Indian Ocean Paradise
Location: Benguerra Island, Bazaruto Archipelago, Mozambique
Style: Barefoot luxury beach villas
Budget: £££
Perched on the small archipelago of Bazaruto just off the coast of Mozambique, Azura Benguerra is a little spot of tranquility that offers the ultimate escape from reality. Surrounded by turquoise blue waters and pretty coral reefs, you’ll find pristine sands, secluded villas and a very warm welcome. As well as spending time soaking up the warm African sun, you’ll make amazing memories exploring what the archipelago has to offer above and below the water.
Staying at Azura Benguerra
Azura Benguerra has been carefully crafted to create the perfect blend of luxury living and barefoot island life. Making the most of their surroundings, the Azura resort is arranged over a long stretch of stunning beach on Benguerra island. Consisting of just 20 private villas dotted along the water’s edge, all with private pools and direct access to the beach, you’ll find yourself instantly wishing you never have to leave.
Azura Benguerra has a number of different shaped and sized villas to suit different budgets, from their Beach Villas, which are slightly more compact with a plunge pool, all the way up to the largest Presidential Villa, a three bed property with a large private pool and private entertaining areas.
On our arrival, we had the pleasant surprise of being upgraded to one of two Royal Beach Villas, the largest Azura offer for just two people. The villa itself consisted of a large master bedroom with equally sized bathroom, including a bath and multiple indoor and outdoor showers, you’re spoilt for choice! The bedroom along with the lounge (which can be transformed into another bedroom if required), looks out towards the beach with large sliding doors that you can open up to let the sea air flow in.
A large terrace, covered by a traditional veranda, houses the villa’s centrepiece of a large private pool and hot tub extending along the length of the beach lodge. From here you can watch the world tick by, as you float serenely on your inflatable, complete with cocktail in hand.
Located within a short walk along shaded sandy paths, or along the beach front should you wish to go for a paddle along the way, are the shared areas. These including the bar where you’ll enjoy a pre-dinner tipple every night, the water sports centre where you’ll meet for any activities you’ve booked and Azura’s spa should you fancy a massage.
During your stay at Azura Benguerra, every need you require will be looked after by one of the wonderful team of hosts. On arrival you will be introduced to your host who will be dedicated solely to your villa for the duration of your stay. From helping you settle in, waiting on you during meal times and even offering to help blow up your inflatable flamingo, their friendly service will become one of the highlights of your trip.
Dining at Azura Benguerra
As with many island resorts, a key challenge is to source good produce easily that doesn’t need to be expensively shipped from the mainland (particularly anything that doesn’t come from under the sea!). Azura have their own gardens (which must be a nightmare during dry season!) to grow and provide fresh fruit and vegetables. Fresh fish is sourced daily from local fisherman and even from their own fishing trips.
Your host offers complete flexibility when it comes to dining, with a range of options of dining location such as your villa, the restaurant or the lounge. If you ask nicely, they will even set up breakfast on the beach for you, the perfect way to start the day!
A standard lunch and dinner typically consists of three or four courses, including a starter, soup, main and dessert. Your host will present you with the menu of the day and ask you to choose from two options for each course an hour or so before you sit down so they can prepare the dishes in readiness. Options range from locally inspired cuisine to more international choices, with the key in execution. On a typical day you can expect to enjoy chicken satay, lobster rissois and deconstructed sushi.
Breakfast is also a multi-course affair, and you’ll abandon the hope of maintaining your bikini body pretty quickly whilst surrounded by so much delicious food! To start fresh fruit juice, smoothies and pastries were our go to, followed by crab eggs benedict, parmesan baked eggs or a bowl of chia seed porridge. Make sure you ask for the chocolate muffins – they’re divine.
During one night of your stay, usually your last, you will enjoy a wonderful private dinner, set up on the beach (weather dependent!). Your host will set up a beautiful table, adorned with various decorations and lights creating a lovely romantic ambiance. If you wish, you can be upgrade from the standard menu to a seafood BBQ, where a private chef will join you to grill a huge selection of lobster (larger than you’ll have never seen before), prawns, calamari and queen mackerel.
Activities at Azura Benguerra
During your stay on Benguerra island, there are a myriad of activities at your fingertips to explore the island and the wider archipelago. Each evening, the activities team are on hand to discuss what is going on the following day and to get you booked onto one of their adventures. Included in the nightly rate at Azura Benguerra are two activities, a romantic sunset dhow cruise and a guided island drive allowing you to explore more of Benguerra.
Surrounded by such dazzling oceans it’s no surprise that Azura focus their activities around those based in, on or under the water. Take to the waves in search of the migrating humpback whales, horse ride along the beach or try your luck at deep sea fishing – you’ll bring back what you catch to eat for dinner (if the sharks don’t eat it first!).
Scuba Diving with Azura Benguerra
Given the island’s envious location, surrounded by vast stretches of shimmering water and coral reefs, for avid divers like us, a drop into the blue is a must for any visit to the island. Led by resident dive instructor Chelsea, expect a highly attentive service like no other you’ll have experienced in dive shops around the world! After being whisked out to the 2 mile reef and offered ice cold drinks along the way, the highly efficient boat boys will help you into your kit ready to enjoy the underwater world below.
With some of the longest reefs in the world, there is a vast expanse of coral to explore, with a mix of impressive hard and soft coral structures alongside a dazzling number of colourful fish. Marvel at the zebra striped moorish idols, spot snapping moray eels and spy the elusive octopus who call the reef their home.
If you’re lucky you may come across the reef’s resident ‘old man’; an impressive white tailed sting ray measuring several metres in size, chilling on the seabed. Other rare sightings may include whale sharks, manta rays and reef sharks.
