Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting There & Away
Bus & Chapa
Most transport leaves from Maçaniqueira market, at the southern edge of town and just
south of the railway tracks.
Chapas
also come to meet arriving trains. The best times to
find transport are between 5am and 6am, and again in the afternoon at the station, when
the train from Nampula arrives.
Gurúè & Nampula
To Gurúè, the best routing is via train to Mutuali, from where you
can find waiting pick-ups on to Gurúè. This generally works best going from Cuamba to
Gurúè; going in the other direction entails long waits and travel at night. There's also a
direct pick-up most days to Gurúè (Mtc200 to Mtc250), departing Cuamba by about 6am.
Once in Gurúè, you can connect to Mocuba (Mtc200 Gurúè to Mocuba) and Nampula
(Mtc350 Mocuba to Nampula) the same day. At the time of research, there were only
sporadic direct vehicles from Cuamba to Nampula. You'll need to take the train, or go via
Gurúè (Mtc400 Gurúè to Nampula direct).
Lichinga
To Lichinga (Mtc500, seven hours), there are several trucks daily via
Mandimba, with the first departure at about 4am.
Malawi
To Malawi, there is at least one pick-up daily from Cuamba to Entre Lagos
(Mtc170, 1½ hours). Once at Entre Lagos, you'll need to walk across the border, where
there's a weekly train on the Malawi side to Liwonde.
Train
A train connects Cuamba with Nampula (Mtc350/140 for 2nd/3rd class, 10 to 12 hours),
departing in each direction at 5am Tuesday to Sunday. Second class only runs in each dir-
ection on alternate days (currently from Cuamba on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and
from Nampula on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday). It's well worth planning your travels
to coincide with a day when 2nd class is running, as third class is crowded and uncomfort-
able. Second-class tickets can be purchased between 2pm and 5pm on the day before
travel (but not earlier). Third class tickets are always available, up until the time of depar-
ture.
It's a great ride, with the train stopping at many villages along the way and offering a
fine taste of rural Mozambican life. Vendors sell food at every stop, but it's worth supple-
menting this by bringing some snacks along, and you should bring enough bottled water
for the trip as well.
