Maputo Bay
Destinations
Six places a boat ride from the city, from the calmest sandbank to southern Mozambique's best-known island.
The map
It all starts at the Fishing Port
Tours leave from Maputo Fishing Port. The Day Trip route crosses the bay to Santa Maria, carries on to Inhaca and ends at Portuguese Island; the sunset cruise stays on the city side, out to the bridge.
See the Day Trip
01Santa Maria Peninsula
The beach facing Inhaca: snorkelling and beach games, in calm water.
The Santa Maria peninsula stretches out opposite Inhaca and closes the bay to the south. On the inside the water is shallow and calm - it is the first stop of the Day Trip, for snorkelling and playing volleyball and football on the beach.
- Day Trip
- Maputo Bay
Day Trip routeIllustrative, not to scale. 02Inhaca Island
The island at the mouth of the bay, with a marine reserve and coral reefs.
Inhaca closes Maputo Bay to the east and is the best known of southern Mozambique's islands, with some of the southernmost coral reefs in the world and a marine reserve. On the Day Trip it's the stop for a walk through the village and lunch at the restaurant.
- Day Trip
- Maputo Bay
Day Trip routeIllustrative, not to scale. 03Portuguese Island
An empty sandbank, where the Day Trip ends at sunset.
Small, low and undeveloped, Portuguese Island is little more than white sand surrounded by clear water. It lies off Inhaca, and it is where the Day Trip ends: the sunset, photos to remember and one last swim.
- Day Trip
- Maputo Bay
Day Trip routeIllustrative, not to scale. 04Machangulo
The strip of land between the bay and the open ocean.
Machangulo separates Maputo Bay from the Indian Ocean, with high dunes on one side and sheltered water on the other. It is the least developed part of the whole bay.
- Maputo Bay
Day Trip routeIllustrative, not to scale. 05Xefina Island
Off Maputo, with the ruins of the old fort.
Xefina lies opposite the city, a few minutes away by boat. It holds the ruins of a fort and military structures, making it the closest and most historic stop in the bay.
- Maputo Bay
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Maputo Bay
The city seen from the sea, from the Marginal to the Maputo-Katembe Bridge.
The bay is where everything we do begins: the island tours, the transfers, the sunset and the events on board the Pérola do Índico. From the sea you can see the whole city, from the Marginal to the bridge.
- Maputo Bay
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