Travel easy in Mozambique

How to reach your eco lodge in Mozambique?

Located between Bazaruto and Kruger national parks, “Dunes de Dovela” is on a doorstep of Inhambane, closed to Zavora, between Maputo and Vilanculos in Mozambique. Our ecolodge is the perfect place to feel the energy emerging from the beauties of the Mozambican coast offering at the same time a whole immersion into the Nature and the Chope Culture.

Whatever your transport mean, the arrival before dusk is compulsory.

By car:

4X4

From Maputo, estimate about 6 hours drive (420 km). At 20 km North of Inharrime (and more or less 10 km after Zavora’s crossroad), you will find on the left of the road national 1 a road sign « Dunes de Dovela » indicating on your right the beginning of the sandy track.

From Inhambane and/or Maxixe, estimate 1h30mn drive to the South. Around 5 kms after Inhacoongo, you will find on the right of the road national 1 a road sign « Dunes de Dovela » indicating the beginning of the sandy track on your left.

√ Thank you to send a sms when you turn off the road: +258 87 26 29 164 or +258 86 11 80 182.

√ The track is 12,5 kms and take about 40 minutes. Follow the bush baby footprint..

patte de galago - venir aus Dunes de Dovela

Attention : SUV, 4X2, Duster, CRV, Rav4 and other light 4X4 are not able to make the last 4 km.

Once on the track, take the road on the right inside in front of the coconut factory (option for a secure car park in the garden of a family we work with) and follow the bush baby footprints white painted on the small wooden road signs. Please, trust those signs and not your GPS!

Not 4X4:

Your car is high clearance (like SUV), you can drive the 8 first kilometers up to the lack. We come to pick you up there and you can park your car in the garden of a family we work with.
Your car is low clearance (like sedan), we come to pick you up at the crossroad for the last 12.5 kms. You will park your car in the garden of a family we work with. This service costs 10 USD (return) per person and is not available for a one night stay in the tents.

Private transfers:

You may contact Paolo Ernesto (http://lagoonsunsettransfers.com). who will come and pick you up wherever your accommodation is: lagoonsunsettours@gmail.com or + 258 84 603 2667.

Public transport:

All the public transports can drop you at the crossroad of our sandy track. It is marked with a roadsign "Dunes de Dovela".

As a matter of example, the bus company "Etrago" (http://etrago.co.mz/) runs daily between Maputo and Inhambane (do not forget to ask for an early stop!!). Yçou need to buy a ticket the day before.

We take care of the transfer for the 12,5 km trail. This service costs 10 USD (return) per person and is not available for a one night stay in the tents. Contact us to organise it.

By plane:

Inhambane airport is situated at 80 km from the Dunes (1h30 drive). It is served by the Mozambican company "LAM" (www.lam.co.mz) from Maputo and Vilanculos.

Vilanculos airport is situated at 250 km from the Dunes (4 h drive). It is served by the Mozambican company "LAM" (www.lam.co.mz) from Maputo and Johannesburg or by Airlink (www.flyairlink.com) from Johannesburg and Nelspruit.

What to pack?

Mosquitoes and malaria:

The dunes are malaria free. We are lucky enough to be protected from the mosquitoes and especially from the ones carrying malaria (anophele ones) as there is no fresh stagnant water around (the lake is at 2.5 kms which is too far for mosquitoes).

The only period of the year where you might “meet” some mosquitoes (but NOT anophele ones) is summer (mid December – mid February). Therefore, there is no specific need for you to bring any repellent at The Dunes. There is no specific need neither for malaria tablets. But be careful, this is not the case for the whole Mozambique which is not a malaria free like our place.

Lights/energy:

After having tried several systems to generate electricity as eco friendly as possible and learnt from them, we chose to use a diesel generator that we switch off some hours during the day and all night.

At night oil lamps will illuminate the trails leading to your accommodation and at your arrival, we will lend you a lamp for each accommodation. Nevertheless, it is always useful in a country like Mozambique to have your own source of lighting such as a headtorch.

Water:

At Dunes, we dug a borehole that provides us in potable water and avoids buying plastic mineral water. In many places in Mozambique, water is potable, therefore pack your own flask that you will be able to fill in many places.

Activities all year round:

We offer many trails to criss-cross our preserved costal forest and go up to the lake or the village. If you enjoy walking, pack closed shoes. Otherwise, flip-flops are enough! Also, binoculars can be useful for whale watching (from July to October) and for bird watching (all year round).

Winter time (june-mid september)

The temperatures during the day are normally quite warm during this period (around 24°) but the sun sets quite early in the afternoon. For the evenings and early morning, don’t forget to bring with you a warmer jacket.

Don’t worry,the sea is still at 22° Celsius so you can bring your swimming suit.

Winter is also the season for the humpback whales migration. If you wish to do an ocean safari to approach them, bring with you a windbreaker that will be useful on the boat.

Summer time (December – March):

During the summer period, the heat and the sunshine can be quite high (never above 35° celsius but a tropical humid weather). Therefore, a sunscreen is always very useful even on the beach under a shade!

The best way to escape this tropical heat is to go into the water where you might spend hours snorkeling (free gears are available at the lodge) without realizing it.The best way to protect yourself from the sun is to bring a wetsuit (or a tee shirt that you can use under water)

If you have some more space:

Second hand clothes, bags, shoes, games ..

As explained in the project section, we work a lot with the school of our village Dovela. In order to fund the projects, the most direct way is to give some money but also, we organize "markets" in the village of good quality second hand clothes, bags, shoes, dolls, cuddly toys... Those items are sold at a very little price and all the money collected goes to the projects. This option enables villagers to contribute to their school with a double gain!

School material: it is possible to buy school material in Mozambique so you don't need to bring any "standard" school material from your home country. What we can't find here is some specific material that can however be very useful: small slates or notebooks with lines which help to define the measures of each letter for instance.

For the "new born" small library: portuguese speaking kids story tales, puzzles or other games that support any learning or discovering processes a funny way. If you do so, please always keep in mind that the access must be accessible to the kids.. (and/or to the adults that may explain the rules to the kids).