Things to do in Moroni
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Moroni
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry season and the best overall window, with June to September coolest and most reliable.
Cyclone season, with flooding and disruption to boats, flights and power.
Hot, wet season, when Karthala is likeliest to be in cloud and trails are at their worst.
Humpback whale season around Moheli and off Grande Comore, peaking August to mid October.
Ramadan in 2027 falls approximately in February to March, with most restaurants closed or serving only after dark.
What's on
- Grand Mariage season July to September
Great weddings lasting a week or two fill streets with processions, music and gold jewellery.
- Independence Day 6 July
Official celebrations in Moroni, with crowds and road closures best watched from a distance.
- Eid al-Fitr End of Ramadan, lunar dates vary
The country closes festively, businesses shut and transport fills.
- Eid al-Adha Lunar dates vary
A major religious festival with closures and full transport, wonderful atmosphere and difficult logistics.
Best things to do in Moroni
Moroni Medina
A maze of coral stone alleys, carved doors and small mosques around the old harbour, best walked slowly on foot.
Old Friday Mosque
Moroni's whitewashed harbourfront landmark, a working mosque best admired from across the harbour at prayer times.
Volo Volo Market
The capital's working market for spices, vanilla and ylang ylang, with a covered eating section at its heart.
National Museum of the Comoros
A small national museum whose coelacanth story and island exhibits make the rest of Grande Comore make sense.
Iconi
A former sultanate town south of Moroni with old stone houses, mosques and palace remains in near silence.
Itsandra Beach
A white sand bay below the old capital village of Itsandra, and the easiest good swim from central Moroni.
Lac Salé
A salt lake in a volcanic crater beside the sea, walked around its rim on the standard north coast day.
Chomoni Beach
White sand scattered with black volcanic rock on the east coast, a local favourite with a village behind it.
Where to stay in Moroni
Itsandra coast
best all-round base
A good beach and the island's best full service hotel, an easy taxi ride from the medina.
Central Moroni
character, food and walking
Walk to the market, mosque and most restaurants, but choose a property with its own power and water backup.
South Moroni / the Corniche
conventional large hotel stays
Quieter and more spacious facing the ocean, at the cost of a long walk or a taxi into the old town.
Chomoni, east coast
a night or two away from the capital
A village stay on the island's prettiest beach, roughly an hour from Moroni, with few services.
Mitsamiouli / north coast
beach-first retreats
The best beach country and a new small luxury lodge, but a long drive from the capital with thin services.
Nioumachoua, Mohéli
the Mohéli extension base
Inside the marine park at Laka Lodge, booked as a multi night stay in its own right.
Think twice about
- Maloudja and Galawa, far north coast, as a sole base
Beautiful but isolated, with review evidence of bungalows without power or running water and no alternative restaurant once your driver leaves.
- Any Moroni lodging without its own generator and water storage
Municipal taps and power are intermittent across the city, so a property without backup systems can become a hygiene problem.
Best restaurants in Moroni
L'Escale
Moroni's top restaurant, a seafront deli and grill where grilled fish at sunset is the capital's nice dinner.
Le New Select
The town centre all rounder for grilled fish, coconut dishes and daily specials, popular with locals and visitors.
Hotel restaurant Jardin de la Paix
A calm garden restaurant and bar in central Moroni, where locals and guests eat Comorian dishes and grilled seafood.
Mo Cafe
A bakery cafe for real coffee, pastries and light European style meals, Moroni's small homesickness cure.
Chez Babou
Indian influenced curries alongside Comorian seafood at cheap prices, with long hours and spiced tea to finish.
Coraya Express
Central Moroni's fast food stop for pizzas and burgers, cheap, quick and loved by a reviewer who ate there three times.
Restaurant des Arcades
The old name for a Moroni seafood splurge, praised in local guides for its lobster, but trading status needs checking.
Café de la Paix
A simple cafe praised in local guides for calamari and octopus, two signature Comorian seafood dishes.
Outdoor things to do in Moroni
Mount Karthala
An active volcano with a vast crater, climbed with a guide as a hard day trek or a two day camp.
Adore Comores
The best reviewed local operator for snorkelling, diving, dolphin boats and private island days from Moroni.
Mitsamiouli Beach
A string of small white sand coves on the north coast, the best beach day on Grande Comore with a driver.
Dos du Dragon
Jagged volcanic spines along a peninsula opposite Turtle Island, a short rough scramble on the north coast day.
Bouni Beach
A jungle fringed white sand beach on the wilder east coast, quieter than Chomoni and made for doing nothing.
Moheli Marine Park
A protected marine park of reefs, turtle beaches and seasonal whales, needing at least three nights based at Laka Lodge.
Mutsamudu
Anjouan's old Swahili town and the base for its perfume highlands, distilleries, Domoni and waterfalls over two nights.
Best hotels in Moroni
Itsandra Beach Hotel & Resort
Moroni's fullest service beach resort, with a private beach, pool and two restaurants a short drive from the centre.
Naya Lodge
A small new lodge on a pristine north coast beach with suites, an infinity pool and a gym, booked as a retreat.
Villa Jessica
A beloved small guesthouse with communal meals and its own power and water systems, the best reviewed stay in Moroni.
Hotel restaurant Jardin de la Paix
A calm garden hotel near the centre with a well regarded restaurant and bar, where room quality can vary.
Cristal Itsandra Beach Hotel
The simpler second beach hotel at Itsandra, a comparison option whose current condition should be verified directly.
Retaj Moroni Hotel
Moroni's large oceanfront hotel with pools and a gym, a facilities play whose execution reviewers find variable.
Chalets Chomoni
Simple well liked chalets on the east coast's best beach, for waking up at Chomoni instead of day tripping.
Moheli Laka Lodge
Rustic bungalows between two beaches inside the marine park, with set seafood meals and excursions from the lodge.
Is Moroni expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | KMF 25,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | KMF 60,000 a person |
| Splurge | KMF 120,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Ylang-Ylang Distillery: a few days ahead
- Mount Karthala: weeks ahead
- Adore Comores: a few days ahead
- Moheli Marine Park: weeks ahead
- Mutsamudu: weeks ahead
- Itsandra Beach Hotel & Resort: weeks ahead
- Naya Lodge: weeks ahead
- Villa Jessica: weeks ahead
- Book Itsandra Beach Hotel, Villa Jessica and Laka Lodge ahead, as all are small and the best evidenced.
- Book the Karthala trek days ahead and let weather and volcano status pick the day.
- Keep a buffer night in Moroni before any international flight, and re-confirm domestic flights the day before.
Is Moroni safe?
- Petty crime is common and protests can turn violent, so avoid demonstrations and keep a low profile on wealth.
- Medical care is basic, and power and water disruption can affect hospitals.
- Inter island boats can be overloaded and without life jackets, and medical evacuation insurance is essential.
Moroni travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Do not book Al Camar Lodge on old photographs, as recent reviews describe a near abandoned property at high prices.
- Any coelacanth diving promise is overselling, as the fish live in deep water beyond recreational diving.
- Never schedule Karthala, an inter island flight and an international departure inside 24 hours.
Getting around Moroni: public transport and more
- Walk central Moroni by day, and agree every taxi fare before getting in, as there are no meters.
- Hire a car with a driver through your hotel or Adore Comores for island days, and avoid driving at night.
- Bring small euro notes, because the franc is pegged to the euro, ATMs are very few and card machines often fail.
Who Moroni suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | OK |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Moroni your trip
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