Azura's Island Hop
Azura’s signature activity is their guided island hop – a half day adventure to discover some of the gems of the area. Start by jumping into a speed boat to be ferried down to North Point, an endless expanse of glistening sand backed by beautiful grassy dunes for a picnic in the sunshine.
A team from Azura will have travelled ahead to set up a wonderful picnic spot for you, nestled on the beach with sweeping views across the turquoise waters beyond. You will have plenty of time to devour the delicious picnic snacks on offer, including spicy chicken skewers, stuffed crab and a delicious pasta salad, as well as spare time to relax in the sun and cool off in the pristine waters.
Following your leisurely lunch, jump back onto the boat for a short hop across the channel to the Northerly point of Bazaruto archipelago, where sits the island’s famous dune towering high above you. Get stuck into the 20 minute trek to its summit to work off your lunch, very much worth the effort for the unrivalled views back towards Benguerra and across the reefs back to the mainland.
After taking in the landscapes, choose to head back down the dune, whether at a civilised stroll or maybe the rather adventurous roll! At the bottom you will discover Pansy Island, a spit named after the pretty little pansy shells you will find scattered amongst the many of crabs that inhabit the beach. Due to Bazaruto’s status of a national park you unfortunately aren’t allowed to remove any of the shells as a souvenir, they are still beautiful to look at though!
The finale of your expedition is a dip in the water by 2 mile reef to explore the critters living in the coral reef below with a snorkel. Given that we had dived the reef the day before and that the tides were against us that day, we opted to skip this part of the trip, but going on corals we had already seen, a beautiful sight awaits. We also heard that if you’re lucky a friendly turtle sighting might be on the cards.
As you speed back to your villa, sit back in the boat with a cold beer and enjoy the rhythm of the waves as the evening light draws in and the dune of Bazaruto disappears over the horizon.
Key Information about Azura Benguerra
What are the Azura Benguerra rates?
There are several different types of villas available at Azura Benguerra dependent on your budget. Each villa has its own private pool and friendly Mozambican host. Some villas are particularly well suited for families or larger groups with multiple bedrooms and private entertaining spaces.
Entry level villas for two at Azura start from US $695 (£550) per person, per night, up to the ultimate luxury stay at the royal beach villas costing US $1495 (£1,200) per person, per night. The most popular villa at Azura Benguerra is the infinity pool villa, which costs US $1095 (£875) per person, per night.
All rates include all meals and house drinks during your stay, with a varying cocktail delivered to your villa daily just before sunset. Azura includes two special activities within the room rate, a sunset dhow cruise and a tour of the island, additional activities can be organised at an extra cost. Guests are welcome to use snorkelling equipment, kayaks and stand up paddleboards from the activity centre daily free of charge.
Rates do not include the Bazaruto national park levy (around US $15 (£13) per person, per stay) which goes towards conservation of the archipelago or the optional Rainbow fund contribution (US $10 (£8) per villa, per night) which helps support the local community living on Bazaruto island.
What is a typical day staying at Azura Benguerra like?
You’re completely in control of your days at Azura Benguerra, should you want to spend the day doing absolutely nothing where the hardest decision is which cocktail to try next, or should you prefer to spend the day out on the water enjoying some of Azura’s fun actvities.
Mealtimes are also flexible, just advise your host a few hours before you’ll want to eat and which magical location you’d like to dine at. If you’re visiting for a special occasion be sure to tell Azura in advance as they like to surprise guests with breathtaking extras, these may include breakfast on the dhow and a bottle of bubbly with your bath.
When is the best time to visit Azura Benguerra?
Benguerra island weather is spectacular all year round. Seeming to have a microclimate of it’s own, Bazaruto archipelago receives less than a quarter of the rain than the mainland meaning lots of sunny days for relaxing on the beach.
If you’re wanting to pair your trip to Azura island with a visit to some of Mozambique’s other amazing destinations, June to September is the best and most popular time to visit. With fewer storms and less wind the climate is perfect AND you’re in with a chance of spotting humpback whales off the coastline.
What is the best way of getting to Azura Benguerra resort?
The best way to reach Azura Benguerra lodge is by helicopter flight direct from Vilanculos airport. Helicopter transfers are organised by Archipelago Charters who will meet you when you land in Mozambique and assist with all transfer procedures.
Helicopter transfers to and from Azura Benguerra cost US $320 (£275) per person, each way. The helicopter ride over to Benguerra island is absolutely breathtaking, you can enjoy the views for miles around as you’re flown to one of a very special group of Mozambican islands.
It is worth noting that there are luggage restrictions due to the size of the helicopter. Guests can take 20kg of luggage each within a soft bag. If you’re travelling to Azura as part of a longer trip don’t worry, Archipelago Charters are super helpful with this restriction and will store any excess luggage. They even let us a borrow a duffel bag for our trip!
Azura do also sometimes offer boat transfers should guests be afraid of flying but trust us, you won’t want to miss out on that helicopter ride.
Our final thoughts on... Azura Benguerra
Whilst the Mozambican coast is still relatively up and coming amongst the well known beach destinations of the Indian Ocean, Azura Benguerra certainly challenges the appeal of the Maldives and Mauritius. From the spellbinding first views of the archipelago from your helicopter, to the warm welcome into your beautiful Azura Benguerra beach villa and the faultless service you will receive throughout your stay, your time at Azura will definitely not be one to forget any time soon.
Find Out More…
Azura Benguerra – https://azura-retreats.com/
Explore more from Bazaruto Archipelago and Mozambique.
Many thanks to Azura Benguerra for hosting us during our time in Mozambique. As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely our own, we wouldn’t recommend something if we didn’t love it!
