Mozambique. Everything you need to Know

October to April is the hotter rainy season, when risks of malaria and washed-out roads are greater (though the south receives far less rain than the north). Beware South African school holidays, when southern Mozambique (up to Vilanculos) is often fully booked. Holiday dates vary but are based around three weeks (late March-mid-April); a month (late-June-late July); a fortnight (late September) and six weeks (early December-mid January).

Currency:

The unit of currency is the metical (MT), plural: meticais (roughly MT23,000 per US$). US Dollars and South African Rand are easiest to change, sterling less so, especially away from major centres. Bank notes come in large denominations (up to MT100,000) so it's useful to keep smaller notes with you as vendors often don't have change.

Language:

Portuguese, the official language, is spoken by only the quarter of the population who went to school. Roughly 60 distinct Bantu languages and dialects are also spoken, including KiSwahili along the northern coast. English is understood in the Tete Corridor between Zimbabwe and Malawi, and in the far south, reflecting close links with Johannesburg. It's worth learning basic Portuguese phrases, if only for courtesy.

Getting there:

TAP Air Portugal and LAM, Mozambique's airline, fly direct from Lisbon to Maputo; TAP has London-Lisbon connections. Alternatively, fly to Johannesburg and catch connecting flights to Maputo with South African Airways or LAM, or to Pemba with SAA.

Lodges in the Bazaruto Archipelago will arrange direct flights from South Africa for their clients. Pelican Air and Charlan Air fly from Kruger-Mpumalanga airport to Vilanculos. Numerous local bus services enter Mozambique from neighbouring countries but the easiest overland option for tourists is the daily Panthero Azul luxury coach from Johannesburg or Durban.

Getting around:

Unless you have limitless time, internal flights are the best way to negotiate Mozambique's great distances. LAM operates between all the main hubs. Reliable bus services link cities, especially in the south, although the area between Beira and Nampula remains a public transport black hole.

Safety: Mozambique is as safe as any African country. Common-sense rules apply: don't wear expensive jewellery, carry bundles of cash or flaunt your wealth, and don't walk alone at night.

Info: Mozambique, The Bradt Travel Guide, by Philip Briggs and Ross Velton, £12.95, www.bradt-travelguides.com Kalashnikovs and Zombie.

Cucumbers: Travels in Mozambique by Nick Middleton (Phoenix, 1994) – excellent travelogue with insightful background.

Future Perfect?

With 292,000 tourists in 1972 - more than South Africa and (then) Rhodesia combined - pre-independence Mozambique was among Southern Africa's premier destinations. Although independence and war slashed arrivals figures to a paltry 1000 by 1981, subsequent stability brought so many visitors that in 1999, the post of Minister of Tourism was created to manage the economy's fastest growing sector.

Such rapid growth is good news for a country that emerged from civil war the poorest on earth, yet it raises serious questions. Sustainability is tourism's buzzword, but the temptation is to get rich quick, especially as ordinary people who need hospitals and schools understandably resent money spent conserving historical sites for tourists if they don't benefit themselves.

The government's stated primary goal of poverty reduction is surely an imperative for mass-market, income-generating tourism? Not so, argues Zacharius Sumbana of the Tourism Ministry. Determined to learn from other African and developing countries' experiences, the government has adopted a long-term strategy to develop low-volume high-price tourism – following Botswana's successful example.

But despite world-class beaches, given its recent history, how capable is Mozambique of delivering a five-star product? Sumbana admits that training local staff is a challenge. 'Management go abroad to train, service staff train here. There's a tough path ahead, but this is a long-term strategy. Some say we should go mass market for quick income, like Kenya tried, but we think about sustainability – both of the industry and our natural resources.

For conservation and income, we must be upmarket.' High-end investment is certainly pouring in. Rani Resorts will open two luxurious Quirimba island retreats this year alongside its two existing Mozambican properties. In the north, the Cabo Delgado Biodiversity and Tourism Project plans several game and island eco-lodges, with community involvement, while Britain's Twinspot Travel is Niassa Reserve's first operator.

Some South African lodges hope to build sister properties near Vilanculos to exploit new air links with Kruger. All will appeal to exclusive, tailor-made operators such as Steppes Africa, whose clients have long followed safaris in neighbouring countries with a beach-stay in the Bazaruto Archipelago. But logistics remain a challenge.

Albee Yeend, Steppes' PR Marketing Director, says that despite the north's new high-class properties, expensive irregular flights to the area – often awkwardly routed via Maputo or Johannesburg – mean it's easier to send clients who've been on safari in Southern Africa to Bazaruto.

The north is more easily accessed from Dar es Salaam. Logistics affect the other end of the market too. Despite official tourism policy, small investors are opening charming guest houses such as Mozaika in Maputo or Ibo Island's Bella Vista, attracting companies like Explore which offer small group trips.

Although the company currently covers only Maputo and Bazaruto, as the final part of an itinerary including a Kruger safari and an overland journey through Swaziland, African Product Manager Simon Grove is excited by Mozambique's north and plans a separate itinerary based on the region's colonial past and indigenous culture next year. But like Steppes, Explore won't link north and south.

'Logistically and thematically, it makes sense to keep them separate,' says Simon. 'For our market, the south is beaches and watersports, the north culture and adventure. Our northern groups will probably travel by truck from Tanzania. The roads are too bad and distances too far to link north and south overland.'

In its favour, both Simon and Albee agree the country has serious kudos. 'It's the ultimate 'I've just been to' dinner party destination,' says Albee, while Simon acknowledges that some visitors 'go for the cool-factor, because it's off the beaten track.' By the time this fades, the country's tourism infrastructure should be well enough established to attract visitors in its own right.

'People love the private island idea which Mozambique is increasingly offering,' says Albee. 'The north will open up with time.' Mozambique's ability to resist mass-market foreign investment and stick to sustainable development will be crucial to its long-term success.