Tofo beach, fishermen's boat- Picture by Jason Risley
Arriving from high-priced Zimbabwe, Mozambique was no relief. Locals claimed it is even more expensive. Those fine nuances remained invisible to me: it simply became another costly country after three weeks in Zimbabwe.
A dorm bed is usually 350 Meticais (13 USD) and a very simply room with shared bathroom starts at 800 Meticais (25 USD), but actually often goes for no less than 1.500 (50 USD).
Local transport in a chapa (minibus) is cheap, but the trip can be murderous, unless you have seat. Direct buses between big cities are extremely pricy if you don’t stay on for the entire journey. For example, the 20 hour bus ride from Chimoio to Maputo costs 50 USD, no matter if you get off in Vilankulo (1/3 of the trip) or Tofo (2/3 of the trip).
Meals in touristy places, also at backpackers hostels, run between 200 and 300 Meticais (6 to 8 USD), small local places are cheaper of course, but those are not that plenty. A small bottle of local rum is cheap (50 Meticais), but somehow many restaurants charge as much as 120 Meticais for a double shot!
A major chunk of expenses was for fancy stuff like scuba diving, snorkeling with whale sharks, going to Ilha Bazaruto, and pigging out at the fish market in Maputo.
Picture by Jason Risley.
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