Mozambique covers 799,380 square kilometers between Tanzania and South Africa, with the Indian Ocean running its entire 2,470-kilometer eastern border. The Zambezi River divides the country into two functional travel zones. North of the Zambezi, distances become extreme and infrastructure deteriorates rapidly. South of the Zambezi, where Maputo, Beira, Inhambane, and Xai-Xai concentrate most visitor activity, the transport network operates at a fundamentally different standard. This north-south divide determines what is realistic for a traveler to accomplish.
Maputo sits in the far south, 1,310 kilometers by road from Pemba in Cabo Delgado province. That distance requires three days minimum by private vehicle on EN1, the primary north-south highway. The same journey by chapa, the converted cargo trucks that function as intercity buses throughout rural Mozambique, takes four to six days depending on breakdowns, road conditions, and how long drivers stop in each provincial capital. EN1 has paved sections between major southern cities but transitions to graded dirt in Zambézia and Nampula provinces, becoming impassable during the rainy season. The Zambezi River crossing at Caia operates by ferry only. The ferry runs inconsistently, queues can extend to 24 hours during high traffic periods, and the service shuts down entirely when the river rises.
LAM, the national carrier, flies daily between Maputo and all provincial capitals including Beira, Nampula, Pemba, Tete, and Quelimane. These flights operate on Brazilian-made Embraer aircraft. Published schedules exist but delays of multiple hours occur frequently. LAM cancels flights without advance notice when load factors drop below operational thresholds. Tickets purchased outside Mozambique cost substantially more than tickets purchased inside the country at LAM offices. Regional carriers operate smaller aircraft to secondary destinations including Vilankulo for Bazaruto access and Inhambane town. Charter flights serve the Quirimbas Archipelago from Pemba, covering in 45 minutes what requires two days by road.
Mozambique has three rainy seasons that do not align geographically. Southern Mozambique including Maputo, Inhambane, and Xai-Xai receives most rain between November and March. Central provinces including Sofala and Manica experience heavy rains from December through March. Northern provinces including Nampula and Cabo Delgado see their wet season extend from November through April. These months bring cyclones that form in the Mozambique Channel. Cyclone Idai struck Beira in March 2019, killing over 600 people and destroying the EN6 highway to Zimbabwe. Cyclone Kenneth hit Pemba in April 2019, the strongest storm ever recorded in Cabo Delgado province. Infrastructure damage from major cyclones closes roads and beaches for months.
The dry season runs May through October across all regions. May through August brings cooler temperatures, particularly noticeable in the south. Maputo averages 20°C in July, while northern coastal cities like Pemba rarely drop below 24°C. Water temperatures along the southern coast fall to 22°C in July and August, cold enough to discourage swimming for many visitors. September and October bring rising temperatures ahead of the rains. By October, Maputo regularly exceeds 30°C, and humidity increases sharply throughout the country.
Mozambique observes the Great Flood of 2000 in national memory. The Limpopo and Save rivers broke their banks between January and March that year after weeks of heavy rainfall. Maputo province, Gaza province, and Inhambane province flooded extensively. Official counts recorded 700 deaths, 500,000 people displaced, and 20,000 square kilometers underwater. The floods destroyed the EN1 bridge over the Limpopo River south of Xai-Xai, severing the main route to South Africa for months. Engineers have since raised sections of EN1 and rebuilt the Limpopo crossing, but river flooding remains an annual risk from January through March.
Ground transport within cities splits between three categories. Maputo operates metered taxis, private ride services through apps, and chapas that follow fixed urban routes. The chapa system uses minibuses, not cargo trucks, but shares the name with intercity transport. Urban chapas in Maputo cost 15 to 30 meticais per ride depending on distance. Private taxis quote prices in advance because meters often do not function. A trip from central Maputo to Maputo International Airport, 7 kilometers northwest, costs 200 to 300 meticais by private taxi. Beira and Nampula operate similar urban chapa networks but have fewer metered taxis. Pemba, Quelimane, and smaller provincial capitals rely almost entirely on motorcycle taxis called tuk-tuks or chapas 100, referring to the standard 100 metical fare for rides within town limits.