Africa · Mozambique
Tofo
Manta cleaning stations on the reefs and whale sharks at the surface all year
Photo: Jon Hanson · CC BY-SA 2.0
Tofo is a beach in Inhambane Province, southern Mozambique, where the diving is built around large animals on offshore rocky reefs. Deep sites such as Manta Reef and Giant's Castle hold cleaning stations where manta rays come in, while shallower reefs such as Marble Arch and Mike's Cupboard offer swim-throughs, bowls and small rays. Whale sharks are seen in every month, feeding at the surface, and humpback whales pass through in the southern winter.
About diving in Tofo
Every dive site is reached by boat, with rides of 5 to 45 minutes, and the boats are launched from and brought back onto the beach. Sites are picked on the morning of the dive, largely on the weather, since visibility and current here are not truly seasonal and can change within a few hours. Some deep reefs, Table Top and Sherwood Forest among them, can only be dived in mild current.
The reefs sit on the sea floor with blue water between them and no sloping walls, which is why nitrox is recommended on the deep sites from 18 m down. On Giant's Castle a resident school of bigeye trevally can form a tornado, and potato groupers come in to follow divers around. Devil rays are common at Table Top, eagle rays show up on a few sites, and whitetip, leopard and grey reef sharks turn up on the deeper reefs. Frogfish and countless nudibranch species keep the macro side busy.
Most of the better sites lie at around 25 to 30 m and need deep-dive certification, so the diving leans towards Advanced divers. Newer divers still have options: shallow reefs such as Mike's Cupboard suit novices and experienced divers alike, and Marble Arch is a place to practise buoyancy through its arches, corridors and swim-throughs.
Best time to dive Tofo
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good |
| Sea surface | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 27°C81°F | 26°C79°F | 25°C77°F | 24°C75°F | 24°C75°F | 24°C75°F | 25°C77°F | 26°C79°F | 27°C81°F |
| Daytime high | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F | 28°C82°F | 27°C81°F | 26°C79°F | 27°C81°F | 27°C81°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F |
| Rain | 162 mm6.4 in | 125 mm4.9 in | 87 mm3.4 in | 74 mm2.9 in | 37 mm1.5 in | 46 mm1.8 in | 20 mm0.8 in | 10 mm0.4 in | 17 mm0.7 in | 35 mm1.4 in | 62 mm2.4 in | 135 mm5.3 in |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 28°C82°F | 27°C81°F | 26°C79°F | 25°C77°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F | 28°C82°F | 27°C81°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 162 mm6.4 in | 125 mm4.9 in | 87 mm3.4 in | 74 mm2.9 in | 37 mm1.5 in | 46 mm1.8 in |
| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 24°C75°F | 24°C75°F | 24°C75°F | 25°C77°F | 26°C79°F | 27°C81°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 26°C79°F | 27°C81°F | 27°C81°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 29°C84°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 20 mm0.8 in | 10 mm0.4 in | 17 mm0.7 in | 35 mm1.4 in | 62 mm2.4 in | 135 mm5.3 in |
2011–2025 averages. Sea surface: NOAA Coral Reef Watch, measured at the surface, so deeper water can run colder. Daytime high and rain: NASA POWER.
Diving runs through the whole year. January to April is the rainy season, though Tofo gets considerably less rain than Inhambane, 25 km away. Visibility is generally at its best from December to June, often 20 to 30 m, and the quiet stretch from after Easter until early July is the best time to dive. August and September are the windiest months, when the surface can turn very choppy, and they coincide with the humpback peak. From July to September visibility usually drops to 5 to 15 m, before recovering through the rest of the year.
Tofo water temperature and weather by month
The sea surface runs from 24 °C (75 °F) in August to 28 °C (82 °F) in February. Most rain falls from December to April, peaking at about 160 mm (6.3 in) in January; it stays largely dry from July to October. Daytime highs reach 30 °C (86 °F) in March and drop to 26 °C (79 °F) in July. The coldest water here is about 22 °C (72 °F), so pack a 5 mm suit.
