Good For You

Wedged between the Indian Ocean and the African bush lies the Guludo Beach Lodge, a beautiful resort overlooking one of the best beaches in Mozambique.

This luxury-tented camp is set on an isolated eight-mile stretch of beach on the mainland, opposite the islands of the Quirimbas Archipelago. It's a rustic, intimate setting that reflects the charm and character of the local people as well as the natural beauty of the area.

Accommodation is housed within innovative tented bandas, each with its own stunning sea view and en suite marbled bathroom with quirky touches like shower-heads made from coconut shells. Here you can see the sun rise through the netted walls of your tent from the comfort of your own king size bed or simply kick back with a book on your own private veranda.

The white, palm-fringed beach on your doorstep is practically deserted but there's much more to do here than just worship the sun. Islands steeped in history lie just offshore, humpback whales pass by annually and the waters are home to some of the most diverse diving in the world. Wedged between the Indian Ocean and the African bush lies the Guludo Beach Lodge, a beautiful resort overlooking one of the best beaches in Mozambique.

This luxury-tented camp is set on an isolated eight-mile stretch of beach on the mainland, opposite the islands of the Quirimbas Archipelago. It's a rustic, intimate setting that reflects the charm and character of the local people as well as the natural beauty of the area.

Accommodation is housed within innovative tented bandas, each with its own stunning sea view and en suite marbled bathroom with quirky touches like shower-heads made from coconut shells. Here you can see the sun rise through the netted walls of your tent from the comfort of your own king size bed or simply kick back with a book on your own private veranda.

The white, palm-fringed beach on your doorstep is practically deserted but there's much more to do here than just worship the sun. Islands steeped in history lie just offshore, humpback whales pass by annually and the waters are home to some of the most diverse diving in the world.

Good For COUNTRYNAME

Guludo Beach Lodge is run by Bespoke Experience under the Fair Trade Tourism principle. It was established in order to "change the way people view tourism" and to create a high-end tourist lodge that would enable local communities to work their way out of extreme poverty.

In addition to providing visitors with an opportunity to visit this unique corner of Mozambique, the lodge is run to maximise benefits to the local communities. 5% of hotel revenue is donated to the local charity, Nema, which helps to fund a number of local community projects as well as marine conservation.

Fifty-five villagers work at the lodge, all the fish eaten at the lodge is bought from village fishermen (and guests can choose to go fishing with them) and village women come to the lodge to deliver facials - Mozambique style - to lodge guests.

Rooms

Food

Features & Facilities

• Developed & operated using strict ethical principles
• Beautiful Beach
• Only nine bandass
• Snorkelling
• Diving
• Full range of beach activitis
• Some spa trateatments including massage.

In addition to the usual beachside activities such as scuba diving and snorkelling, Guludo Lodge offers a host of alternative activities ranging from beach archery and island visits to mangrove tours and elephant spotting.

Beauty on the Beach

Experience a traditional "muciro" face mask, hair braiding and a local-style massage. During treatments Guludo's finest potter, Zora, makes a variety of pots to sell to guests. Treatments usually take place mid to late afternoon but should be arranged with the activities manager the day before. This is a complimentary activity

Village Football

Whether a player or spectator, a "Guludo Village" vs. "Guludo Staff and Guests" football match is an experience not to be missed. While it's not quite England vs. Germany at Wembley, it certainly is a spectacle! Games are either played at a small sand pitch by the school or full sized grass pitch. This is a complimentary activity.

Sunset Sail

Go for a sunset sail on the resort's famous traditional dhow, Mustajabo, hand made in Guludo village. Watch the sun set over the land while sipping an ice cool beer and watching the incredibly agile crew enthusiastically leap around Mustajabo tweaking her sails. Tours generally set sail at 4pm and can be tailor made, lasting as long as you wish. This is a complimentary activity and should be organised with the activities manager in the morning.

Scuba Diving Guludo is perfectly positioned to dive some of the best, and most pristine, coral reefs in the world. Opposite Guludo's calm bay is the Quirimbas Archipelago's fringing reef with breath-taking coral diversity as well as copious schools of game fish, turtles, and sharks and, at the right time of year, humpback whales. With vast diving diversity Guludo offers a range of diving from sheltered tranquil coral gardens to drop-offs with strong currents. Guludo is a registered PADI resort with top of the range equipment and experienced instructors at hand to either give you a gentle introduction to diving or develop your existing skills.

Local Info & Activities

Historic Ibo Island

Ibo Island has a chequered, yet fascinating past. As you walk through the ancient Portuguese town, it doesn't take much to imagine how this derelict city was once a fashionable hotspot in its heyday, from the mid 1700s on. The grand Portuguese villas, with intricate ironwork, high ceilings and large verandas are now crumbling and slowly being reclaimed by nature.

