WorldMozambique › Inhambane › Pomene

Pomene 55.3

#3617 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇲🇿 Mozambique · Inhambane · near Vilanculos

Works almost every day, wind is the enemy here, no off season.

Works all yearWarm waterRemoteIntermediate
Pomene, Mozambique
Photo: hermansmit · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Surf score55.3 /100
Surfable days100% of the year
Clean days5% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell9% period 11 s+
Typical size1.2 m 4.0 ft median
Water26°C boardshorts

Best time to surf Pomene

The best time to surf Pomene is May, June, July. It rarely works. In May the water sits around 26°C, so pack boardshorts, and the typical wave is 1.1 m. The nearest airport is MPM (453 km) and the nearest town is Vilanculos (107 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan99%5%1.3 m28°Cboardies
Feb100%2%1.2 m28°Cboardies
Mar100%5%1.3 m28°Cboardies
Apr100%7%1.2 m28°Cboardies
May100%11%1.1 m26°Cboardies
Jun100%8%1.4 m25°Cvest
Jul98%10%1.2 m24°Cvest
Aug99%7%1.2 m23°Cvest
Sep100%4%1.2 m24°Cvest
Oct100%2%1.3 m25°Cvest
Nov100%1%1.2 m26°Cboardies
Dec100%3%1.1 m27°Cboardies

What is under Pomene

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor is still shallow, 9 m.

Depth 8 km out9 m
Depth 4 km out8 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 55.3

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
15.9
Best days 22.4%
9.9
Clean days 18.4%
2.0
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
5.6
Access 4.1%
0.2

The detail

Faces 30° with 58% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 62% of days. Mean peak period 8.6 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.9 m, with a peak period of 10 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 47%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates -22.922, 35.601 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€736/ month
typically €648 – €824
Rent, one bedroom€388
Groceries€156
Eating out€88
Getting around€52
Phone + internet€56
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€1,440/ month
typically €1,270 – €1,610
Somewhere to stay€848
Eating out€304
Car, transfers, fuel€196
Data + extras€92
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Remote spot, so the local estimate is 20% below the country average. Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Mozambique (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

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