Reviews of Ibo Island Lodge

"We had a great start of our holiday during our 3 nights stay at Ibo Island Lodge ! The island is a must see on a trip to northern Mozambique. The mix of Arab, Portuguese and Indian influences gives the place a unique atmosphere. It's quiet and peaceful, the local people are very welcoming, and there are hardly any other tourists around. The lodge has been restored to its former glory with much dedication, love and patience. The rooms are beautifully appointed with colonial (lots of Indian) style furniture, colourful fabrics, and the whole place just breathes history, as does the whole island ! Very beautiful gardens too, with lots of colourful birds.

The managers Dee and her husband (I'm sorry, I can't remember his name... too much holidaying I'm afraid...) , and the staff are genuinely friendly, and went out of their way to make our stay an unforgettable one, and they definitely succeeded ! We very much loved the private historical and cultural tour of the Island, as it gave us a chance to interact with the local people, which we found unique, compared to other places we've been to in Africa. The sandbank excursion was also memorable, even though there was a lot of wind that day (which resulted in a VERY bumpy motorboat trip to the sandbank !...;-). The colours of the sea come in every shade of blue, turquoise there, and the beach is, well, obviously, very white !

The food is also good: fresh, creative and prepared with much love. The crab curry was an absolute winner ! Just a minor remark: we would have liked the sauces served with the fish dishes a little less sugary, but I guess that's a cultural thing. House wines very nice too. And we very much appreciated the romantic candle light private dinner by the pool on our last evening, with a birthday cake specially made for Pascale's birthday !

To sum it up: we had a wonderful stay at Ibo Island Lodge, and we would very much like to visit this place again one day. In fact, we would have liked to stay one more night, to do the mangrove kayaking for which we sadly didn't have time." See all these reviews: 10n in Mozambique

"Very beautiful, comfortable lodge, with wonderful gardens and view. Helpful, friendly staff, who also maintained everything excellently, high quality food and the Island itself is very interesting to explore. The tour of the Island was informative and flexible, with time for discussion, shopping, mix of history and culture. There were a range of activities on offer. Perhaps a list of these for guests, plus when to reserve, might have been more visible eg walking, dhow, massage, to re-enforce the helpful info given over meals or on request." See all these reviews: 13n in Mozambique

"Excellent does not suffice to characterize Ibo Island Lodge. A unique and beautiful lodge, lovingly and wonderfully restored within three marvelous historical buildings. Huge, comfortable rooms with high ceilings and windows,unique and attractive local appointments, and expansive verandas opening onto the water nearby Excellent food at all meals. Absolutely first-rate service from a committed, knowledgeable, and extremely attentive staff. A glorious roof-top deck/restaurant providing magnificent views of the African sunset over the mangrove swamps to the west.

A variety of unique and really engaging activities provided by a committed staff with real flair. The half-day dhow safari to the Lodge's private sandbar (including a return under sail) was a real treat, and the guided tour of the town was by turns informative and fascinating.

Ibo Island itself is utterly charming and distinctive in its run-down way, with echos of many periods of history around every succeeding corner. Highly, highly recommended as a destination to anyone intrigued by the idea of a dip into the history of eastern Africa." See all these reviews: 12n in Rwanda; 7n in Mozambique; 1n in South Africa

"Loved it." See all these reviews: 13n in Mozambique

"Ibo Island Lodge is a beautifully restored, but not over done, colonial building which faces the sea.

Our family had one of the three buildings to ourselves so it felt very private indeed. The rooms are huge and airy and the bathrooms the biggest I have ever seen! It was lovely to sit on the veranda in the morning drinking the tea or coffee that is brought to your room. The food, served on the upper terrace or lunch in the garden, was delicious. All the staff were friendly and helpful and the service very good.

What we really liked about Ibo is that it is very much part of the community on the island. The Lodge is supporting various initiatives, such as the Silver Smithing and education, in order to help the development of the island but very much with the inclusion of the local people. The history and culture tours were both very interesting and gave a lot of insight into the present and past lives of the islanders.

It is very easy to visit the Quirimbas Islands and have little contact with the local people and we all felt that Ibo Lodge gave us this experience." See all these reviews: 9n in Mozambique; 4n in Tanzania

"Ibo Island was truly a unique and wonderful place - after 8 nights I felt almost like a part of the family and community.

Ibo Lodge's "own" temporary sandbank has to be experienced to be belived - snorkelling, relaxing or walking on the soft sand - all in the middle of the ocean and not a soul in sight. When not relaxing on the sandbank or around the lodge, the variety of options to explore different aspects of the island, its fascinating history or the mangroves were equally enjoyable.

Ibo Lodge's staff were wonderfully friendly and every lover of seafood will not want to leave again - lobster, crab, shrimp, fish, etc. all fresh from the surrounding waters (although I did enjoy the beef filet one evening to mix things up a bit).

In my view, Ibo can only be recommended for anyone looking for a unique island experience away from the masses." See all these reviews: 8n in Mozambique

"An interesting and enjoyable experience.

We sshould have got some local currency from the ATM at Pemba airport, which would have enabled us to buy things in the village." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia; 7n in Mozambique; 1n in Tanzania