Ninety minutes by air from Nairobi, and a completely different country.
The Kenyan coast runs for roughly 536 kilometres along the Indian Ocean, protected almost the whole way by a fringing coral reef. The reef is why the water inshore stays flat and warm and why the sand is white rather than grey.
Culturally it is Swahili, not up-country Kenyan: a thousand years of trade with Oman, Persia, India and Portugal left a coast of carved doors, coral-rag mosques and a cuisine built on coconut, tamarind and cardamom.
Most of our clients add three to seven nights here at the end of a safari. We handle the flight, the transfers and the timing; you choose the hotel.
South coast · 30 km south of Mombasa
The best-known stretch, and deservedly so: seventeen kilometres of white sand backed by coastal forest, with the reef close enough to snorkel from shore at high tide. Diani has the widest choice of hotels on the Kenyan coast, from small owner-run places to large all-inclusive resorts. Ukunda airstrip is five minutes inland, which makes the connection from Nairobi very short. Colobus monkeys cross the road on rope bridges.
North coast · 105 km north of Mombasa
Three bays, a marine national park established in 1968, and noticeably fewer people than Diani. The snorkelling and diving here are the best on the Kenyan mainland, and turtles nest on the beaches between March and June. Arabuko-Sokoke Forest sits behind the town — the largest surviving coastal forest in East Africa, and serious birding country. Watamu suits travellers who want water time rather than resort time.
North coast · 120 km north of Mombasa
An old Swahili town with a long Italian connection, which shows in the restaurants. Vasco da Gama landed here in 1498 and the pillar he raised still stands on the headland. The Gedi Ruins, a thirteenth-century Swahili town swallowed by forest, are twenty minutes away and worth half a day. Malindi has its own airport with direct flights from Nairobi.
Nyali, Bamburi and Shanzu
Convenient rather than idyllic — you are fifteen to thirty minutes from Moi International Airport and from Mombasa Old Town, which is the real reason to stay here. Fort Jesus, built by the Portuguese in 1593, and the narrow streets of the old quarter are the best cultural half-day on the coast. Good for short stays and for anyone who wants a city as well as a beach.
Far north · UNESCO World Heritage Site
The oldest continuously inhabited Swahili settlement in East Africa, and still almost entirely free of cars — transport is by donkey or dhow. Lamu is not a resort beach; it is a working town with rooftop guesthouses and a twelve-kilometre stretch of empty sand at Shela. It suits travellers who would rather wander than sunbathe. Daily flights from Nairobi and Mombasa.
Nairobi to Mombasa, Ukunda (for Diani) or Malindi takes about an hour in the air and eight to ten hours by road. Book the domestic leg as part of your international ticket where you can — it protects you if the long-haul flight is late.
The Madaraka Express runs Nairobi to Mombasa in roughly six hours and crosses Tsavo on the way. It is comfortable, cheap and genuinely scenic. Book well ahead; seats sell out.
The reef means the sea retreats a long way at low tide on much of the coast, particularly at Diani and Watamu. Swimming is best around high tide. Any hotel will give you a tide table; ask for it on arrival.
December to March is hot, dry and clear — the peak. July to October is cooler and also very good. The long rains in April and May close many coastal hotels; November brings short, heavy afternoon showers that clear quickly.
Between roughly June and September the monsoon pushes seaweed onto some south-coast beaches. Hotels clear it daily, but it is worth asking your chosen property directly if this matters to you.
Deliberately. You know what you want from a beach holiday better than we do, and booking direct usually gets you a better rate. Tell us the hotel and the dates and we build the transfers around it.
Tell us when, where and how you like to travel. We will do the rest.