Dive types & marine life
Manta rays visit the cleaning stations on the deep sites and turn up on around 15% of deep dives. Whale sharks have no season and are seen in every month, though their numbers rise and fall with the plankton. Humpback whales are present from June to November, peaking in August and September, and dolphins and turtles turn up year-round.
- Reef
- Drift
- Manta rays
- Whale sharks
- Whales
- Reef sharks
- Mobula rays
- Dolphins
- Sea turtles
- Stingrays
- Eagle rays
- Groupers
- Trevally & jacks
- Nudibranchs
Best dive sites in Tofo
- 1
Manta Reef
Offshore rocky reef of pinnacles and cleaning stations, the shallowest and fishiest of the deep sites.
- 2
Giant's Castle
North-south ridge at 25 to 30 m, the fallback when currents run strong or the sea is big.
- 3
The Office
Classic northern site with good chances of whitetip, leopard and grey reef sharks.
- 4
Table Top
Wide north-south ridge with a valley and several pinnacles at its southern end.
- 5
Marble Arch
Donut-shaped reef with three linked arched swim-throughs and walls rising 6 to 8 m.
- 6
Mike's Cupboard
Low reef in the sand cut by three large bowls, suited to novice and experienced divers.
- 7
EN1
Tide-driven reef dived only on slack high tide, home to the honeycomb whipray.
Site guides
Reef
Slabbed rock reef, diveable only on a slack high tide
Reef
Finger-shaped reef ridges with sand lanes between them
A notched 2 km wall with three manta cleaning stations
Manta cleaning stations on an amphitheatre of rock at 21-26 m
Wall
Two archways cut through the wall of a sunken bowl
Reef
Linked bowls joined by caves, overhangs and gullies
Wall
Two walls joined by a plateau, dived north to south
How to get to Tofo
Inhambane airport lies a few kilometres from Tofo and has direct flights from Johannesburg; from its access road, arriving divers catch a chappa or a ride to Tofo.
Photos from Tofo
Jon Hanson · CC BY-SA 2.0
keesgroenendijk · CC BY 4.0
keesgroenendijk · CC BY 4.0
Cornelius Kibelka · CC BY-SA 2.0
Dive videos
Top Dive Sites | S02 E03 Tofo | Exploring Mozambique’s Underwater Wonders · Beautiful World - Documentaries on YouTube
Scuba Dive Tofo Mozambique · Reef Nomad on YouTube
Questions divers ask
What certification do the deep sites at Tofo need?+
Advanced, and the dive shops in Tofo run the course for divers without it. Manta Reef, the easiest and shallowest of the deep sites, serves as its first deep dive.
Can divers see whale sharks on a dive at Tofo?+
Rarely. They feed at the surface, hanging a metre or so underwater, so they are met during the surface interval between dives or on a snorkelling trip, and never guaranteed.
What wetsuit do divers wear at Tofo?+
A 5 mm wetsuit all year, with a hood and an extra rash vest in winter, since thermoclines can bring cold water even in summer.
Where is the nearest recompression chamber?+
In Durban, more than 1000 km away, which is why dives here are run so safely.
Sources
- Tofo Beach — Wikivoyage
- Tofo dive sites — Liquid Dive Adventures
- Tofo Scuba EN1 dive site — Tofo Scuba
- Manta Reef — Wikivoyage
- Giants Castle dive site — PADI
- Manta Reef dive site — Tofo Scuba
- When to come to Tofo — Liquid Dive Adventures
- FAQs — Tofo Scuba
Photo credits
- A dense school of striped bannerfish swirls above the reef at Tofo Beach. by Jon Hanson, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A zebra shark rests on the sandy seabed off Tofo Beach, Mozambique. by Jon Hanson, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A pair of harlequin shrimp feed on a red starfish on a reef near Tofo. by keesgroenendijk, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- An Ambon cleaner shrimp tends a moray eel tucked into a reef crevice near Tofo. by keesgroenendijk, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Sunset clouds glow pink and orange over the sandy shoreline at Tofo Beach. by Cornelius Kibelka, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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In The Logbook
- Cheapest places to scuba dive, and the catchTrip planning · 15 min read
- Air, nitrox or trimix: which gas, and when?Gear & kit · 15 min read
- Where to dive with manta rays, month by monthBig animals · 8 min read
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