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Vilanculos and Inhassoro · ~1h15

Vilanculos to Inhassoro transfers

A Vilanculos to Inhassoro transfer is a private, door-to-door car journey 80 km up the coast from Vilanculos to the fishing town of Inhassoro — your own vehicle and driver, about an hour and a quarter, dropped at your lodge rather than at a junction on the highway. It runs both ways for the same price, so it works as the way in and the way back out to your flight. Tell us your date and we’ll drive it.

$125 ≈ 8,000 MZN

Per private vehicle · one way · same price in either direction. We confirm the fare before you book.

Request your transfer on WhatsApp
  • A private car with driver — just your group, no shared seats and no waiting for it to fill
  • Door to door — collected in Vilanculos or at the airport, dropped at your lodge gate in Inhassoro
  • Both directions, same $125 — Vilanculos to Inhassoro or Inhassoro to Vilanculos

No chapa, no roadside wait

How the Vilanculos–Inhassoro
transfer works.

One WhatsApp message books the whole run — no minibus to flag down, no bags on the verge at the turnoff, no haggling over a fare when you arrive. Here’s how it goes.

  1. 1

    You tell us your date

    Your travel date, group size, which direction you’re going, and where you’re staying in Inhassoro. A flight number instead, if we’re meeting you at the airport.

  2. 2

    We confirm and quote it

    We check availability and confirm the fixed $125 one-way fare, plus the pickup time. If your lodge is one of the ones up the beach past town, we say so and price that honestly instead.

  3. 3

    We collect you and drive

    Your driver picks you up at the door and takes the EN1 north, then the spur road east into Inhassoro — right to your gate, about an hour and a quarter later.

The route

How to get from Vilanculos to Inhassoro.

The drive from Vilanculos to Inhassoro takes about 1 hour 15 minutes — roughly 80 km north, and tar almost the whole way. You head back out to the EN1, Mozambique’s paved coastal highway, run north through the cashew and palm country above Vilanculos, then turn east onto the 12 km spur that ends at the beach in Inhassoro. That last stretch is the bit that catches people out on public transport: the highway doesn’t go to Inhassoro, it goes past it.

Inhassoro is a working fishing port in Inhambane Province, the last proper coastal town on the road north before the Save River. It’s smaller and quieter than Vilanculos — a dhow harbour, a long shallow beach, a handful of thatched lodges and self-catering houses, and not much in the way of resorts. What it does have is the view: the town looks straight out at Bazaruto Island and Santa Carolina, with Bazaruto itself sitting about 24 km offshore (Britannica). People come up here to fish, to sit still, and to look at that horizon.

As a private transfer it’s one car and one driver from your door to your lodge gate, at a fare agreed before you travel. The alternative is a chapa up the EN1 for a few dollars, which is a perfectly good way to travel if you’re light and unhurried — but it leaves you standing at the turnoff, 12 km short, waiting for a lift into town. With bags or a check-in time, that’s the difference worth paying for.

Planning the wider trip? See our Vilanculos travel guide, our guide to the Bazaruto Archipelago, and all our transfer routes — then let us handle the road.

Your door, not a junction

Where in Inhassoro we drop you.

We drop you at your lodge gate in Inhassoro, whichever one it is. The town’s lodges are strung along a single long beachfront, so they sit only minutes apart — Casa Luna, thatched chalets and luxury tents about a kilometre north of town, with a pool and a bar down on the sand; Dugong Lodge (the Inhassoro one, not Dugong Beach Lodge far south on the San Sebastian peninsula), self-catering chalets under old cashew trees behind an infinity pool over the beach; Cashew Bay Lodge, self-catering houses on the same shore; Lula’s Paradise and Billfish Lodge; and the long-established Seta Inhassoro and Hotel Estrela do Mar in the middle of town. Add the private beach houses along that stretch and the Vista de Bazaruto campsite about 7 km south, and the $125 fare covers all of it — the spur road runs right past the lot.

Lodges further up the coast are a separate quote, and we’d rather say that now than at the turnoff. The properties out towards Bartolomeu Dias, some 30 km north of Inhassoro, aren’t reached by road at all — you drive the beach at low tide, which needs a 4x4, the right tide, and more of the day than the town run takes. Send us the name of where you’re staying and we’ll tell you straight away which of the two journeys you’re actually booking.

