This rustic Robinson Crusoe hangout is, unsurprisingly, the Bazaruto archipelago’s only beach club. It was rustled up by Stella and Christophe Bettany, the owners of Azura Retreats, for guests of their eco-lodge on Benguerra Island, less than a mile down the beach. Mozambique’s Portuguese roots show up in a seafood-strong menu and decorative blue-and-white hand-painted tiles at the thatched open-air bar with its swing seats and wide-smile barmen, Pedro and José, who make the best frozen Margaritas. All the rough-hewn furniture was made on the island from recycled wood.
Order a magnum of Château Pas de Loup rosé from the Bettanys’ French château to go with grilled prawns peri-peri, fried calamari, stuffed crab shells, or fish skewers that you can barbecue over hot coals at your table. Go easy on the house-made chili sauces and have a ‘doshem’ 2M beer handy to quell the heat. Post lunch, retreat to the sea-view salas or settle into a board game or paperback thriller, dip in the swimming pool or slope off for a massage in the spa treehouse. Laidback Peri-Peri always feels like a private party, although visiting boats from neighboring islands, and guests from &Beyond a few dunes over, swell the numbers, especially on Sundays when the chilled playlist is usually followed by beach cinema under the stars. This opening has turned up the heat, and the African reggae tunes. —Jane Broughton