Inhaca Island Mozambique

Inhaca Island is just a stone's throw away from Portuguese Island, an uninhabited island where cruise ships dock! Welcome to Inhaca Island! Located 40km off the Maputo coast line, an inlet of the Indian Ocean at the mouth to Maputo Bay (formerly known as Delagoa Bay). Dive Inhaca's coral reefs, explore underwater caves or go wreck diving!

Inhaca Island Accommodation

There are just so many things to do on Inhaca Island - it's the perfect year round holiday destination with a good range of accommodation, activities and areas to explore. If you are looking for an island holiday then Inhaca has it all. Access to the island is via a two to three hours boat or ferry trip or a very short chartered flight from Maputo.

The island has a number of inland villages and fishing villages close to the shores where the local woman harvest oysters and crabs on the low tide and where the local fishermen ready their nets and launch their boats for a day's fishing.

Inhaca offers travellers the opportunity to try out a variety of water sports such as kayaking, and water skiing; big game fishing is also a popular attraction but Inhaca is famed mostly for its diving and snorkelling opportunities.

For families the pristine white beaches and abundant rock pools (accessible at low tide) offer great family fun where picnics and sunset cruises make the most of a family day out.

A popular destination for eco-tourists and researches, Inhaca's wide variety of habitats which include woodlands, evergreen forests, grass plains and freshwater swamps are home to a wide variety of birds such as the Trumpeter Hornbill, Golden Rumped Tinkerbird and Brimstone Canary. The marine habitats such as mud and sand flats and mangrove swamps are home to the Greater Flamingo, Pink Backed Pelicans, Grey Herons and the rare Mangrove Kingfisher.

For avid divers Inhaca's crystal clear water offers unsurpassed diving and snorkelling. The Coral Gardens (Barreira Vermelha) and Hotel Reefs are just a short boat ride away where the waters are shallow and warm and perfect for novice snorkelers and divers – The Coral Gardens comprise of a wall which is approximately 400 metres long and covered in hard and soft coral which attract a multitude of colourful tropical fish such as parrot fish, damsels, bannerfish, trigger fish, octopus and lobsters; with the Hotel Reef being fairly flat and having more sandy patches.

Fun Fact:

Snorkeling in the 'Coral Gardens': Only a short boat trip with snorkels and Goggles will take you to an amazing shallow coral reef called the Coral Gardens or Barreira Vermelha. Staghorn Coral, Brain Coral, Plate Coral and more, give home to a large variety of tropical fish! Read more about Inhaca Island

More advanced diving sites include Banco de China and the Santa Maria Reef which should only be attempted by experienced divers. Here you will find an astonishing variety of marine life including the majestic Kingfish, turtles, rays, barracuda and painted frog fish to name a few. The Baixo Danae Reef is further out to sea and has a variety of dive sites with caves and crevasses and one having the wrecks of two sunken ships which make for great exploring.

For fishing enthusiasts, you are spoilt for choice. Many of the lodges offer fishing charters with world class fishing spots to choose from where catches include Marlin, Tuna, Barracuda, Dorado and Kingfish.

Other excursions include a visit to the Marine Biology Museum where visitors can learn about the islands marine life and a trip to the Inhaca Lighthouse towards the Northern tip of the island. Portuguese Island is another excursion where by boat you can travel to this uninhabited piece of paradise just 3km from Inhaca Island – here you can enjoy all manner of water sport in the lagoon, go snorkelling or enjoy a picnic lunch.