Barra Beach
Barra Beach
4.5
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4.5
61 reviews
Excellent
26
Very good
29
Average
5
Poor
0
Terrible
1
Robert O
Rotterdam, The Netherlands5,745 contributions
Mar 2022
The beach area of Barra covers the north side of the Inhambane peninsula. Though in recent years many people have been building holiday houses in the dunes and near the beach, the place is still reasonably quiet.
I walked up and down along the beach from Tofo several times. It takes about 3 hours (more if you take it easy). During low tide in the morning you can circumvent the short rocky parts at the northern tip by walking over the flats in front. This is not possible during the high tide (mid afternoon early evening). However, you can avoid the rocks by taking a small trail up through the dunes in the vicinity of the Lighthouse and down again at the other side.
You could also return to Tofo by taking a chapa to the junction at Babalaza where you can change to another chapa to Tofo.
I walked up and down along the beach from Tofo several times. It takes about 3 hours (more if you take it easy). During low tide in the morning you can circumvent the short rocky parts at the northern tip by walking over the flats in front. This is not possible during the high tide (mid afternoon early evening). However, you can avoid the rocks by taking a small trail up through the dunes in the vicinity of the Lighthouse and down again at the other side.
You could also return to Tofo by taking a chapa to the junction at Babalaza where you can change to another chapa to Tofo.
Written 7 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Piet U
Johannesburg, South Africa317 contributions
Oct 2015 • Friends
We spent 10 days in Barra, one of the most beautiful places in the world, Safe warm waters, reefs you can dive on and Ocean Safaris . Lots of sellers on the beach that can become irritating but bear in mind that they have to make a living .Out of season it nice and quite, so plan your trip accordingly
Written 1 October 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
VanessaPerumal
Cape Town Central, South Africa208 contributions
Dec 2014 • Family
By chance we came across a holiday get away almost a 1000 km's away from Johannesburg in a double story villa - in Inhambane's Barra Beach in Mozambique. (The province of Inhambane (roughly 68,615 km² in size) is located along the southern coast of the country, with its capital of the same name found nestled alongside a very lengthy estuary. A ferry connects Maxixe (pronounced mack-sheesh) to Inhambane town" - Visited by Vasco da Gama in 1498, this ex-Portuguese colony has existed as a port town since the 10th century, heavily used by the Arabs in the slave trade. You can see the fragment of its colonial past echoed in the architecture, albeit crumbling in some instances, but always colorful and repatriated with African flair. Eclectic and crazy chapas (local taxis) ferry people the distance between Inhambane town center towards the seaside of Tofo and Barra. Wikipedia).
On a whim we booked the holiday, pulled out our passports, headed to the travel clinic for Malaria tablets and filled our tank. The drive from Johannesburg to Mozambique's Barra Beach should not be attempted in ONE day like we did. It just is to long. Please stay over a night in between to break up the journey. Inhambane is a gem find and offers the best of all worlds. The best freshest sea food from crabs, crayfish, king prawns, lobsters to fish in every kind - anytime from the sea to your pot. The beaches in Barra and Tofo is a pure paradise and local trips to Pansy Island and Survivor Island on a Dhow will be a highlight at any time. Suba diving, canoeing, fishing, snorkelling are just some of the highlights in this area. The perfect weather comes with a small price and dealing with the ever present Mosquito pests is the one damper. The Mosquitos are relentless and will bit you in every nook and cranny from toes, to ears to elbows and chins to.
The locals are the best part of the holiday and what I loved most is been lost in time. Its a perfect get away and even if you don't own a 4 x 4 there are a zillion tour operators who will help you out. There certainly are no pot holes driving in and the total bliss to escape the rat hole of the concrete cities Inhambane is the perfect get-away. We were surprised to see the number of Afrikaans expat South African's owning so many resources in this city. Even the locals speak Afrikaans. This part of the experience reminded me very much of pre-apartheid SA where there is a distinction between the landowners and the locals - opulence vs destitute. its key though that tourism is the life blood of the region and as a tourist destination Ihambane is a gem and a must experience.
Things to do are in abundance and getting there from Johannesburg is a road trip experience worthy of been on ay travel bucket list. We spent a week at Villa Esperanza - just a beautiful spectacular place. The teens had fun and the adults loved been lost in translation and going slowly nowhere slowly
On a whim we booked the holiday, pulled out our passports, headed to the travel clinic for Malaria tablets and filled our tank. The drive from Johannesburg to Mozambique's Barra Beach should not be attempted in ONE day like we did. It just is to long. Please stay over a night in between to break up the journey. Inhambane is a gem find and offers the best of all worlds. The best freshest sea food from crabs, crayfish, king prawns, lobsters to fish in every kind - anytime from the sea to your pot. The beaches in Barra and Tofo is a pure paradise and local trips to Pansy Island and Survivor Island on a Dhow will be a highlight at any time. Suba diving, canoeing, fishing, snorkelling are just some of the highlights in this area. The perfect weather comes with a small price and dealing with the ever present Mosquito pests is the one damper. The Mosquitos are relentless and will bit you in every nook and cranny from toes, to ears to elbows and chins to.
