will be an office at the border selling it.
Permitted length of stay
The standard temp import permit is one month.
Extension of stay
Unknown if it can be extended.
Storing a vehicle and temporarily leaving the country
Uncertain, though it seems if you came back before the temp import expired nobody would be the wiser.
Exiting with a vehicle
- Get yourself stamped out at Immigration.
- Get your Carnet de Passage stamped out if you have one, or cancel your temporary import permit.
All should be free, do not pay for this.
Driving in Mozambique
Recommended books for Overlanding in Mozambique
Travel insurance for Mozambique
World Nomads offer the most flexible Travel Insurance at the best prices for multi-country / multi-year trips. You can buy, extend and claim online, even after you've left home.
Vehicle insurance requirements
You will be required to buy mandatory 3rd party insurance specific to Mozambique at the border.
Cost of vehicle insurance
$20.00 USD for a 4x4 for one month.
Where to purchase vehicle insurance
At the border there will be an office / shack selling the insurance.
Driving license
Anything from your home country will be accepted.
Driving side of road
Left.
LHD vehicles can be driven without a problem, Overlanders have done so as recently as late 2018.
Mandatory items in vehicle
You probably need two safety triangles, first aid kit, and fire extinguisher. It's a good idea to have them to avoid bribery.
Roads
General Road quality
Roads vary greatly in Mozambique. There are many new highways in excellent condition. There are also lots of old broken-up roads with massive potholes and make for some very slow going, especially in the North of the country. If you want to find remote beaches, expect a lot of sand driving.
Road signs
Road signs do exist and usually show the distances to the next few upcoming towns. These are improving quickly.
Toll roads
None, though maybe the massive new bridge in Maputo will be tolled when it's finished.
Bribery in Mozambique
Bribery is getting less common, though it does still happen often enough. The easiest way to avoid this is to be polite, but don't speak Portuguese. Smile a lot and be sorry about it, but you simply don't understand.
See the bribery tips page for other advice.
Checkpoints
There are checkpoints and random stops where Police, Military and Customs will check your paperwork. Don't pay at any of these. Stay friendly and polite. Never use your mobile phone or camera at check points, don't get rude or impatient. There is no reason to pay money.
Traveling with pets
Unknown, though it can and has been done as recently as 2017.
Gas price in Mozambique and Diesel price in Mozambique
Last updated: March 2018
Currency and unit to display:
| Gasoline Grade | Price |
|---|---|
| Unleaded | $1.02 USD per Liter |
| Diesel | $0.92 USD per Liter |
Gas and Diesel Availability / Frequency
Stations are common and always have both diesel and gasoline. Shortages are not common, though you probably want to fill up whenever you are at half a tank to be sure.
Gas and Diesel Quality
Safe to assume the quality is not great. Sulphur content it probably high in diesel.
Safety and Security Considerations
Driving at night
Driving at night is not recommended due to the risk of violence or bandits. There can also be armed robbery on the roads in remote places and some even place bogus road blocks. Also watch out for cars without lights, animals, people and everything else you can imagine on the roads.
Vehicle parking
Vehicles can be parked on the streets and usually are safe. At night try to park in compounds or other known safe zones
Special driving considerations
Expect the unexpected at all times. Literally anything is possible from potholes and speed bumps to kids playing on the road and vehicles being re-built right in the traffic lane. Drive defensively at all times.
Security advisories and information
- Country Specific Information - U.S. Department of State
- Travel Reports and Warnings - Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
- Travel advice by country - Foreign and Commonwealth office (U.K.)
- Travel Advice for Mozambique - Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Camping in Mozambique
Camping is common along the beach, virtually all resorts offer it, and there are plenty of dedicated campgrounds that are cheap and beautiful.
Wildcamping is possible in remote areas, and should be no problem.
Camping guide books
List and link to books specifically for camping.
Drinking water
It's not recommended to drink tap water - filter it or buy bottles.
Paper maps
Reise Know-How are among the best paper maps. Purchase paper maps before arriving in Mozambique
GPS Maps of Mozambique
- Garmin Open Street Maps has excellent coverage of all roads - highways and cities.
- Tracks4Africa is an SD Card for Garmin GPS, and contain Routable turn-by-turn maps with 809,000 kms of roads and over 129,000 points of interest.
GPS co-ordinates for camping, propane, gas, repairs, etc. in Mozambique
- iOverlander is a website and iPhone application designed by Overlanders, for Overlanders. It contains GPS co-ordinates and reviews for camping, hotels, propane, water, mechanics, borders and much more.
Special Overland Travel interests
List special spots here.
Vehicle Maintenance
Dealers
4x4s / Trucks
- Toyota Global Dealer Locator
- Land Rover International Dealer Locator
- Mercedes Benz International (select country on bottom right)
- Jeep International site locator
Motorbikes
Local Garages
Add known good mechanics here.
Buy or sell a car or motorbike in Mozambique
Buy
Describe how a foreigner can buy a vehicle.
List any difficulties or limitations on where the vehicle can be driven.
Sell
Describe how a foreigner can sell a foreign-plated vehicle, or list not possible.'
References
Links to the source of any information - blogs or discussion forums, etc.
Helpful External links
Add any helpful external links here.
- Mozambique: Visa and Passport requirements | World Travel Guide
- Health Information for Travelers to Mozambique - Center for Disease Control and Prevention
- Mozambique travel guides at wikivoyage
- Mozambique - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
