Dar to mozambique

If you are not on really lowbudget it could be worth booking a one-way flight ticket between DAR and Pemba in northern Mozambique. I could see on LAM´s website (www.lam.co.mz) that there is a flight on Thursday 27/09/07 with flighttime 16:00-16:45 that cost 237,00 USD.
You could buy it in DAR. This is the info the website has:

Fast Track LTD
GSA: LAM MOZAMBIQUE AIRLINES
Harbour View Towers, Ground floor
Samora Avenue
P.O. Box 38331
Tel: 00255+22+2134600
Fax: 00+255+222134601
e-mail: info@fasttracktanzania.com

to the best of my knowledge this is not an overland trip. the road going south from dar is rumored to be awful.
unless you have your own car, or a whole whole lotta time, hop the plane.
cheers

Why wouldn't this be an overland trip? Plenty of people (given, it's more adventuruous) do this all the time.
The biggest "problem" is the ferry over the Rovuma, it can take a while to get hold of the shipper.

With public transport perfectly feasible as there are small boats a plenty crossing the river. If you leave Mtwara in the morning, you can be in Mocimboa do Praia by the evening.

Unless you want to drive Dar Pemba in a day or so...

I would say a week for the whole length of the trip is more or less necessairy.

Hello,

it's not that difficult to get to Mocambique from Tansania overland - there are two routes. One is further inland via Masasi, and there is either a bridge or an operational ferry - i dont know because i (three days ago) went along the other route, where there is no bridge.

Here is how:

1. go to Mtwara first. You'll need to stay the night there. A good place are the Bambo or the Ceylon Guesthouses (I paid 5000

for a room, with private bathroom/shower), both along the Makonde Street (3mins from the bus station or 15 from the town centre). These two are better than the budget places mentioned in the LP Southern Africa, as the ones listed there are further away from where the action is in Mtwara (as much as there IS action).

2. Next day take a pickup to the border. They start around 6am, and there are not very many. I was at the pick-up stand at 7am and got away at 8am. the standi is near the bus station. If you come from one of the guesthouses above, continue past the bus station and past the market (on your left) about 100m further on. The going rate seems to be 3000, or at least thats the lowest i could get it for. Trip takes about one hour.

3. At the border, you'll first reach the Tans exit post - the pickup will wait for you to get your exit stamp and then drive you to the Rovuma river. There, take a boat (motorised or non-motorised. I paid 3000 TSH for getting over in a non-motorised boat. The crossing is very beautiful and in itself worth the whole thing. On the other side, people might want to get you into a pickup right there. If there is one, thats ok (ok price to Mocimboa is 300 Meticais) - in my case there was no car, so i hiked to the Moc border post (thinking that IF there would be a pickup from the river at one point, i would also pass the border post (there's only this one track).

4. At the Moc border post, people are not in a hurry to help you as long as there isnt a car leaving anyway. I had to wait for 3 hours (although i met some people to talk away the time) before a pickup showed up - which then took me to Mocimboa.

=> Next time i would start in Mtwara earlier. In Mocimboa i was told the first cars would normally leave Mtwara around 5 or even earlier. THAT way one would be able to meet the pickups that bring people to the border from the Moc side - these pickups i had apparently just missed when i came over.

=> The current rate they change your money at the border is 1000 TSH = 20 Meticais, which is quite close to what i had found out to be the official rate, so you can change your remaining TSH at the border - beyond the village of Palma (en route to Mocimboa), changing TSH might be difficult (and its not possible to change TSH into M in Mtwara at the three available banks).

=> If you have a car: I SAW the ferry about 100m from where i entered the canoe - didnt exactly look operational to me. But later at the Moc border I was told that it does operate, IF there is a car to be taken over.

Good luck,
J