Inhambane tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 06:00 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are Africa/Maputo local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Last spring tide on Tue 19 May (range 2.5m). Next neap on Sat 23 May.

Spring tides cluster around new and full moons (biggest swings). Neap tides land on quarter moons (smallest swings). See the spring tide and neap tide glossary entries for the why.

Inhambane is a town that has been facing the sea for over a thousand years. Arab traders established a presence on this stretch of the Mozambican coast from at least the 9th century, drawn by the sheltered bay, the trade routes into the interior, and the reliable holding ground for dhows riding the monsoon winds. Vasco da Gama anchored here in 1498 and recorded the coast in his log as Terra da Boa Gente — Land of Good People — a name that the Portuguese preserved in documents for decades after. The colonial-era cathedral, the Igreja Nossa Senhora da Conceição, anchors the town's historic centre: a whitewashed baroque-influenced structure that dates from the 18th century and remains the largest building on the Inhambane Bay shoreline. The town is the administrative capital of Inhambane Province and the regional hub for the coast north toward Vilanculos and the Bazaruto Archipelago. Inhambane Bay is one of southern Africa's larger estuarine systems — approximately 50 kilometres long and sheltered enough to support a functioning small-craft harbour, a mangrove ecosystem along its margins, and a cross-bay ferry service that has been operating continuously, under various sail and motor configurations, for centuries. The dhow ferry from Inhambane's waterfront to Maxixe on the opposite shore takes roughly 15 minutes. It is the fastest crossing of the bay, and it is the main transport link for overland travellers: buses from Maputo and Vilanculos arrive at Maxixe, and the ferry carries foot passengers across to Inhambane town. Watching the dhow and motor ferry traffic at the jetty against the background of the bay and the distant Barra Peninsula is one of the more photogenic moments the Mozambican coast offers. The tidal regime on Inhambane Bay is mixed semidiurnal with a spring range of approximately 2.0 to 3.0 metres. At spring high water, the mangrove edges of the bay are inundated — the red mangroves (Rhizophora mucronata) that fringe the southern and eastern bay shores are submerged to mid-trunk, and the root network becomes an underwater labyrinth accessible only by kayak or canoe. At spring low water, the same mangroves stand on exposed mud and the bay floor south of the town shallows to sand and seagrass, with wading birds — greater and lesser flamingos, various egret species — working the margins in the early morning. The bay supports a relic population of dugong (Dugong dugon) — one of the few remaining in southern Africa outside South Africa's iSimangaliso system. Dugong are difficult to sight without deliberate searching, but their presence is documented by local marine researchers, and the seagrass beds they depend on are visible from a boat at low tide. The broader bay ecosystem is a significant artisanal fishing ground: hand-line fishers and cast-netters work the seagrass flats at low tide from small fibreglass boats and dugouts, and the Inhambane fish market on the waterfront operates every morning from before first light. The cashew nut and coconut plantations inland from the bay have been part of the local economy since the Portuguese colonial period. Cashew is Mozambique's largest agricultural export, and the trees are ubiquitous in the land behind the town — the canopy visible from the waterfront roads between the buildings, and the raw cashew sold in the market through harvest season (March to June). The town itself is navigable on foot: the waterfront promenade, the cathedral, the market, and the ferry jetty are all within a 15-minute walk of each other. The colonial street grid north of the cathedral retains a significant stock of Portuguese-period buildings in various states of preservation. Accommodation ranges from guesthouses in the town centre to mid-range hotels on the waterfront. Tofo Beach is 22 kilometres by road; Barra Point is 15 kilometres in the other direction. Inhambane is the practical hub for exploring the province's coast, with vehicle hire, fuel, and a small domestic airport with connections to Maputo on LAM Mozambique Airlines. Predictions on this page come from Open-Meteo Marine, a gridded global ocean model. Accuracy is typically within plus or minus 45 minutes on timing and 0.2 to 0.3 metres on height — model-derived, not from a local gauge. For authoritative maritime information on Mozambican waters, consult the Instituto Nacional de Hidrografia e Navegação (INAHINA).