Vilanculos:
To dive in the Bazaruto archipelago you have 2 options…
You can either stay on one of the islands in a luxury resort ($220pppn upwards) - upside is luxury and close to reef, downside very expensive and nothing to do besides dive, walk on the beach and read a book.
Or you can stay in the tourist town of Vilanculos - upside is much cheaper accommodation with good bars/restaurants, a market, banks with ATM’s and a few excursions etc to keep you busy, downside is a 45min boat ride to the reef… we opted for Vilanculos.
The diving might be more expensive and the boat ride longer, but at the huge price difference in accommodation, you will be much cheaper off staying in Vilanculos if you can live with a little less luxury.
Sunrise in Vilanculos
Low Tide
Locals live in reet houses
Where to Stay:
Accomodation in Vilanculos ranges from cheap backpackers ($10pppn), nice affordable lodges($30-50pppn) to more upmarket places($80-$150pppn).
Smugglers Inn & Palmeiras Lodge:
Smugglers Inn is run by Ian and his wife Joe and they also manage Palmeiras Lodge with Joe’s mother Colleen looking after things at Palmeiras.
We opted for affordable and stayed at Palmeiras Lodge. It is right next to the beach and has nice 2 person bungalows (big enough to add 2 mattresses for kids) with a huge bathroom with shower (ceiling fan but no air-con). Prices were $85 per bungalow per night including breakfast. They also have a self catering chalet that accommodates 6-10 people that has a massive outdoor BBQ/relaxing area at the back with kitchen area. Continental breakfast is served each morning from 7am-10am. Palmeiras is managed by Colleen who lives on the premises and you can pop into her chalet anytime for a chat or if you need something, she’s always willing to give you a lift in to tows or to any of the restaurants (but more on that later). It also has a small pool to cool off, but who needs a pool when the sea is right there.
Chalet at Palmeiras
Smugglers has a nice bar and serves decent food and has good accommodation – small rooms with 2 single beds and shared bathroom ($45 per room per night - looked pretty clean and comfy) They also have double rooms with own bathroom ($60 per room per night). All the rooms overlook a beautiful garden with 2 nice swimming pools. Some have air-con. Guests of Palmeiras can use the pool facilities at Smugglers – so you can go for lunch & a few drinks and relax at the pool.
We actually contemplated moving from Palmeiras to Smugglers because of the nicer garden/pool setting and the bar/restaurant, but in the end decided that the bigger room at Palmeiras and being next to the beach for dive pickups/drop offs was more important.
You can check out their website here:
Smugglers - Vilanculos (Mozambique)
I emailed them a few times with questions and they responded quickly. Good thing to know is that both Palmeiras and Smugglers look exactly as the pictures on their website. (Just in case you’ve been a victim in booking on a website with cool pictures just to find a rundown shoddy place which had no maintenance done in the 10years since the ‘cool’ pictures were taken). Cyclone Favio destroyed almost everything in Vilanculos in February 2007, so all the resorts/lodges were rebuild/repaired in the last 14 months, so none of them are really old or rundown.
The garden at Smugglers
Zombie Cucumber:
Looks like a nice decent place to stay as well, has a cosy outdoor bar and the owner cooks meals every day for residents. 3 Canadian girls that went diving with us stayed there and we had diner with them one night – nice relaxed atmosphere.
Pescador:
More upmarket place – beautiful bar/restaurant area with lounges to relax and have a drink, and tables outside by the pool. Very nice food! I did not see the rooms, but they all seemed to have air-conditioning units which you might want to consider if you go in December-February.
Casa Rex:
Also a bit more upmarket, sits on a cliff overlooking the sea. Very nice restaurant with excellent food! Would definitely consider stay here next time – a bit more expensive at $95-$130pppn, but I think it might be worth it if you can afford the extra cash.