1

Hi there

I have lived and worked in Ponta do Ouro since 99 and can speak from experience.
There are no reefs directly from the beach and snorkeling is undertaken via boat.
On offer is dolphin-encountours.com that incorporate both swimming with wild dolphins and shallow reef snorkeling into a three-seven night program.

For the Love of Dolphins
Angie

2

Thank you for your reply - that helps. A second question: Are the dolphins usually visible from the beach (allthough swimming to them might be difficult). And at least as you have visited Tofu and/or Vilanculos: Is P.d.O. comparable to these spots or do these both top P.d.O. so much that we should try to vist these if possible. I imagine P.d.O. now as a nearly tropical a little bit sleepy beach destination (exp. out of season - we´ll travel October 2013) with some lodges an some backpackers, a shop, a restaurant with nice seafood, which is a perfect place to relax and swim (with and without dolphins) for naturelovers. Do you agree with that description or is P.d.O. a more busy place with lots of drunken partytourists, lots of beachboys where you have to look very intensitive for your stuff?

Thank you for more inspiration

3

Ponta has become a very South African destination in the last ten years or so. I've even been denied service at a bar because I only had Mozambican currency. It's a great beach but definitely the quad bike, rugby on every bar/restaurant television, and RnR capital of Mozambique (RnR is a mix of the cheapest Mozambican Rum and Rasberry soft drink that SAFs love). I get the feeling you'd like to avoid this and you actually will in October, unless South African school holidays are on, than you won't hear yourself think for the sound of quad bikes.
If you want swimming with dolphins, Angie's company is your best opportunity in Mozambique. If you want swimming with whale sharks you'll have to do the massive trip up to Tofo. If you want snorkelling you'll have to do the even more massive trip to Vilanculos. But beware, you'll still have to pay a bit to go out snorkelling around Bazaruto as the good snorkelling is a long way from the mainland.
It's hard to say Tofo, Vilanculos or Ponta are better than one another depends on tastes and what you are after. Having said that, to generalise so other people can disagree with me, I'd say that most single travellers/backpackers prefer Tofo, then Vilanculos, then Ponta.
Inspired?

4

Yes I´am, thank U! As PdO is more easy to reach and I do not have that much time, at the moment I´d prefer PdO esp. for snorkeling is not esier from Tofu or Vianculos. And snorkeling with dolphins sounds great. So I think I´ll try to avoid "rugby on every television" but try to find another PdO.