Mozambique Island may have flourished under Portuguese rule but its colonial history isn't all roses. Learn more about the history of Mozambique Island before you depart on trip with kids. Find out why this small island was once an important slave market as well as a principal trade center on the European maritime route to India. Read about Vasco da Gama and learn about the life of a Portuguese explorer. Learn about the Manueline style of architecture and find out why it is a celebration of Portugal's seafaring ways.

Online maps are a great travel planning resource and a great way to get the kids involved in a family vacation. Use online maps of Mozambique to pinpoint your family travel destination and plan your itinerary. Map Mozambique and identify points of interest along the coast as well as the interior. Learn more about the geography of Mozambique as well as the country's administrative boundaries.

Books are a great way to introduce younger children to a new adventure and get teens and tweens ready for a family trip. Learn more about Mozambique through guidebooks, novels and historical fiction and embark on a different kind of family journey. Discover age-appropriate children's literature. Get a complete list of Mozambican authors. Find recommended reading lists for adults and kids. Read book reviews from sources other than Amazon and get an 'African' view on Mozambican literature.

Marrabenta, with its distinctive Afro-Latin beat, is the most popular style of modern dance music in Mozambique. But it isn't the only. Discover the wild rhythms of Timbila, wooden xylophones played by the Chopi people of southern Mozambique. Learn about traditional Tofu songs sung by the women of Ilha de Moçambique. Find out about the panpipe music played in the country's far north. And, of course, listen to Mozambique music online.

Read Mozambique newspapers online and brush up on Mozambican current events from politics to economics and sports to entertainment. Get Mozambique news and discover what Mozambicans are reading and gain an understanding of the country and the people.

Online resources make learning about Mozambique Island lots of fun. Did you know that Vasco da Gama was the first European explorer to discover an ocean route from Europe to Indian? Or that many of the slaves traded on Mozambique Island were sent to Brazil? Read up on Vasco da Gama and the Portuguese influence on Mozambique before you depart on a family vacation and teach mom and dad a few things on the trip.