All of Mozambique is a CDC malaria area, in the dry season too.

Are there mosquitoes in Mozambique? Yes, and the CDC recommends malaria prevention medicine for the whole country in every season, from Maputo and the Bazaruto islands to Tofo, the Quirimbas and Gorongosa. A June–September trip falls in the cool, dry months, when mosquitoes tend to be fewer, so the plan is a travel clinic visit first and a dusk-to-dawn routine after that.

Malaria everywhere, in every month

The parasite is mainly Plasmodium falciparum, resistant to chloroquine. Malaria mosquitoes bite from dusk to dawn, which covers beach dinners and sunset dhow cruises. Put on repellent before sunset, wear long sleeves after dark, and sleep under a net or in a screened, air-conditioned room.

For yellow fever, the CDC says "Vaccine is not recommended," and Mozambique doesn't require it on a direct trip from the US, but it does require proof from travelers 1 year or older arriving from a country with yellow fever risk, including layovers of more than 12 hours there.

Separately, the CDC says "Active cholera transmission is widespread in Mozambique," and WHO's Africa office, citing the national bulletin, counted 9,092 cases and 83 deaths from September to June 6, 2026, most in Nampula, Tete and Cabo Delgado, so choose safe food and water and ask the clinic whether the cholera vaccine makes sense for you.

The dry season, and what changes

June to September is the cool, dry season, and mosquitoes tend to be fewer than in the rains, though they still bite at dusk around beach lodges and on the water. September tends to warm up, and the rains, roughly November to April, tend to bring the most mosquitoes, so an April trip catches their tail and October heat leads into them.

Dengue is on the CDC's Mozambique list. Its day-biting mosquito, Aedes aegypti, was found in Pemba and Nampula during a 2014 outbreak, and WHO's Africa bulletin for October 5–11, 2026 lists no dengue event for Mozambique. Daytime repellent in the coastal towns covers it.

Gorongosa's tsetse flies

Tsetse flies are the daytime biters on Gorongosa game drives, and dark blue and black have a reputation for drawing them in. A survey of 3,086 tsetse from Gorongosa and Niassa, published in 2018 in Infection, Genetics and Evolution, found trypanosomes that infect livestock and wildlife but none that infect people, and the CDC's Mozambique page doesn't list African sleeping sickness. The bites are still painful, so wear neutral-colored long sleeves and trousers on drives. The CDC also lists African tick-bite fever, a reason for a tick check after bush walks.

Where you're going

Farther north, the CDC's malaria advice covers the Quirimbas too. WHO's Africa office describes armed conflict and displacement in Cabo Delgado, the province the islands lie off, so check the US State Department's travel advisory before booking there.

Combining Mozambique with Kruger, Lake Malawi or Zanzibar? See our South Africa, Malawi and Tanzania briefings.

What travelers report

Paraphrased from TripAdvisor threads and reviews and linked so you can read them in full. None carries a year, and the season changes the picture.

• Barra, Inhambane · July-August (planned trip)

  A family planning a July-August trip to Barra with young children asked about malaria. Replies said June-July is the dry season and the risk is very low but not zero; posters who traveled with children used Malarone, and one noted the pediatric version's 11 kg minimum weight and deferred to a doctor. TripAdvisor ↗

• Bazaruto / Inhambane Province

  In a Bazaruto malaria thread, a poster described getting cerebral malaria after a holiday near Massinga and urged taking malaria medicine anywhere in Inhambane Province; another suggested Ponta do Ouro in the far south may be lower risk. TripAdvisor ↗

• Vilanculos canoe trip

  A reviewer of a sunset canoe trip through the Vilanculos waterways, where they saw fireflies, advised covering your arms against mosquitoes. TripAdvisor ↗

Any fever during or after your trip means a doctor visit, and you tell them you were in Mozambique and where you stayed. After time in a malaria area, that rule holds for a year.

Traveler questions