 Accommodation in Johannesburg/Mozambique
Marcus Dittrich wrote:
>
> does anybody know a secure and cheap backpackers's hostel in
> Johannesburg (maybe near the airport)?
If you are arriving at the airport, there's a tourist info center
that can help you sort out budget accomodation on the spot.
> Mozambique? We plan to fly to Beira and want to go by bus from
> there to the coast and than back to South Africa. Can you recommend
> any hostels or nice places?
Beira is actually on the coast, but this is not really the place
to go if you're looking for beaches. Since domestic flights in
Mozambique are terribly expensive, I advice you to save the money
and take a bus from Maputo instead. Go with the Oliveiras bus
company up to Vilanculos, a ride that takes pretty much a full day,
but you'll enjoy a lot of nice sceneries on the way. Vilanculos is
the base for exploring the Bazaruto archipelago. Unfortunately
there's almost exclusively resorts that cater for upscale tourism
on the islands, except for Gabriel's on the island of Benguerra
that has some huts, or you can pitch your tent there. The town
of Vilanculos itself has many hotels though, that cover all
wallet sizes... from exclusive lodges to basic pensaos to camping.
Casa Rex is really nice if you want to indulge in some semi-luxury,
while Na Sombra is a simple but clean and friendly hostel-like
place with an excellent bar. I stayed at them both.
I never stopped in Inhambane, but I've heard a lot of good things
about the Barra and Tofu beaches nearby. Then just a couple of
hours north of Maputo there's Bilene, a little resort town by a
lagoon. It cannot really be compared with the above mentioned places,
but is still worth checking out. There's plenty of cheap accomodation
there... huts, chalets, etc.
// Marten
| 