Just a stone's through from the city centre is the famous pentagonal fort of St Jao Baptista. Originally built for defence, the fort was soon utilised for the abominable slave trade. The fort now tells the tragic story of the countless lives lost and exploited; the foundations to the lavish Portuguese city. However, the fort also shows hope for Ibo's future with old and young silversmiths using the same ancient Arabic techniques as their forefathers to make and sell jewellery to the growing number of visitors to the island. The hope lies in the responsible and respectful development of the island so history doesn't repeat itself with tourism taking the place of slavery as the exploiter.

Rolas Island

Rolas is the most popular activity and it's not hard to see why. Just a short sail from Guludo, this tiny island is surrounded by crystal clear waters with breath-taking reefs to snorkel and a stunning white sandy peninsular. Local legend says the island is owned by the sacred, resident coconut crabs, the largest crabs in the world, who dictate the weather and the fate of anyone who dares upset them.

During your visit to Rolas you will meet some of the Guludo fishermen who use the island as temporary base and, if you dare, go with "old man coconut crab" into the Rolas Coral Rock Forest to see some of the infamous crabs for yourself. In the middle of the island you'll find a simple shade with a spectacular, panoramic view, perfect for whale spotting (July to September) and spying the two resident fish eagles.

Elephant Lookout

Perched on the top of a rocky hill the peace and beauty of the elephant lookout will take your breath away. This viewpoint overlooks the northern part of the Quirimbas National park and is one of the very few places possible to view elephants during the day.

Also, here you are likely to see antelopes, primates, warthogs and, if you're lucky, some of the large cats. Leaving mid afternoon you can sit back, sip an ice-cool beer, soak in the beauty and watch the sun slowly disappear over the horizon.

Mangroves

South of Guludo are expansive mangrove forests with endless channels disappearing deep into the forest where birds, crabs and primates live in a peaceful, tidal wonderland. A local guide will pole you through the mangroves into the heart of the forest where the only sounds you'll hear are that of rippling water, birdsong and the occasional monkey laughing.

Guludo Village

This is by no means a normal "village tour," you won't find anyone or anything staged or sanitised, just village life as it is. First stop in the village is normally to one of the small shops, where you will be able to buy some material to later take over to the tailor. Then you'll walk past the school, the chief's house, the mosque and visit a typical home. This is a complimentary activity.

Beach Archery

Learn how to use a traditional bow and arrow with expert tuition from an ex-hunter. This is a complimentary activity.

Bush Walks

Guludo is in a truly extraordinary location, squeezed between the great Indian Ocean and African bush. Accompanied by a local guide, the walks start from Guludo, passing through an old coconut plantation, wetlands, forest, along an elephant highway through to a beautiful lily pond, home to a fantastic array of birds and monkeys. This is a complimentary activity.

INSIDER TIPS

It is also recommended that you bring everything you need with you (medication, sunscreen etc..) as there is little infrastructure in this area.

Be sure to bring cash with you for buying handicrafts.

When visiting villages it is recommended that women do not wear short shorts. It's better to dress conservatively than offend people!

Sustainability

In addition to providing visitors with an opportunity to visit this unique corner of Mozambique, the lodge is run to maximise benefits to the local communities. A growing percentage of revenues (currently 5 % of accommodation fees) goes towards the company's charity Nema, which helps to fund a number of local community projects as well as marine conservation.

All of the staff have been recruited from the surrounding villages and received training in Guludo to provide an exceptional level of service.

Nema Foundation

Guludo village lies in a region where life expectancy is 38 years, infant mortality 30% and each year food shortages threaten the lives of thousands of people. The medical infrastructure is so poor no-one knows the HIV infection rate or even how many children have needlessly perished at the hands of malaria. The Lodge helps to fund the Nema Foundation which aims to tackle these issues with a new, fresh and sustainable approach through empowering communities while striving to be a model of excellence for other charities.

Nema supports the following projects:

Women's Craft Groups

The lodge encourages guests to visit the local village and either learn to weave palm or make a pot, or just support the women by buying their products. While in the village go and visit the two main craft groups; the stunning palm weavers (The Milala Group) and the elderly pot makers (The Ceramics Group).

School Feeding Project

January 2007 saw the start of Nema's School Feeding project, funded by Global Angels. The project caused enrolment in Guludo Primary School to almost triple, showing just how valuable one good, square meal a day is to the community of Guludo - 260 children are now safe from Guludo's annual food shortage and receiving an education. Each child receives one nutritious meal a day, seven days a week and has been registered, weighed, measured and photographed to monitor their progress.

School Project

The current primary school has two classrooms (no furniture), two teachers and five year groups. The new school will have seven classrooms catering for all seven years of primary school, a library, playground, small farm and, with the help of Global Angels will continue to provide every child a meal a day. Once this project is established in Guludo it will be replicated in the surrounding villages improving the lives of thousands of children.

