pandaperth

I and another FTer who has bought ex-MPM DONE have been discussing whether to start an ex-MPM thread so that those of us who will be passing through Maputo can let others know our experiences

I fly out of MPM on the first of my two DONEs in mid-September, so I think I will be one of the first.
I am currently in Africa (ZNZ), so will be making my way down to Maputo over the coming weeks. I am still planning that trip, but I expect to cross a land border into Mozambique and spend a few days there before starting my DONE5
I am looking into the situation regarding a visa - do I need to go to an embassy or can I get one at the chosen land border crossing.

jerry a. laska

This was discussed a bit in one of the various threads. Apparently visas on arrival were commonplace but according to the US Embassy in Mozambique website (and some other countries) visa on arrival is no longer available (except for citizens of some neighboring countries) and for those countries with no Mozambique diplomatic presence.
http://maputo.usembassy.gov/nevr.html
http://smartraveller.gov.au/countrie...ozambique.aspx
http://www.embamoc-usa.org/index.php...d=89&Itemid=64
Australia does not have a Mozambique embassy so you may be ok but there are online reports of being refused at the airport and the border. See, e.g.:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...ozambique.html

I think I would try to get one ahead of time. It looks like there might be a Mozambique consulate in Zanzibar and an embassy in Dar.

pandaperth

Wow - thank you very much Jerry (or as they say here 'asante sana')
I never gave a moment's thought to the possibility of there being a Mozambique consulate here in Zanzibar - but it turns out there is one and it's about a five minute walk from my apartment which is on Vuga Road.

So my To Do for tomorrow is to go and check it out

Cheers

ps Whenever I see your handle jerry.a.laska, I think of my favourite soup, the Malaysian laksa - a hot and spicy noodle soup. So I guess what I'm saying is that whenever I see your handle I have a Pavlovian response - I start salivating! (but does that mean I think you are hot and spicy...)

jerry a. laska

Good luck with the trip to the consulate. It may be that it is just an honorary consul that does not do visa services but you never know. I reread that tripadvisor thread I linked and one Australian was refused entry at the Chiponde - Mandimba border last year and it seems that others (some with tour groups) were successful. I guess it depends upon your level of risk and what your backup might be if unsuccessful.

wandering_fred

Well the same web pages that say you can get a visa on arrival also say that there is a consulate in Nelspruit SA - which is on the way from Jo'burg to Maputo if traveling "surface". This being the southern end of the Kruger National Park, it might be a worthwhile "stopover"/

It seems the exMPM tickets are still in local currency as the USD prices (on ExpertFlyer) seem to change slightly over time.

Happy wandering

Fred

ojala

This rule worked for us in September 2014 (coming from Finland). It also helped that the guy from our accommodation was waiting for us, at the visa-on-arrival desk, working things out with the visa lady.

The guy next on the line got stuck as he was in Maputo for business and didn't have proper paperwork with him. I don't know what happened to him eventually, he started calling the place he was coming to visit that he can't get through the visa on arrival desk.

pandaperth

Thanks again for the advice Jerry
Turns out it is a full consulate, so I had no problem getting my visa
USD60 for a 30 day visa.
Takes five days(!) normally, so I decided to pay the 'expedite fee' of USD40 because I am leaving Zanzie on Saturday - it's all above board; I had to go to the bank and deposit my USD100 into the consulate's bank account
Got my passport back the next day (in other words today)

pbd456

multiple entries?

pandaperth

Single

pbd456

u will need it for your second trip. did u inquire about visa on arrival?

jerry a. laska

According to the Mozambique Embassy in the US the multiple entry is only good for 180 days (there is a cheaper one that is only valid for 90 days). As pandaperth's second trip is next June, he would have to get another visa anyway. He might as well get the cheapest one now.

pandaperth

According to xe.com the MZN (the currency of Mozambique) has devalued >4% against the greenback in the first 14 days of this month.

So, in X days those ex-MPM fares will, in USD terms, be more or less back to where they were in July
Just sayin'....

wandering_fred

Yes, I had noticed.

As my "real" trip starts in May 2017, I guess I will have to check the prices the last week each month till the exchange rate delivers my "target price". No, I won't wait expecting to see the previous price a second time.

Happy wandering

Fred

cphurley

Experts - I have read this full thread and I'm looking at booking my 5th DONEX; mainly ex-JNB booked with AA and BA. I'm looking at ex-MPM now and have two questions on this general itin MPM-DOH-North America-Asia-Europe-JNB:

1. Who can I book with, using US based CC? My airlines are QR-AA-JL-CX-BA/QR. Or who is best/easiest to book with?
2. If I book separate ticket on SA JNB-MPM the morning of my MPM-DOH flight, do I need to get a VISA? Will MPM allow me to "connect" to QR flight without having to clear immigration/customs? Has anyone done similar travel via MPM already and have any experiences to share?

Thanks for any advice. Happy travelling.

cphurley

pandaperth

1. There was a rule change back in April which now means you can purchase a ticket anywhere and what you pay is the country of origin price converted to the currency of country of sale, at the bank selling rate. So as an example, in July I purchased an ex-MPM DONE6 from AA and paid for it in AUD. So you can telephone the AA RTW desk and set up your ticket and pay for it USD

2. I cannot answer this; others have speculated whether it is possible. I am flying out of MPM mid-September, but I am intending to spend a few days at least in Mozambique before flying out.

Just a side note. I see you final flight/s might be on QR. That implies that you will have flights between Europe and the Middle East. For some time AA had a thing about disallowing such flights in conjunction with a second visit to Europe/Middle East. But it just recently amended its fare rule (which differed from the fare rules of all the other OW airlines) to remove this restriction. So now you should have no problem with such an itinerary.
And of course, if you want stopovers on your second visit to Europe/Middle East then your first visit (through DOH on your itinerary) must be a transfer without stopover