Lady’s Medjumbe Island Resort in Mozambique Review

Today I want to share my review of Medjumbe Island Resort in Mozambique with you. This little slice of paradise in southern Africa is an amazing place for a getaway or honeymoon.

Medjumbe Island Resort in Mozambique

“Cows on the runway,” the pilot says. I look out onto the airstrip. Sure enough, a mother cow and her calf are trotting across the dirt. I have to smile. You wouldn’t see this at Heathrow.

And that’s probably because this tiny island in the Indian Ocean is as distant from London as I can get.

When the runway clears, the bush plane takes off and I look down onto the Quirimbas Archipelago, excited to get to my final destination: Medjumbe Island Resort in Mozambique.

Quirimbas Archipelago, Mozambique

I’ve wanted to travel to Mozambique—my 95th country—for years.

Its beautiful coastline, white-sand beaches, and crystal-clear Indian Ocean water have spelled paradise to me ever since I learned about them while traveling in Madagascar.

And now that I’m flying over the water off the coast of Pemba in the country’s far north, I can see firsthand just how amazing it is.

Medjumbe Island Resort

As the plane glides into Medjumbe Island Resort, I get a bird’s eye view of the island. It is a slender strip of sand with bungalows in the middle and seductively curling beaches at the ends.

Tiny waves wash the shore as we touch down on the airstrip, where the staff welcomes me to a paradise that will be my home for the next two nights.

Medjumbe has offered to host me in one of its beachfront bungalows, and after a welcome drink and quick orientation in the main lodge, I settle into my air-conditioned room with its big bed and floor-to-ceiling views of the sea.

The room’s decor is a mix of beautiful whites and blues with Arabic accents that remind me of nearby Zanzibar (in fact, this whole island reminds me of Zanzibar, only without the crowds).

There’s a big bathroom with a separate tub and shower, and outside is a deck with my very own plunge pool, lounge chairs, hammock, and outdoor shower.

There’s even a wellness basket in the corner of the room with a yoga mat, hand weights, and a jump rope.

But the only things I feel like exercising are my eyes. I can’t take them off the water. As the tide goes out, the beach suddenly gets a mile wider and the whites, blues, and aquamarines of the ocean grow more distinct and beautiful.

I walk out on the sand, stopping to inspect the little crabs on the beach and watch the birds walking through the low water.

It’s too beautiful for words here, and no matter how many photos I take, my camera can’t do justice to how perfect the scene is.

My eyes continue to drink in the water that evening as I walk along the beach at sunset, and the following day when I board a boat for a snorkeling trip.

They’re again rewarded when I get below the surface and discover the coral reefs and abundant sea life in Mozambique.

All around me, schools of fish dart in and out of white-and-purple coral fingers and play in gentle anemones.

Back on land, my eyes get a rest at Medjumbe Island Resort’s spa. Joanne, the resident therapist, has over 20 years of experience.

As she pampers me with an amazing aromatherapy massage, I drift into a dream world even more distant from reality than this small strip of sand in the Indian Ocean.

My taste buds also get a treat on this trip, with local lobster on the table at nearly every meal and fish and seafood from nearby fishermen supplying a steady stream of cuisine.

The barman makes an excellent caipirinha, and the little local birds are so jealous of my basket of breakfast viennoiseries that they come each morning to try to share it with me.

But their efforts to share are thwarted by my appetite, and I fear that my own efforts to share how amazing this island is are thwarted by the limitations of language.

No words can describe how amazing and beautiful this relaxing, secluded paradise is.

Even after saying good-bye, I keep my eyes on the island and the Quirimbas Archipelago as my plane glides over the clear ocean water.

I keep looking down as my flight from Pemba to Johannesburg—compliments of Air Mozambique—moves me down the coast along palm-studded beaches.

And after I land in South Africa, I close my eyes to see the memories of Medjumbe Island Resort and its impossible beauty, making sure to remind myself that my surreal experience was actually real.

But it’s hard to believe that about paradise, and I’ll have travel to Mozambique again someday just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming—cows on the runway permitting.

Want to see more? Watch my Africa travel video and discover all the places I went on my trip to Southern Africa.

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