Kenya Beach Guide

Getting There

Watamu is quite easily reached by road and/or air.

BY ROAD:
Watamu is 120 kms north of Mombasa and 28km South of Malindi. At Gede, which is on the main Mombasa Malindi road, you turn towards the Indian Ocean. 11 kms from the main road is Watamu itself. The Watamu beach road is about 10kms from North to South where it ends at the mouth of Mida Creek.

Buses and Matatus from Mombasa and/or Malindi all stop at Gede, where it is easy to get a matatu (or taxi) to Watamu itself. Some matatus from Malindi go to Turtle Bay.

BY AIR:
Malindi Airport is your arrival point, and all the domestic airlines fly to Malindi, including Kenya Flamingo, Air Kenya and a couple of minor charter companies. A taxi to Watamu costs about KShs 1,200-1,800.

Getting Around

Regular buses and Matatus service the North Coast Highway. Services are less regular north of Malindi. Taxis can be found in any town, or at most hotels or resorts.

About Malindi

The small town of Malindi is at the centre of a strip of idyllic tropical beaches offering the visitor a range of world class resorts and quiet relaxing hideaways. Further south, the sleepy village of Watamu is fronted by wide white beaches. This tranquil haven is home to several well established resorts, and many private guesthouses scattered through the forest along the deserted shore.

Turtle Bay is a stretch of beach about 5 miles (7kms) long, which is quite safe for swimming, walking and sunbathing. It is situated 140kms North of Mombasa on the Kenyan Coast in East Africa.

It is part of the Watamu Marine National Park and is under stringent protection from exploitation. This means that there are no high-rise hotels, alomost no sea-walls and there is a natural barrier between the beach and property developments, the riparian strip.

Long walks, swimming and sunbathing are a few of the activities you could do. You could explore the rock pools at low tide and find lionfish, brightly coloured crabs and see some of our coastal birds such as the whimbrel.

You could, of course, simply laze in the shade and read a novel or two, have a few siestas, dip your toes in the sea, and then after a long hard day like that, come back to your residence for a cup of tea and some home-made cake.

At its southern end is the mouth of Mida Creek, a large mangrove edged saltwater creek ideal for birding (See "Birding" page). At its northern end there are several small and medium sized hotels such as Ocean Sports, Hemingways, Turtle Bay Beach Club and Blue Bay.

At Watamu a Marine National Park has been established, an ideal day trip for divers and snorkellers alike.

Northwest of Malindi is the spectacular Marafa Depression, locally known as Nyari and popularly known as Hell's Kitchen. An extensive series of sandstone gorges and sheer gullies, this unique and otherworldly landscape has become part of local folklore.

The thick jungles of the Arabuko Sokoke Forest reserve hide a world of wonders. In the cool of the forest winding paths will take you in search of rare endemic birds and mammals, and visiting herds of Elephant.

The forest holds another secret, the lost town of Gedi, a deserted trading Swahili town hidden deep in the forests, whose winding passages and crumbling walls tell of a long and mysterious past.

Walk through the Forest, explore the mangroves by boat, dive on the reef or try your hand at big game fishing. At the North coast you have all these choices and more, with the space and freedom to relax, unwind, and soak up the atmosphere.

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