SNORKELING & DIVING

Diving is a weather and current dependant activity. It is safe to say that divers have a 50% chance of being able to dive.

Indigo Bay Lodge has a fully equipped PADI dive centre catering for experienced divers and beginners – for whom they have a special scuba training pool.

Bazaruto Lodge has a diving operation.

Marlin Lodge has a fully equipped dive centre. It caters for experienced divers and also offers ‘learn to dive’ packages for people wishing to get into diving for the first time.

Benguerra Lodge has a fully equipped dive school with dive master.

Benguerra is a paradise for both experienced and novice snorkellers and scuba divers. To encourage visitors to enjoy the pristine reefs, a fully equipped dive centre with dive master has been set up. There are numerous dive venues available, including the superb Two-Mile Reef.

The most striking aspects of scuba diving the reefs around the island is the sheer unspoiled beauty combined with the variety and abundance of marine life. Many exotic reef fish abound such as schooling banner fish, moorish idols, butterfly fish, blue striped snappers, barred sweetlips, goldies, trigger fish and hosts of others.

After snorkelling the reef, go to the deserted Pansy Island, a unique breeding ground for the legendary pansy shell.

Azura Lodge

Azura Lodge has a 5-star PADI dive centre with top of the range scubapro equipment. The training pools is perfect for refreshing diving skills to try out snorkeling and diving before heading off to the reefs.

Manta Reef

• Average depth: 12m
• Maximum depth: 18 m

This is a flat coral reef with a drop starting at 12 metres and ending at 18 metres. The reef is large – around 1 km and it takes 2 dives to complete the whole reef. Brindle bass, green turtles, job fish, neon fusiliers and big schools of reef fish are common and in the summer months sightings of mantas very commong.

Turtle Ridge

• Maximum depth: 14 m

This is a very easy dive with a weak of current and a flat coral reef. There are good sightings of green turtles and big schools of reef fish, amongst these are parrot fish and snappers. This dive is excellent for beginners and photographers.

The Potholes

• Maximum depth 12 m

This is an advanced dive. A flat reef at 5 metres and then a set of 4 potholes in a line along the reef are each 35 m in diameter. The dive is very scenic with lots of caves and overhangs in the potholes. Good area to find reef sharks and nurse sharks. This dive can only be done at low tide.

Rainbow Runner

• Maximum depth 27 m

This is an advanced dive. The currents are strong and you need to get onto the reef very fast. You will see big schools pelagic fish, as well as barracuda, kingfish, tuna, eagle rays and stingrays. The possibility of sighting Zambezi sharks and reef sharks is good. The reeef is flat with boulders in-between and plenty of green tree coral.

Brindle Bass Ridge

• Maximum depth 17 m

Strong current and best time to dive is on the turn of the high tide. The dive is very scenic with lots of caves and overhangs, and ends at 8 m. Experience from having completed 20 dives or an advanced qualification is needed to do this dive. There are good sightings of big schools of kingfish and eagle rays, and plenty of brindle bass and thistle soft coral.

Greek Temple

• Maximum depth 18 m

Relaxed scenic dive with caves, overhangs and the current is not strong – further off the island. 

Greek Temple is excellent for beginners and photographers. The whole area looks like a broken temple and it is possible to see turles and electric rays. It is best to dive during low tide.

2 Mile Reef

• Maximum depth 24 m

This is located on the southern tip of the island. It is an hour’s boat ride to the reef and as the reef is really big, you will need 2 dives to cover the whole area. The reef starts flat and then builds up into boulders and overhangs towards the end. It is a good area for sharks and big schools of reef fish. Turtles are very common here.

Zenguerema Point

• Maximum depth 21 m

Visibility is not the best here but it is a good place for photographers. This reef is located on the western side of the island and is always protected from bad weather. This offers an alternative to dive when weather conditions on the eastern side prohibit diving. It is common to see schools of reef fish, scorpion and stone fish.

12 Mile Reef (Double tank dive)

• Maximum depth 40 m

This reef is 18.9 km north of the island. This reef is 4 km long and starts at 24 m, then goes down to 40 m. This is suitable for experienced divers and an advanced qualification is needed. The dive is possible at spring tides, and low tide. The reef is flat on top and drops to 40 m, with big caves and overhangs all the way down. It is a good area for big game fish and sharks, as well as possible sightings of oceanic white tip sharks and silvertip sharks. The current is strong, therefore only drift diving and a minimum of 4 pax for this dive site.

Restriction on ages

No persons under the age of 12 years. Children 12 to 16 years old must be accompanied by an adult. 

Shark diving.

At Bazaruto there are 2 reefs were there is a good chance of seeing Zambezi sharks (bull sharks) and black tail reef sharks, however there is no guarantee.

Snorkelling

Snorkelling is usually good all year round, except when it is raining. There are 2 good snorkelling sites on the northern side of the island, namely Coral Gardens and then Lighthouse Bay – these can be accessed from the beach. While diving at 2 Mile Reef at the south point of the island near Pansy Island, guests can do snorkelling at 2 Mile Reef. Lighthouse Bay is approximately a 20 minute walk down the beach, average of 1.4 km.

Ihambane

Safe beach launches. Day excursions on our luxurious 35ft catamaran. All this and much more in an unspoilt tropical setting. Barra offers 

Padi Gold Palm status with unsurpassed professional service  excellence. Surf our site for further information and subscribe to receive our regular newsletter of happenings, sightings and events at this exciting internationally recognised destination.

Diving is a weather and current dependant activity. It is safe to say that divers have a 50% chance of being able to dive.

