Ponta do Ouro

In the country's bottom corner, where dune forest meets a long gold-sand point, Ponta do Ouro runs Mozambique's most accessible ocean playground: surf breaking off the point, launch boats punching out for reef dives that count among southern Africa's best, and resident bottlenose dolphins met on regulated swim encounters that helped pioneer the ethical model. The town behind the dunes is barefoot and bilingual - Maputo weekenders and South Africans over the nearby border mixing at beach bars, markets stacking capulanas and cashews - and the whole shore sits within a marine reserve that keeps the reefs honest.

What you actually see

• The dolphin encounters - regulated swims with the resident pods.
• The reef dives - launch-boat sites from playful to serious.
• The point and surf - the golden hook that names the town.
• The dune forest - coastal woodland walks behind the beach.

When to go

May to October brings dry, mild days and whale season's tail; summer is hotter, busier and stormier. Dolphin encounters run year round, mornings, sea permitting - book with the established operators.

Honest expectations

Holiday weekends transform the town - lively or overrun depending on taste; time visits midweek for calm. Launch surf entries are athletic - divers should be honest about fitness. Choose dolphin operators by their code of conduct, not price; the encounter is on the animals' terms or it is not worth having. The last stretch of road can wash rough after rains.

Nearby

Maputo Special Reserve's elephants and lakes, and the border beaches south.