Turtle Cove

An enclave set on the east coast of Mozambique, Tofo is surrounded by clean and warm Indian Ocean waters, averaging around 24 degrees Celsius (75 F). Even though it is warm all year round, the best time to visit is during the winter months from April to September. Summer months are extremely hot, especially January, February, and March. The rainy season is in late summer from the end of December to March. The water is marvelously warm and dolphins often frequent the break.

The surf peak is over the winter, from May to August, and you can expect to see dolphins playing with whales sharing with you their 'waves playground'. The shoulder season is from the end of December to the beginning of March, caused by the cyclone swells that bring a steady flow of waves all year round. At Tofinho beach, you can surf many different breaks, such as Tofinho and Dragons point.

About a kilometer north to the next, there is the main beach of Tofo. A wide bay protected from the southerly wind and swell makes this a perfect venue for learning. The swells are clean and gentle with sandbanks that gradually produce bigger waves at the Northern end of the bay - an ideal spot for beginners or intermediates. But that's not all - there are many more spots in the area to fit any skill levels, ensuring that there is nearly always good surf for all our guest's knowledge levels.

A perfect day

"Nic would say Tofinho has the best wave in the world… when it works! It can get BIIIG and it is heavy and hollow on those days. On these days, few guys are in the water and most of us stand in awe, watching from the point." - Nelia, founder of Turtle Cove

"Tofinho is like no other… constant waves in uncrowded, beautifully clear, and warm waters. During our winter months, Humpback whales often play in the distance and dolphins frequently join the fun, leaving you with the best surfing experience ever!" - Tasi (11 years old, Nelia & Nic's son)

Boards to bring

During our peak season, it is best to bring boards to suit fickle and big waves that come with cold spells or cyclone season. The majority of waves are right-hand breaks from soft, slow, rolling spots on Tofo main bay, to heavy, fast barrelling waves on Tofinho point. Bring equipment to suit your ability and what you want to surf. Your everyday board will suffice for most periods in Tofo. If you want to charge the big stuff, follow the surf reports and bring something suitable as mid-winter waves can get up to 15ft during a good cold spell from the south. There are boards available for rental at The Surf Shack.

Nestled between the tropical seaside village of Tofo and surfer’s haven Tofinho point, our resort provides an ideal holiday spot, work-away location, yoga venue, and self retreat space - all within walking distance of the beach.

In a family-friendly environment and good weather all year round, we aim to provide to our guests the most relaxing and enjoyable experience they could have in our region. In our restaurant, we serve a wide variety of delicious vegan, vegetarian, and clean eating meals, with beautiful brunches, healthy smoothies, green juices, and raw desserts. Our resort has 12 en-suite chalets, all equipped for the comfort of your group. In addition to that, our guests have access to a large and super relaxing swimming pool, ready to give you a well-deserved rest for those days that you are not going out to surf.

We also offer yogis an inspiring and peaceful space perfect for both individual and large group practice. There are yoga classes for all levels every day. For those looking for a more specific practice, we offer weekly chanting and sadhana sessions in addition to running a vibrant program of yoga retreats in a variety of styles of yoga.

Yoga retreats

Come join us in one of our yoga retreats! With a variety of styles, Vinyasa, Kundalini, and Jivamukti, we can help you find balance and renewable energy during your stay with us. For most of our programs, you don't need previous experience with yoga as you can set your own pace during the classes. However, we like to highlight that some of our Kundalini retreats are quite advanced, but beginners can find their space and absorb at their own time, still leaving the retreat enriched with a new awareness of yoga.

During the retreats, we serve very healthy and special meals, trying to balance our nutrition and bring the awareness of our body and mind to our table. Most of our meals are vegan, vegetarian and, as much as possible, we try to have enough options for a gluten-free diet. However, we still ask our guests that bring with them special foods that we can find in Tofo, such as rice cakes, seeds, and other snacks that they might like. During the retreats, no class is compulsory. We like to say that we run ‘yoga holidays’ and it is all about enjoying the experience with your yoga practice at your level and pace. For those not interested in our programs, but want to practice at their schedule, we have a resident yoga teacher who offers yoga classes year-round outside of retreat dates. Most of these classes are vinyasa-style classes and suitable for all levels of yoga practitioners.

Sustainability/responsibility

At Turtle Cove, we are slowly but surely making changes to operate in a more eco-conscious manner. We have our own organic vegetable gardens and composting system, we mostly offer local and seasonal produce, and we have illuminated red meat completely from our menu. We offer fresh lemon-infused water on our bar counter to eliminate the need to purchase plastic water bottles. We also participate in regular beach clean-ups, use bamboo straws and eco-friendly yoga mats in our studio. We believe that every little bit helps to bring awareness and reduce our footprint bit by bit.

We also teach a yoga/breath awareness/mindfulness class at our school two times per week. This is our Seva (service) to our community and we feel that the more we can plant seeds of awareness and consciousness among our children, the more we are contributing to creating the world we would like to see in the future.