Hotel Reef

• Average depth: 6m
• Maximum depth: 11 m

This reef is a 5-minute boat ride from Inhaca Lodge and is often used for beginners and resort training courses. It is reasonably flat and the rocks are covered in marine growth while thesand patches in-between provide ample hiding spots for small tropical fish. Lobsters and moray eels are easily spotted, but you will have to look a lot harder to find the sea horses. The reef has more hard coral than soft and is home to various sea stars and big-shelled slugs. The best time to dive this particular reef is between the tides.

Coral Gardens Reef

• Average depth: 7m
• Maximum depth: 15 m

Coral Gardens lies approximately 10 minutes from Inhaca Lodge and like the Hotel Reef, it’s a beginner’s favorite. The reef itself is a fairly easy and relaxed wall dive that is almost 400 m long. It is covered with colourful soft and hard corals and plays host to many tropical reef fish. During a dive, you will spot surgeonfish, damselfish, triggers, goldies, puffers, banner fish and the ever-playful parrotfish, Octopuses and lobsters can be found hiding in crevices along the wall and green turtles are often seen gliding through the waters.

Banco de China

• Average depth: 15m
• Maximum depth: 20 m

After a 15-minute boat ride from Inhaca Lodge, you will come across this reef that is strictly reserved for advanced divers. The currents are fairly strong and unpredictable and experience is required. The reef consists of big rocks and a sandy bottom with many caves and overhangs which means the chance of coming across cleaning stations is a fair possibility. It offers stunning game fish viewing and an incredible variety of species like painted frogfish, brindle bass, green turtles, surgeonfish, barracudas, ribbontail rays and many other tropical reef fish. ‘China’ is the local name for spade fish and for two months every year, the reef is filled with thousands of them. The best time to dive this site is during high tide.

Santa Maria Reef

• Average depth: 14m
• Maximum depth: 22 m

This reef is approximately 35 minutes from Inhaca Lodge and is reserved for advanced an experienced divers. A strong current is present at some spots along the reef but subsides as you move further along. The reef consists of a wall with big rocks covered in hard corals and a sandy bottom sloping down beyond 20 m. Schools of reef fish, turles, eagle rays and sand sharks have all been spotted in the area and immaculate corals play home to moonies and kingfish. The reef should be dived at high tide or neap tide.

Biaxo Danae

• Average depth: 16m
• Maximum depth: 20 m

This reef lies about 50 minutes from Inhaca Lodge. As it is far out to sea and a double tank dive, it is reserved for more experienced divers. Biaxo Danae is the name for the area and it has selection of dive sites. The distance from shore means that the sites are rarely dived and have remained wild and untouched. It provides spectacular dives and there are many overhangs, swim throughs, caves and gullies to explore. There are also two sunken ships called ‘Boiler’ and the ‘Wreck’. Very little is known about them and that makes the sites even more interesting to explore. The chance of seeing manta rays is very good and sharks, dolphins and turtles frequent the waters. There are mainly hard coral species that can withstand the currents and they provide shelter to many tropical fish. From August to October the waters are full of migrating whales and the odd orca has been spotted in the area, definitely a place worth diving. 

Cockburn Shoal (Lighthouse)

• Average depth: 14m
• Maximum depth: 16 m

To reach this reef you will need to take a 40-minute boat ride. Strong currents mean that this is another site only for advanced and experienced divers. The reef was formed in 1965 when a lighthouse sank during bad weather. This reef provides an excellent dive with large schools of fish swimming around and a huge resident brindle bass that won’t let you out of his sight. There are usually plenty of kingfish, barracuda, surgeonfish, fusiliers, snappers and banner fish colouring the stunning blue water.

Shark Diving

Shark diving at Inhaca is not very common. There are sharks, however sightings is no guaranteed.

Restriction on ages

No persons under the age of 12 years. Children 12 to 16 years old must be accompanied by an adult.

Pemba Beach Resort

The northern Mozambican coastline around Pemba boasts an astounding diversity of marine species, with Moray Eels, Stingrays, Barracuda, Kingfish and other pelagic gamefish to be seen whilst diving here in Quirimba tropical waters that hover between 26 and 30 degrees. Dolphins are frequently encountered, and Leatherback, Loggerhead and Green turtles are often seen in the water, whilst humpback whales can be sighted offshore between August and October.

Suitable for novice or experienced divers. Diving courses are available such as Discover Scuba, Open Water and Advanced Open Water, all under supervision of experienced diving instructor. PADI Instructors and Dive Masters are used as this is a minimum standard and do not conduct technical or deep-water dives that warrant a chamber.

The lodge is using a 24-foot wooden Estaleiro Naval for our dive excursions, which are powered by two 60hp Yamaha outboards for quick and comfortable travel, and which have a bikini-top for shade during travel. At least 11 dive sites are accessible from Pemba, six of which are situated no more than a 20-minute boat ride away.

One of the closest and most spectacular sites is the Gap, located where the continental shelf is 600 metres from the Mozambique shore providing a drop-off of 80-120 metres - a prolific feeding ground for big game fish. Pyro Banks, where huge selections of Coral razor fish can be found, the Playground, a shallow wall dive with overhangs and caves packed with Crayfish, Zebra lionfish, Firefish and Scorpionfish, Willys Reef, Beach Reef, and Ponta Saide with its "valley of a thousand anemones", are all easily accessible from the hotel.

Londo Lodge

Snorkel or dive under supervision of PADI instructors.

Ponta Mamoli Lodge has a PADI Gold Parlm Resort Diving facility with courses from beginner to specialty programs.

Consisting of over fifty coral islands, the Quirimbas Archipelago in northern Mozambique has recently been granted protection status in the form of the Quirimbas National Park. The 7,500 km² park has some of the richest coral reefs on the continent and provides a habitat for a rich and abundant marine life.