Malaria Project*

Nema is now entering into phase 3 of the malaria project having already trained and distributed treated nets to over 1200 mothers in Guludo, Naunde & Ningaia villages. 3300 more mosquito nets will be arriving in Guludo any day to further expand the project to reach eligible mothers in all 6 villages in the region.

Community malaria committees are trained to run malaria workshops for women who are pregnant or have children under the age of 5 (the groups most at risk). The workshop teaches the women how to reduce the number of mosquitoes, how to look after a mosquito net and what to do if they suspect a case of malaria. The women are then registered, data is collected for monitoring and they receive a treated net.

Dollar per life saved this project has the greatest return with research indicating that the provision of treated nets alone save an average of 6 lives per 1000 per year. Although ambitious in size, this malaria project remains community-run, low cost, and entirely sustainable in its day-to-day running.

Humpback Whale Research

Last whale season (June - Oct) Guludo marine biologists started to collect the first ever humpback whale data in this region of Northern Mozambique. The data they collected has been passed on to the centre of whale research for Africa at Cape Town University. Preparations have already began for next humpback season when guests can help resident marine biologists identifying whales through digital photography, studying their behaviour, GPS'ing their position and collecting DNA samples.

From late June to early October humpbacks pass by the azure waters off Guludo's shoreline. As these incredible mammals pass by the islands, guests often see the mothers teaching their calves to spy hop, breach or tail slap. Humpback whales once bred in large numbers in all the world's oceans. But after a century of intense hunting only a few scattered breeding sites remain. The rapid expansion of the petroleum and fishing industries continues to pose a major threat.

Coral Reef Monitoring

In Guludo Marine Biologist and Dive Instructor, Lee Munson, is just about to start a new, cutting edge marine conservation program. This will include working with local fishermen and monitoring the coral reefs of the Quirimbas Archipelago. Guests are invited to go on coral monitoring dives and learn about how to identify certain types of coral and help them with their on-going monitoring program.

AWARDS

Guludo Beach Lodge has been Highly Commended in the 2006 First Choice Responsible Tourism Awards in the category of Best for Poverty Reduction.

Guludo Lodge's architects, Cullum & Nightingale, won an Award for their design of Guludo Beach Lodge at the British International Expertise Awards, December 2005.

Getting There

Guludo Beach Lodge can be accessed via Dar Es Salaam, Johannesburg or Nairobi.

From Dar Es Salaam

LAM flights to Pemba depart on Tuesdays at 4.10pm, Thursdays at 4pm and Saturdays at 3.50pm. Return flights from Pemba to Dar depart Tuesdays at 9.55am, Thursdays at 12pm and Saturdays at 12.25pm.

From Johannesburg

LAM flights to Pemba depart Mondays at 12.20pm, Wednesdays at 1.50pm, Fridays at 12.45pm and Sundays at 2.45pm. Return flights from Pemba to Johannesburg depart Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 8.40am.

From Nairobi

LAM flights to Pemba depart Tuesdays at 2.05pm and Saturdays at 6pm. Return flights from Pemba to Nairobi depart Tuesdays at 9.55am and Saturdays at 12.55pm.

Guludo Beach Lodge will meet you at the airport and drive you to the resort. The majority of the journey is through the Quirimbas National Park and takes around 3 1/2 hours.

Alternatively you can travel by boat from Ibo Island which takes approximately 40 minutes in the resort's speed boat. Transfer Costs:

$60 - Pemba/Guludo - ROAD (one way pp)

$80 - Ibo Island - SEA (one way pp)

$45 - Matemo Island - SEA (one way pp)

(Min. 2 people, 25% single supplement)

Visit our Transport section for flights, hybrid car rentals and train bookings.

Rates & Bookings

All rates are in US Dollars ($) and are per person.

Accommodation

Standard $245 per person, full board

Peak Season $285 per person, full board

2009 Rates

Standard $295 per person, full board

Peak Season $335 per person, full board

• Rates include accommodation per person, all meals (including snacks & picnics), teas and coffees, laundry service and some activities.
• iRates exclude transfers, beverages, some activities, national park fees/levies, flights and related taxes/fees, visa fees and travel insurance
• Children under the age of 3 are free.
• Children aged 3 to 11 receive a 50% discount
• Children aged 12 to 15 receive a 25% discount.
• Transfers charged at full rate for children.

booking & cancellation policy

A 20% deposit is required to secure a booking

Full payment is due at least 60 days before arrival date. If booking less than 60 days prior to arrival date then full payment is due at time of booking.

A 35% cancellation fee is charged if cancelled more than 60 days prior to arrival.

A 60% cancellation fee is charged if cancelled 60 days or less before arrival.

A 100% cancellation fee is charged if cancelled 30 days or less before arrival.

No refund will be given to a guest leaving prior to booked departure date

Want to avoid cancellation fees? Visit our Insurance section for information on travel insurance.