Camping instead? Our Mozambique camping guide covers the Inhassoro and Vilanculos sites, what’s reachable in a 2WD, and where you need the 4x4.

No surprises

What's sorted before you set off.

A private car, just your group
The whole vehicle is yours — no shared seats, no waiting for a minibus to fill, and no roadside transfer at the Inhassoro turnoff.
Door to gate
Collected at your Vilanculos hotel or at the airport, and dropped at your lodge in Inhassoro — including the campsite south of town.
Local driver
Someone who drives the EN1 and the Inhassoro spur regularly, knows which lodges sit where, and gets you there in one straightforward run.
Fixed $125 fare
Agreed on WhatsApp before you travel — per vehicle, one way, the same price in either direction, with nothing added at the end.

Before you ask

The questions we get most.

How much is a transfer from Vilanculos to Inhassoro?
A private Vilanculos–Inhassoro transfer is $125 (≈ 8,000 MZN) per vehicle, one way — the whole car, not a seat, so the price is the same whether there are two of you or five. Message us with your date and we'll confirm it; no online payment, no obligation.
How long is the drive from Vilanculos to Inhassoro?
About 1 hour 15 minutes — roughly 80 km north. You head back out to the EN1, Mozambique's paved coastal highway, run north on tar, then turn east onto the 12 km spur that drops into Inhassoro itself. It's one of the easiest drives on this coast, which is why it's a morning errand rather than a whole day.
Which Inhassoro lodges do you drive to?
Any of them. The whole town sits on one beachfront, so Casa Luna, Dugong Lodge, Cashew Bay Lodge, Lula's Paradise, Billfish Lodge, Seta Inhassoro and Hotel Estrela do Mar are all minutes apart — as are the private beach houses along the same shore and the Vista de Bazaruto campsite about 7 km south. Give us the name or a pin and we'll take you to the gate.
What about the lodges further up the coast, past Inhassoro?
Those we quote separately, because they're a different journey. The properties out towards Bartolomeu Dias — about 30 km north of Inhassoro — are reached by a low-tide beach drive rather than a road, so they need a 4x4, the right state of the tide, and a bit more of the day. Tell us where you're staying and we'll price it honestly rather than surprising you at the turnoff.
Does the transfer run the other way, Inhassoro to Vilanculos?
Yes — same $125, same car, either direction. Most people use it one way in and the other way out, and plenty book the return leg to catch a flight from Vilanculos Airport (VNX). Tell us your flight time and we'll leave early enough that you're not watching the clock.
Can you collect us straight from Vilanculos airport?
Yes. We'll meet your flight at Vilanculos Airport (VNX) and drive you on to Inhassoro in the same run, so you don't pay for a hotel night in Vilanculos just to break the journey. Send us your flight number and we'll be there when you land, even if it's late.
Is there public transport from Vilanculos to Inhassoro?
There is — chapas run north along the EN1 and cost a few dollars. The catch is the last 12 km: the chapa drops you at the turnoff on the highway, not in Inhassoro, so you wait by the road with your bags for something to come past. It's fine if you're travelling light and have the day. With luggage, kids, or a check-in time, the private car is why this page exists.
Can we get out to the Bazaruto islands from Inhassoro?
Inhassoro looks straight across at Bazaruto Island and Santa Carolina, and the archipelago is a big part of why people come up here. Our own island day trips run out of Vilanculos, so the neat way to do it is to spend a day on the water with us first and let us drive you up to Inhassoro afterwards — one message books both. Tell us your dates and we'll line them up.
Do you do other routes besides Inhassoro?
Yes — private transfers all over the region: the Vilanculos airport run, Vilanculos to Tofo, Tofo to Maputo, Maputo to Vilanculos, boat transfers out to the Bazaruto island lodges, and inland runs to Zinave and Gorongosa. Tell us where you're headed and we'll quote it.

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Tell us your date
for Inhassoro.

One message and we'll confirm your driver, your pickup in Vilanculos or at the airport, and a fixed $125 fare to your door in Inhassoro. No deposit to ask.

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