travel to mozambique?

Question

hi i m planning to travel to maputo for business from india, can anyone guide me good air connections, dep. from mumbai and which is good business hotel, i plan to stay there for 4 to 5 days.

thanks

Answer 1

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Portuguese: Moçambique or República de Moçambique, pron. IPA /ɐɛ.'pu.βli.kɐ dɨ mu.sɐ̃.'βi.k(ɨ)/), is a country in southeastern Africa bordering on the Indian Ocean. It is a member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries and the Commonwealth of Nations.
History


By plane

You are most likely to fly in via 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) and the Mozambican flag-carrier Linhas Aereas de Moçambique (LAM). These or other airlines (Kenya Airways, Swazi Express Airways, TAP Portugal) also fly from Durban, Swaziland, Dar es Salaam, Harare, Nairobi and Lisbon. In addition, local carrier Air Corridor may start operating one or more international routes soon.
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By train

By train to Malawi

There is only one train line in Mozambique, which connects Nampula with Cuamba (near the Malawi border). The train carries first, second and third class passengers and is usually packed (when I was in the country there was no second class available). I can only speak of the Nampula-Cuamba itinerary, and if you are travelling the other way you should check for information on the ground in Malawi.

From Nampula, the train leaves early - around 5am-6am, although you should arrive earlier to buy tickets from the booking office at the station. The area is packed with people travelling towards Malawi and so expect queues. Once on board the journey is long, slow but fairly efficient and will get to Cuamba mid-afternoon. From here a Shapa ride will take you to the border (Entre Lagos) as only freight trains use this bit of the line. Be warned that even for a hardened African traveller this stretch of road is very rough and you should expect it to take a fair amount of time.

Once at Entre Lagos, the border formalities are located within the station building (easy to find as the town is a typical small border town), although be warned that this place doesn't see that many people passing through (when I was there in 2003, the official hadn't seen the new computerised visa). From here it is about a 1km walk to the Malawi side of the border. BE WARNED - the Malawi border closes before the Mozambique one, although there is a guesthouse if you get trapped. The easiest way to get from here to Liwonde is by train, we managed to get a lift in the guards van of a goods train quite late in the evening (fairly common practise it seemed).
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By car
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From Johannesburg

The highway from Johannesburg to Maputo is very good. From Johannesburg, take the N4 towards Nelspruit. From Nelspruit, continue following the N4 to Komatipoort, the last town on the South African side. Just past Komatipoort is the Komatipoort/Ressano Garcia border post. NB: current car registration papers (or good facsimile thereof) are required to get a car past the border. On the Mozambican side, just follow the N4 (now called EN4) for a further 100km or so to reach Maputo.


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From Swaziland

The road from the Swazi border to Maputo is in reasonable condition. Advice is given not to drive during the dark hours, due to the high amount of traffic without proper lights. The border ceremonies are similar to those on the South-African border, although there is less traffic and you should be able to pass quite fast.
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By bus

You can take the Intercape Mainliner from Johannesburg to Maputo. These busses depart from and to Mozambique on a regular basis, are safe and affordable. You can find Intercape at http://www.intercape.co.za/ or 0861 287 287 (calling from South Africa).
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By boat

Currently there is no scheduled sea travel to and from Mozambique. You might be able to hire a dhow from Tanzania, and then travel southwards along the coast. From Malawi, It is possible to cross the Lake Malawi (aka. lake Nyassa) to Mozambique.
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Visas

Anyone may acquire a tourist visa on arrival at the airport. As of January 2006 this costs USD 25.00 and takes 30-60 minutes. You can also acquire it in the Mozambican embassy of your own country.
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Get around

Transport leaves early in Mozambique - 4 AM is not unusual, particularly as you go further north. Roads are generally in poor condition, especially when compared to South Africa, although significant work is ongoing to improve these. It needs to be pointed out that connections away from the main cities may not be in the best condition, and breakdowns cannot be ruled out. Be sure you are carrying a safe load of water!

Air travel (with Linhas Aereas de Moçambique or Air Corridor) is by far the best way to travel between cities in different parts of the country. It is not cheap though, and it's quite possible to travel overland providing you aren't too fussy about how you get there.
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Talk

The official language of Mozambique is Portuguese, though many people speak English in the capital Maputo and in tourist areas. The further north you travel, the less likely you are to encounter English speakers - in the more remote areas you are equally unlikely to encounter Portuguese speakers, so picking up a few local phrases helps. On the northern coast, towards Tanzania, Swahili may be helpful.
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Buy

The currency of Mozambique is the Metical (plural: Meticais, pronounced 'meta-caysh', abbreviation: Mts.). Prices are often given verbally with the thousands dropped, e.g., Mts 150,000 would be 'one hundred fifty'.

From March 2006 all prices have to be displayed in both Meticais (old currency - Mt) and Neuvo Meticais (new currency - Mtn). The practical effect of this is to just divide everything by 1000. From the end of June 2006 the new banknotes and coins will start being issued, and the old currency will cease to be legal tender at the end of December 2006. However you can exchange old currency for new at any bank up to the end of December 2012.
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Sleep

Mozambique has many beach resorts. Some top class and some very primitive. What you choose depends on what you go there for. If you are going to dive, save your money for the diving (not that its expensive in Mozambique), but if you want just a beach holiday, choose one of the big resorts.

Answer 2

Sommerschield Guest House
http://www.sommerschieldgh.com/

Answer 3

polanta hotel. but Indians use to low standards, y you need 5 star?