Probably our BEST Scuba Diving Adventure, it is located in the fishing village of  Tofo, some 25 kms outside the city of Inhambane, along a beautiful road that goes through a scenic coconut palm plantation with fantastic views. The unique character of Tofo lies in its history as a weekend and holiday stopping point for Inhambane City and Maputo residents, and the resident local fishermen who ply their trade in the warm, clear waters off of Tofo.

A small local market some 50m from the hotel offers a variety of basic food stuffs, alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages as well as the truly African atmosphere of a small fishing village along the coast of Mozambique that you can only find in authentic locations like Tofo. Despite its calm and inviting authenticity, the area has a number of restaurants serving a variety of dishes each with a natural emphasis on fresh fish and seafood specialties.

There are also a number of spots for nightlife situated on the beach where you’ll find a relaxed and international atmosphere – Dino’s Bar and Fatima’s Nest are two of the internationally known night spots on the beach. You’ll also find an internet cafe was well as a variety of accommodation options.

Just next to Tofo Beach, the area known as Tofinho (Little Tofo) has a fantastic beach whose beauty and tranquillity will win the hearts of sea and nature lovers everywhere. Tofo will fill your senses with endless sun, sea and sand . . . your heart will beat just a little faster and the clean water, bursting with aquatic life, will move you to dive into its vastness.

The main attraction for Scuba Divers is of course Manta Reef, one of many awesome dive sites, however if it’s Mantas you are after, it’s Mantas you will get!

The Dive:

Max Depth: 28m
Max Journey Time from Tofo: 35 minutes

Site Description

World famous, Manta Reef is probably one of the best dive sites in Africa. The reef offers a huge diversity of marine life including numerous giant mantas (up to 6m in width) which give the reef its name. The reef has north and south walls with adjacent pinnacles of rocks creating gullies at depths of 24m to 28m. The top of the reef is quite flat with beautiful soft corals. The walls provide shelter for large schools of yellow snapper, barracuda, bigeyes, fusiliers, hundreds of bright blue red-tooth trigger fish, tiny goldies, fairy basslets and so on. Large potato and other groupers inhabit overhangs and small caverns, along with large trumpet fish, green turtles and sweetlips. The list of stunning marine life is endless. The cracks and crevices are home to scorpion fish, morays (giant, honeycomb, geometric, yellow-edge, white mouth….), crocodile fish, Spanish dancers and a whole array of nudibranches and cowries. There are three main cleaning stations where the huge manta rays circle and hover to allow small fish to remove parasites from their bodies. Playful devil rays and sometimes eagle rays swim above the reef and on occasion its possible to see white tip reef sharks and other rays.

Minimum number of divers for this trip = 4
Minimum experience level: Advanced or with Deep Dive Certification.
Maximum Air dive time = 40 mins
Maximum NITROX time = 55 mins

Best Time To Travel To Tofu

Tofo is a great destination all year round.  The summer months are from November to March.  Temperatures in the day are usually around 30°C and humidity is around 80% during these months and there can be rain, usually in late December, January and February but these are mostly tropical showers that last only part of the day.  Winter months are April to October.  Temperatures in the day are usually around 20-25°C and humidity is low.  There is sometimes also rainfall, usually in late June / early July.   February and August are windy months so avoid them if you want to do a lot of diving or boat fishing.  

For the divers, Whale Sharks are here all year round but the larger numbers are here in the summer, notably November and March.  Humpback whales usually arrive around mid June and are here until mid October.  Our famous Manta Rays are here all year round, along with other incredible marine life.

Visas

All passport holders other than South African passports must have a 30 day tourist visa and your passport must be valid for 6 months after leaving Mozambique.  SA passport holders do not require a visa but must have their passports stamped at the border.

Visas can be arranged at the border post at Komatipoort (South Africa) if traveling over-land, and at Maputo and Inhambane airports. However we recommend that you obtain a visa at your nearest embassy in advance

All Itineraries can be customized, however here is a basic 8 day 10 Dive Package Itinerary that we can arrange for you:

Day One

• Depart OR Tambo International for Inhambane International
• Transfer to Accommodation or Resort, Check in & Relax, Dinner at Local Restaurant or in Resort

Day Two

• Breakfast – Self catered or at Resort Restaurant
• 2 x Scuba Dives
• Rest of the Day at Leisure

Dinner at Local Restaurant or in Resort

Day Three

• Breakfast – Self catered or at Resort Restaurant
• 2 x Scuba Dives
• Rest of the Day at Leisure
• Dinner at Local Restaurant or in Resort

Day Four

• Breakfast – Self catered or at Resort Restaurant
• 2 x Scuba Dives
• Rest of the Day at Leisure
• Dinner at Local Restaurant or in Resort

Day Five

• Breakfast – Self catered or at Resort Restaurant
• 2 x Scuba Dives
• Rest of the Day at Leisure
• Dinner at Local Restaurant or in Resort

Day Six

• Breakfast – Self catered or at Resort Restaurant
• 2 x Scuba Dives
• Rest of the Day at Leisure
• Dinner at Local Restaurant or in Resort

Day Seven

• Breakfast – Self catered or at Resort Restaurant
• Dive Free Day - Rest of the Day at Leisure
• Dinner at Local Restaurant or in Resort

Day Eight

• Breakfast – Self catered or at Resort Restaurant
• Transfer to Airport for Return Flight

How to get to Tofu

Driving
If you are intending to drive to Tofo, take the EN1 (the main road through Mozambique) and follow it until you get to the junction just south of Maxixe at Lindela. The road is mostly good condition tarmac although some areas are affected by potholes and in need of some maintenance. Once at the junction, follow the road all the way to Inhambane City.

Once through Inhambane, another tarmac road (the EN259) follows the coast all the way to Tofo. All roads are clearly sign-posted. If in difficulty, ask any of the friendly locals and they will direct you to the road to Tofo. A 4-wheel drive vehicle is NOT necessary as the tarmac road runs all the way down to the beach. However, particular caution is advised on the roads connecting the EN1 to Inhambane and Tofo, especially at night, due to a very uneven road surface. 

Flying
The closest international airports are in Inhambane, 20km from Tofo Beach; Maputo, the capital of Mozambique; Beira, in the north of Mozambique; Harare in Zimbabwe; and Johannesburg in South Africa.

There are flights from Johannesburg International Airport, and Maputo international airport to Inhambane airport most days of the week.  Flights are with LAM, Please check the airline website on www.lam.co.mz or with your local travel agent.  Inhambane airport is just 20 minutes drive from Tofo Beach. The flight time is approximately 50 minutes. Tofo Travel can organise airport transfers to Tofo.

By Bus
Local buses run daily to Inhambane from Maputo (leaving at around 5.30am and at 11.00am) in the south and Beira in the north. The bus from Maputo to Inhambane takes around 7-8 hours. The bus from Beira takes around 12 hours. Local buses and taxis (chappas) run several times a day from Inhambane to Tofo. The journey takes around 30-45 minutes.