Villas do Indico Eco - Resort & Spa Lodge

Beautiful stay and wonderful host! Ana Paula was absolutely lovely and made sure my family and I felt completely at home throughout our stay. The property has a great restaurant with plenty of delicious meal options — everything we tried was fresh and flavorful (I especially loved the grilled calamari). One of the highlights was waking up early to watch the sunrise over the beach — the view was simply breathtaking and made each morning feel magical. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience in Vilankulos and would happily come back again.

This is my 6th stay at Villas do Indico. As always, exceptional from start to finish. The beachfront setting is stunning, the rooms are comfortable and well-appointed, and the entire property exudes a sense of calm and rustic charm. The cuisine is outstanding — fresh, beautifully prepared, and consistently delicious. Most impressive of all was the service: every member of staff was attentive, courteous, and went above and beyond to ensure a perfect experience.

This was for us at our 25 being togheter the most amazing place to celebrate.
Fantastic views, good food 👌 and good service for activities well organized by the owner Anna Paula, life music so 😄nice, rooms every day freshened up, perfect pool infront of the beach and a beautifully ocean.

Unbelievable! Everything that is announced is not available right now. Worst experience in my life! I have spent 5h hours driving to find a ghost hotel! No one in the reception (no one was aware about my booking), few options in the restaurant menu, and no one contacted me back when I tried to reach them out to solve it. I drove back to Maputo in the same day because the place was not ready to receive guests. Paula, the manager, never answered back. I am still waiting for my refund. I did not recommend at all!

We arrived to check out hotel midday, having asked Expedia to cancel our reservation in light of recent reviews, but refused by hotel. Gates closed with a sign saying ’beware of dogs’ We pushed them open and walked down a steep dilapidated track. At bottom is fully broken down airport transfer 4x4 (explains why they never answered our request about transfer). First ‘chalet’ we see is a fully burnt-out shell and all the debris of the fire litters the site along with an extensive heap of garbage. The ‘infinity pool’ at centre of hotel is derelict — they claim six months for renovation — no renovation underway. One sad looking family of 4 are only guests at this busy time for Vilanculos. One member of staff only. Explains owner is expat in Portugal who can’t be contacted. No manager on site. The only word we can use is ‘semi-derelict’ about much of this ‘hotel’. In response to our and others’ complaints, hotel has took down its own website but the hotel’s photos remain on Expedia and Trip advisor remain and totally different from how this hotel looks. Happy to substantiate our statements with all the photos we took. We won’t be staying there.

This place might have been a nice place in the past, but now it shows several signs of decay. The pool was closed and the selection of food was very limited. Almost no other guests.
The pictures they advertise are very inaccurate.
We checked out as soon as possible and changed to another hotel.

Nice sized rooms and bathroom, friendly and helpful staff and good food. Perhaps a larger drinks selection could have been good, however, they allowed us to drink our own wine. Right on the beach. Perfect for kayaking. It is far out and needs a 4x4, but we knew that and took the opportunity to relax, go for long walks, swim and kayak. They do transfers to town and to the airport. Lovely place.

Sadly this place is in serious need of maintenance.
Photos are misleading as this is what the place probably looked like a few years back.
Staff was great and food. Cannot fault it and Mario tried his best. Decided to leave after one night…very sad.

Went for breakfast and a swim. The staff were very pleasant; breakfast was good but not large portion. Amazing views of the pool and the beach. Little rocky sea but very able to stand on sand. Locals selling craftsmanship at the beach, very nice pieces there from paints to jewellery and wood crafts.

This was my second time staying at Paula’s Villas do Indico, this time I brought my husband. It was as wonderful as the first time! Friendly and efficient service, clean and lovely rooms with lovely fresh linen and the most comfortable bed! The restaurant meal was also great! Thank you again to all the staff for making our visit memorable.

