What You Need to Know About Ponta Do Ouro
The definitive travel guide to Ponto Do Ouro. Everything you need to know about travelling to Ponta in Mozambique. Read all about the best accommodation and activity information here.
Ponto do Ouro is a quaint little town set deep in the south of Mozambique between the Indian Ocean and Maputo National Park. This is your travel guide to Ponta da Ouro. Everything you need to know about travelling to Ponta. The best accommodation and activity information is here. This picturesque seaside town offers lovely beaches, markets, plenty of water sports, restaurants and pubs. This ‘Point of Gold’ is also a trending place to swim with the dolphins. Read this guide to Ponta and have your questions answered about travelling to this region.
When you get there, book into a range of accommodation in Ponta do Ouro – from motels and private guest houses to villas, backpackers on the beach and campsites. The quaint little town offers restaurants, pubs and a local market selling fresh foods. There is no pharmacist, no doctor and no ATM, so you need to remember to draw cash to take with you and pack some basic medical supplies – just in case. It is best to bring provisions from South Africa including long-life milk but you can purchase bread and fresh fruit and vegetables in the village.
The weather is sub-tropical, always warm and calm with most rain falling between December and March. It can be very humid in summer, and so many travellers arrive in winter. Temperatures at sea can reach 28 degrees C in summer and 21 in winter! You can spend most of your holiday swimming and diving with the dolphins is the main highlight of Ponto de Ouro.
How to Get to Ponto Do Ouro
Ponto do Ouro can be reached from the South African border at Kosi Bay, 10km away and the most common route to use. Road trippers can also self-drive from Maputo, 120km north, on the new tar road which has cut travel time by 3 hours. The old drama of the tar ending is over and Ponta do Ouro is now easily accessible from SA and the Kosi Bay border on good tar nogal!
The Best Accommodation in Ponta Do Ouro
Mar E Sol
This is one of the best beach resorts around Ponta and best accommodation in Ponta do Ouro – Mar e Sol offers a collection of picturesque self-catering houses with panoramic views over the bay and it’s only 30 minutes from the Kosi Bay border. Sheltered in a dune forest, it’s a luxury holiday complex and each chalet has fully-equipped kitchens, open-plan lounges and lovely decks.
Paraiso Do Ouro Resort
The signature Restaurant “Galeao”, serves scrumptious cuisine, in a beautifully appointed dining area, with its flickering sunset, mesmerising ocean views and the ultimate backdrop for the perfect- palate-pleasing experiences! Paraiso do Ouro is one of the best beach resorts offering clear sea views, and endless white beaches 10km from Ponta town. Tuck into the renowned Paraiso do Ouro pizzas at the Pizza bar or try something decadent to drink from the Turtle Cocktail bar.
Sky Island Resort
A chance to experience one of Mozambique’s top paragliding venues at the top of a lush dune forest in Ponta Malongane, just past Ponta d’Ouro, Sky Island is an exciting place to stay in southern Mozambique. Beginner paragliders and experienced pilots can launch off this high 70 m coastal dune into the sea breezes on a warm day to float over the beautiful bay! The best time to fly is from January to May and there is a wonderful restaurant and a host of rustic chic accommodations to choose from. Families and groups can make this their base to explore the area and get some exhilarating paragliding flights in too! Good value accommodation in Ponta do Our
Things to Do in Ponta Do Ouro Mozambique
Visit it once and you will always return to the magic of the seaside village of Ponto do Ouro in southern Mozambique where the South African border at KwaZulu-Natal meets the beauty of Maputo National Park. All kinds of people come here to dive, snorkel, and watch the whales. They tow boats and quad bikes and enjoy the soft sandy roads, the deep sea fishing and the yoga retreats. Horse riding on the beaches and hiking are very worthwhile in a wild and picturesque part of Mozambique.
Ponta de Ouro is a little diamond packed with things to do for all ages. Beach walks are awe-inspiring and keen strollers can walk south around the Point of Gold to the South African side and Kosi Bay mouth, or north to Ponta Malongane where shells lie prettily and the dunes meet the sea. Ponta do Ouro is a fantastic whale-watching sight and turtle egg-laying season is another highlight – when the eggs hatch, small baby turtles can be seen going back to the water from their nests.
Quad bike trails offer huge excitement for family holidays and intrepid explorers can cruise all the way to Ponta Mamoli on their four-wheelers to see the beauty of white sandy coves, lush dune forests and endless blue oceans.
Ponta d’Ouro is a top scuba diving destination and boats come and go offering courses for all levels of divers. Ocean safaris show water lovers where to snorkel and surf while deep-sea fishing is a must-do with various operators based in the village. A strict code of conduct applies to all boats and divers entering a protected marine conservancy where residents are passionate about marine wildlife and conservation.
Swimming with the dolphins is a life-changing opportunity to better understand these curious creatures and to find out how to conserve them and learn from them. Book your dive with the dolphins with Dolphin Encountours and follow their advice for interacting with these ethereal sea creatures. The owners set up Africa’s first-ever Dolphin Swim and Research Centre in Ponta and were instrumental in the development of the Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation and Resource Area connecting Mozambique to South Africa and Eswatini. This TFCA includes the first marine peace park in Africa, the Ponta do Ouro-Kosi Bay TFCA, which joined Mozambique’s Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve turtle monitoring programme with South Africa’s iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a World Heritage Site.
Surfing in Ponta Do Ouro
Surfing down in the south of Mozambique can be perfect and oh-so-cool, dude. Surfers pull in from South Africa and the far corners of the globe to catch a wave here. Ponta is rated as one of the most perfect waves in the world but timing is key and some surfers are just plain disappointed. Surfing reports say that the best time to surf in Mozambique is during the winter months, April to October, because maybe a few times a month can surfers ride a good swell of 8 feet (nearly 3 m). Summer months create tiny waves and a flat ocean.
The best way for surfers to explore Ponta do Ouro is from the KwaZulu-Natal North coast at Kosi Bay on a self-drive break. They can then surf their way up the coast from Durban’s famous surfing beaches, via Richards Bay, Sodwana Bay then Kosi Bay. There is plenty of rustic accommodation along this dramatic coastline until the spectacular bay of Ponta – which is still accessed with a 4×4. Some explorers prefer to fly to Maputo from Johannesburg and hire a car or grab a hotel transfer to their next surf spot of call.
Surfing in Ponta do Ouro is awe-inspiring thanks to its world-class break, a long fast ride on barrel waves in crystal clear water. Be careful taking off on your board from the reef at the tip of the peninsula which can be dangerous on the one hand, but the reef platform has also saved many surfers who have had to head here for start or end a long surf. A splendid combination of pristine beaches and lush indigenous vegetation, this small beach holiday town draws visitors to its cute cafes, markets, shops, restaurants, and nightlife.
Most surfers are free spirits, riding the waves like they do life – wild and free, no cares in the world, bonding with the ocean, the marine wildlife, the landscapes they discover and the cultures they meet. Ponta do Ouro suits this attitude and lifestyle with its ideal budget accommodation in campsites, backpackers and guest lodges. It’s a great base for surfers to have a beer with friends and dine in groups on fresh produce and fish from the ocean. Mozambique promises all of this intensively from the southern reaches of Ponta do Ouro to the central beaches of Guinjata Bay and Inhambane.
Surfing is a huge attraction in Mozambique.
