Vast, often overlooked, and once Portugal’s most important African colony, Mozambique stretches all the way up the Indian Ocean coast from South Africa to Tanzania.

A holiday in Mozambique is an excellent place to experience the faded glamour of the colonial era, with many Portuguese buildings crumbling in the tropical heat. Maputo is a fascinating city with some of Africa’ finest seafood, the ports of Beira and Ilha de Moçambique are rich with colonial architecture, but most visitors travel to Mozambique for a beach holiday in the small Indian Ocean hideaways found on two offshore archipelagos, Quirimbas and Bazaruto.

A mere handful of small resorts are set on small and unspoilt islands ringed by white-sand beaches so fine they squeak. The surrounding waters are filled with some of Africa’s most unspoiled coral reefs and are easily explored with a snorkel and mask or by scuba diving. The atmosphere here is of little oases of luxury pinned on the very edge of the known world, perfect for family holidays, honeymoons and beach breaks.