Lebombo (SA) / Ressano Garcia (Mpumalanga and Mozambique)

Main route from Gauteng via N4 to Maputo

Busiest and most important crossing

Open : 06:00 – 00:00 (midnight)

Peak season: Often 24 hours (mid-Dec to mid-Jan, Easter)

Pafuri (Kruger National Park north)

Open : 08:00 – 16:00

Remote crossing inside Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park

Limited facilities, daylight use only

Namaacha Border Post (Mozambique) and Lomahasha (Eswatini)

Common route between: Mbabane / Manzini and Maputo

Open: 07:00 – 22:00

Arrive before 21:00 to avoid being denied entry close to closing time

Generally quieter than Lebombo, so it’s a good alternative route to Maputo Roads are tarred and accessible for normal vehicles

Kosi Bay (SA) / Ponta do Ouro (KZN and Mozambique)

Access to Ponta do Ouro (4x4 often required)

Open : 08:00 – 17:00

Sometimes extended (e.g. festive periods up to ~06:00–20:00)

Machipanda Border Post Crossing Crossing into Mozambique (Harare and Beira)

Major cross-border economic link between Harare and Beira so expect a lot of heavy loaded trucks.

Open: 06:00 - 20:00 / 7 days a week

Beira Road, Mutare, Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe entering EN6 (road) Mozambique

Manica Province, nearby Manica

Cuchamano Border Post Crossing into Mozambique (Harare and Mozambique)

Open: 06:00 - 18:00 / 7 days a week

Always aim to arrive at least 1 hour before closing (17:00 latest) to avoid being turned back.

A2 (road), Nyampanda (approx. 250km North East of Harare), Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe entering 103 (road), Mozambique Tete Province (approx. 140km South West of Tete)

Zóbuè Border Post (Mozambique) / Mwanza (Malawi)

Connects Malawi (Mwanza) with Mozambique (Zóbuè, Tete Province)

Open : 06:00 – 18:00 (daily)

Aim to arrive before 17:00 to allow time for processing

Lies on a key regional route between: Blantyre and Tete

️ Important notes This is the standard and most reliable schedule — do not rely on night crossing It’s a busy commercial crossing, especially with trucks

Milange Border Post (Mozambique) and Zobue (Malawi)

Open : 06H00 - 18H00

Arrive before 17:00 to allow for border processing

Mostly used for local and regional traffic; commercial trucks common

Road conditions are generally paved main roads, but minor delays possible

Mandimba Border Post ( Manica Province, Mozambique and Chimanimani,Zimbabwe

Open : 06H00 - 18H00

Often used for travel between Beira corridor / Manica Province and eastern Zimbabwe. Border is smaller and less busy than major posts like Machipanda. Mostly light vehicle traffic; large trucks are limited

Access to the Chimanimani Mountains for tourism & local traffic.

Arrive before 17:00 to allow sufficient processing time

Giriyondo (Kruger National Park central)

Tourist-only crossing inside Kruger

Must enter/exit through Kruger gates (park fees apply)

Open : 08:00 – 16:00 (Oct–Mar)

Open : 08:00 – 15:00 (Apr–Sep)

According to Barbara Mommen, CEO for the Maputo Corridor Logistics Initiative (MCLI):-

Crossing the border from South Africa - Komatipoort Border Post(Lebombo) to Mozambique - Ressano Garcia:

"Lebombo/Ressano Garcia 24 Hour Festive Season Operations"

For Further Enquiries Please Call the Following Numbers: 013 7937029 (Lebombo RSA) and +258 21 550 010 (Ressano Garcia Moçambique)
Source: Lebombo BCOCC RSA and Mozambique Border Authorities

Enter the gate and you will be given your gate pass which includes: your car registration and number of people in your vehicle
Park your vehicle in the designated parking areas and enter the building, complete a vehicle temporary export document and gate pass, have them both stamped.

If you have any questions go to the Customer Services Help Desk.
Proceed to immigration, with your passports, where they will be stamped.
If you have any export goods to declare, go to the Customs desk where your original invoices must be stamped
Proceed to the Vehicle Registration desk (You should have all your vehicle registration documents) and collect the DA341
Complete the DA341 form and have it stamped with your gate pass by the official.
Proceed to Immigration desk along with your passport and gate pass and have your passport stamped.
If you are not a South African citizen and want to reclaim VAT, present the goods and original invoices at the VAT counter for a VAT refund
Return to your vehicle and give your gate pass to the official at the gate, at this stage a Customs Official may ask to search your car.
Proceed to the Mozambique border post

At Mozambique Border:
You will receive a gate pass on entering Mozambique, make sure that you obey the directions and signals of the border officers and that you stop or park where they show you. Proceed to the immigration building.

Do NOT to let the locals, help you, with the paperwork. Customs officials are not allowed to receive money, but helpers are, so they work together.
This means that together they will go through your belongings, to find something, to make you pay for, where as the customs officials on his own is less likely to go through your belongings.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Do not use the private individual people alongside the road. Not only is this illegal but you stand a good chance of being ripped off.

All passengers plus the driver must personally go through passport control at the immigration desk on the right as you walk in. in order to be allowed to enter Mozambique.

You will have to pay R17.50 cash, per passport request a receipt.
The driver will take the gate pass and temporary export permit to the customs desk across the room get them stamped and pay road tax MTn 26.50 (+- R7.00) at the Vehicle Registration desk (Rands not accepted). You must have 3rd party insurance and road tax paid, this is R160,00 per vehicle.

Normal cameras and personal goods do not need to be declared, although if you are uncertain, ask.
If you are taking anything of high value or electronic equipment through. declare the items.
Items like laptops must be declared AND TAKE NOTE, fill in a separate form for each person. I have had an experience where I entered Mozambique with a friend and we declared our two laptops on one form. I exited 3 days before my friend from Kosi Bay border post,with no problem and he exited from Ressano Garcia 3 days later. When he went through customs they asked him where the other laptop was and no amount of explanations sufficed.
They stated that he had sold the other laptop and was liable for R5000,00 duty. It cost him a bribe of R100,00 to avoid this blatant manipulation and threat.

Very important -make sure that you have your 3rd party insurance.
Exit the building and find a customs official, usually dressed in a blue uniform, with orange pull-over, he will check your vehicle to see that no forbidden goods or plants are being brought into Mozambique.

He will sign your gate pass which you hand to the officer at the gate, who will then allow you through into Mozambique.

Note: You may be stopped for a control inspection along the N4.

Should travellers encounter difficulties with traffic police or other authorities en route to their destinations, particularly if these officers are attempting to illicit bribes or are threatening, you are advised to do the following: