Nuarro Lodge

The beach bar and restaurant are separate communal areas where simple, open-plan designs and comfortably furnished seating areas create an ultra-relaxed atmosphere. The beach bar has a large open-sided deck with a colourful mural. Next to it is a small curio shop and the massage room with a desk where activities can be arranged. A 10-minute walk away from the beach bar, on a small piece of coral/rock peninsula, is the lodge restaurant. It is spacious and open with a high thatched roof and stone floors.

Ten double chalets and two family cottages are dispersed along 2km of beachfront within the dune forest. Each is just steps from the beach and uniquely decorated with bright Mozambican textiles in electric greens and magenta pinks. Constructed almost entirely of local materials by local craftsmen, the chalets radiate a rustic elegance that puts them a notch above your typical beach bungalow. With wrap-around decks, split-level bedrooms and wide double doors, it's clear that much care has been taken in their design. All cottages have open-plan, en-suite bathrooms with a vanity and basin, an indoor and alfresco shower, as well as a no-flush eco-toilet which is incredibly environmentally efficient and unsmelly. The family cottages have space for two extra beds.

There's loads to keep you busy here; weeks could easily fly by. The beach in front of Nuarro is a short walk down the forested hill and from here you'll find kilometres of yellow sand to comb for shells and several rock pools to scour at low tide. Snorkelling and diving can be done from the shore at four different sites, and there are another three sites a short boat ride away. The diving here is world-class, with night dives, flourescent dives and rebreather dives on offer. Excursions to the local village can be arranged, either on foot or by bicycle, which will likely yield some very warm welcomes and enthusiastic photography sessions.