The locals are the best part of the holiday and what I loved most is been lost in time. Its a perfect get away and even if you don't own a 4 x 4 there are a zillion tour operators who will help you out. There certainly are no pot holes driving in and the total bliss to escape the rat hole of the concrete cities Inhambane is the perfect get-away. We were surprised to see the number of Afrikaans expat South African's owning so many resources in this city. Even the locals speak Afrikaans. This part of the experience reminded me very much of pre-apartheid SA where there is a distinction between the landowners and the locals - opulence vs destitute. its key though that tourism is the life blood of the region and as a tourist destination Ihambane is a gem and a must experience.
Things to do are in abundance and getting there from Johannesburg is a road trip experience worthy of been on ay travel bucket list. We spent a week at Villa Esperanza - just a beautiful spectacular place. The teens had fun and the adults loved been lost in translation and going slowly nowhere slowly
Written 26 December 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Yusuf11223
45 contributions
May 2013 • Friends
pristine clean beach , with great waves, soft sand and warm water. Will definitely come back to this beach in inhambane
Written 3 August 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Helena M
Catembe, Mozambique213 contributions
July 2018 • Family
By the time I visited, it was July, so the beach was pretty quiet. But this low tide, the white sand and the ocean getting lost on the horizon is just... Barra! Amazing place to be!
Written 10 August 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
rhonda p
London, UK300 contributions
Aug 2015 • Friends
The best beach in Tofo, and one of the best we saw in Mozambique.
There are lots of restaurants and lodges running along the beach yet it is very quite and peaceful.
There are lots of restaurants and lodges running along the beach yet it is very quite and peaceful.
Written 8 September 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jan 2015
The beach is ok, I prefer the beach at Tofo. The problem with this area is thats theres too many students / guys that think they own the place. They have a bad attitude and treat the locals very badly. So we packed up and headed to Tofo beach - where the people are much more laid back and you can experience the true Mozambique life style.
Written 7 September 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GeoffPPaarl
Paarl15 contributions
Aug 2015 • Couples
Wonderful, clean beaches and clear water. Can walk for hours feeling safe and secure and just marvel at the tranquility of the area.
Written 19 August 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CandiceYoung
Pretoria, South Africa338 contributions
Apr 2014 • Family
Barra Dhow Trips and Scuba Experiences
Amazing experience taking the Dhow across to Pansy island to collect shells, option to scuba but was too chilly that day... then sail across to island and enjoy local cuisine with chief who explained the way of life as its been since start of island life in Barra.
...BEST PART COMING BACK WAS THE DISAPPEARED PANSY ISLAND :) comes and goes with the tide ;D
Sea Charters, Surfing and Scuba Diving
The Deep Sea fishing was quite the experience!!
Neptunes Lodge & Beach bar has various activities available one of which is the charters, where they provide a boat, the skipper and petrol and off you go :)
Its more than fishing though as we saw dolphins, fish (the water was crystal clear), and even swam in the deep blue.
now that part still amazes me esp. since i realised afterwards this water was no longer clear but rather a deep dark black blue
- I asked if there was sharks and the skipper cleverly replied, "no one has ever come back to say there are"
!? happily Kyle and I jump in quite content with notion there are no risks, yet after about five minutes it dawns on me that OBVIOUSLY NO ONE WOULD COME BACK TO SAY THERE ARE SHARKS!!!
Tell you I was back in that boat so quick...everyone still asking how I managed the feat of pulling myself up at that awkward angle.
What an adventure!
...And yes, I would definitely do it again!
Neptune's lodge & Beach Bar Barra Lake and Sea Barra Lake Barra Reef Divers #Barra #Inhambane #Mozambique #dhow #barralake
Amazing experience taking the Dhow across to Pansy island to collect shells, option to scuba but was too chilly that day... then sail across to island and enjoy local cuisine with chief who explained the way of life as its been since start of island life in Barra.
...BEST PART COMING BACK WAS THE DISAPPEARED PANSY ISLAND :) comes and goes with the tide ;D
Sea Charters, Surfing and Scuba Diving
The Deep Sea fishing was quite the experience!!
Neptunes Lodge & Beach bar has various activities available one of which is the charters, where they provide a boat, the skipper and petrol and off you go :)
Its more than fishing though as we saw dolphins, fish (the water was crystal clear), and even swam in the deep blue.
now that part still amazes me esp. since i realised afterwards this water was no longer clear but rather a deep dark black blue
- I asked if there was sharks and the skipper cleverly replied, "no one has ever come back to say there are"
!? happily Kyle and I jump in quite content with notion there are no risks, yet after about five minutes it dawns on me that OBVIOUSLY NO ONE WOULD COME BACK TO SAY THERE ARE SHARKS!!!
Tell you I was back in that boat so quick...everyone still asking how I managed the feat of pulling myself up at that awkward angle.
What an adventure!
...And yes, I would definitely do it again!
Neptune's lodge & Beach Bar Barra Lake and Sea Barra Lake Barra Reef Divers #Barra #Inhambane #Mozambique #dhow #barralake
Written 24 November 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CandiceYoung
Pretoria, South Africa338 contributions
Apr 2014 • Family
Best swimming, snorkeling, viewing of fish even without Gear, and shells ....
endless beauty
disliked the interruptions from hawkers, no control on beach by authorities to prevent the persistent sales pitches or begging.
endless beauty
disliked the interruptions from hawkers, no control on beach by authorities to prevent the persistent sales pitches or begging.
Written 6 May 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello, we are going to Barra Beach for kitesurfing. Please advise are there any nice, not expensive restaurants in the area? What is the average bill for dinner? Are there any grocery stores there?
Written 4 September 2018
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