We had an incredible stay at Villas Do Indico, a peaceful retreat nestled in a beautiful location. We highly recommend the skipper Steven and his very professional team and crew (Ninon, Alex, etc. ) They organize amazing sea safaris in the Bazaruto Archipelago. We embarked on two unforgettable excursions to Magaruque Island and the Bazaruto & Benguerra Islands. While snorkeling at the Two-Mile Reef, we were blown away by a kaleidoscope of colorful fish. We observed the magical flight of the flamingos from a very close distance. It was so Wow! Among the crystalline turquoise waters, we were thrilled to encounter dolphins, turtles, and the elusive dugong! :) ) These two trips were truly memorable!

We were a group of six people (four adults and 2 youths) who stayed for five days at Villas do Indico and we had a great time! There are many reasons for this — an important one being that this is situated right on the beach. This is in contrast to many of the other sites up and down the coast close to Vilanculos and makes both for easy access to the beach and swimming and, also, that you really experience being connected to the sea. Swimming from the beach is also great at this particular place on the coast and it is truly amazing to be able to walk on the beach in either direction without hardly meeting any others as it is located quite some distance from Vilanculos. Other highlights:
*Excellent staff! Everyone working there is friendly, helpful and will go out of your way to make your stay as pleasant as possible. Many also speak excellent English, for those not conversant in Portuguese.
*Fantastic chef! While we were there, the chef produced a series of great and quite varied dishes, many with fresh fish and seafood. This means that, while there, you do not really miss going into Vilanculos to eat.
*Bazaruto Island tour organised from next door! Villas do Indico is located literally next door (20 metres) from where organized tours to the islands (for snorkeling/diving the coral reefs, dune exploration, flamingo watching, sea mammal exploration etc. ) can be organised. Highly convenient not to need any transfers to anywhere for such trips.

The lodge is recovering from the last cyclone that went through Vilanculos. We had a great time, despite a few cosmetic issues that they were working on whilst we were there. The lodge is 10km from Vilanculos and quite remote, which means that you are not harrassed by vendors on the beach, which is fantastic; but it also means that you have to have a 4x4 to go anywhere or hire a transfer. The chefs at the lodge are excellent and able to conjure up delicious dishes from locally sourced fresh fish and other produce. Mario, Reuben and John were on point in the waitering department and Anyway was extremely resourceful at front desk. All the staff and the owner Dona Anna were extremely welcoming to our family and looked after our toddler with great patience and care.
On the activities side, do not miss a trip to the islands with Steve in his powerboat Malambo, he was an exceptional guide on the water. Together with his wife Ninon and the deck hand/chief spotter Alex, they made our trip unforgetable with three Dugong and one Turtle sightings in the space of half an hour — with great respect being shown to the marine life, not crowding or harrassing them. Lunch on Benguera, walking in the dunes on Bazaruto with all the pink crabs and swimming in pristine ocean waters made this boat trip a true highlight of our holiday.

We had an amazing stay at the Villas. Thank you to Anna and her professional team. We had an experience of a lifetime going out on the boat to Santa Carolina. Thank you to Steve the skipper and Perdo the helper who made it a day that we will never forget.

I cannot praise Villas Do Indico enough, it’s paradise! The staff is kind and attentive, the rooms/huts are beautifully decorated spotless clean and the linen is soft and clean (not even a wrinkle! ). It’s an amazing location beautifully kept!
The restaurant’s food is very nice I loved their octopus salad. Highly recommend!

Magnificent place! Beautifully decorated clean, soft spotless linen, great service! A piece of paradise! Owner Paula really helpful, staff very attentive, great food!

We had an incredible stay at Villas do Indico in Vilanculos, Mozambique. The staff's warm welcome, delicious food, and exceptional rooms made our experience truly enjoyable. The highlight was the boat trip to Santa Carolina Island with Ninon and Steve. Steve's expertise as a skipper led us to encounter dolphins and turtles, and snorkeling revealed a vibrant array of fish species. The lunch on the rocks, overlooking the ocean, was a breathtaking experience. Steve's knowledge and dedication ensured our comfort throughout the trip. I highly recommend the boat trip with Ninon and Steve – a truly memorable adventure! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