Jaunted

Mozambique Raises Visa Prices

10/03/2006 at 11:00 AM
Tags: Mozambique (all tags)

Looks like you'll be needing more of those babies above if you're headed to Mozambique. Thorn Tree forum regular, author, and Mozambique afficionado, mozman, is reporting that the country has increased the price of its tourist visas. A 30-day, single entry visa will now cost US & UK citizens about $100:

Man, this is a big blow for us budget travellers, and also for the more well-heeled, and if these charges remain effective then I must predict that many lodges and backpackers in Moz will have to close. Investment will also be very adversely affected.

FYI some of the new charges or 30 day single entry tourist visa are:

UK and US citizens: R750

Australians: R370.

So what you now pay is equal to what Mozambicans must pay to visit your country, fair perhaps but idiotic if you consider which country needs who to visit and spend their valuable foreign currency most.

We agree that the hike is technically fair but not necessarily the best choice for Mozambique's tourism industry. While there are some good upmarket accomodations there, the industry's bread and butter still remains the more budget-minded travelers flocking to Mozambique's beaches and interior. We hope the impact won't be as great as mozman predicts.

[Photo: throwtheslinky]

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Safari Lust: Mozambique Edition

9/14/2006 at 9:50 AM
Tags: Mozambique, Safaris, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt (all tags)

If a trip to South Africa sounds like it would cramp your style, and you can no longer bear the thought of stepping foot in Namibia now that Angelina Jolie's popped a baby there, the latest safari destination to capture your imagination might just be Mozambique's Lugenda Wildlife Reserve. Rani Resorts' Lugenda Bush Camp is the reserve's first luxury outfit.

It's all about privacy and seclusion at Lugenda, where there are just four tents and your only base for fly-in is Pemba, a coastal city also in the Cabo Delgado province. Privacy and seclusion from humans, that is. This is a prime hot spot for elephants and wild dogs especially, as well as other big game.

If you're coming from the U.S., the trip will be so long (and the connections likely so numerous) that an additional beach holiday in Pemba or the neighboring Quirimbas Archipelago would make sense. Beware, though: if your mouth isn't already watering at the thought of unexplored wilderness, pictures of Quirimbas beaches will surely make you drool.

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