Honeymoon in Kenya - Manda Bay?
 

Hello - we are spending our honeymoon in East Africa - we doing a week of gorilla trekking and then would like to go to a beach somewhere really nice for a week.

Our flight home is out of Nairobi so going to Mozambique, Mauritius, etc. is kind of tricky with flight schedules.

Our travel agent is recommending Manda Bay near Lamu. Has anyone stayed there? How nice is it? Any other recommendations on the Kenyan coast? We are hoping for private huts with a private deck, plunge pool, etc.

Thanks!

When visiting? How many days?

Manda Bay doesn't have private plunge pools.

Other lux accommodations on the coast:

Kinondo Kwetu (south coast)
Alfajiri (south coast, very very exp)
Funzi Key (closed to 15th Jul)
Kiwayu (closed thru Jul)

If you want plunge pools, consider Shompole. Not on the coast, but a short flight from NBO sitting on border with Tanzania; 7/open plan very large houses, plunge pool; game drives*, walk, canoe ( if water levels hi enough); main camp infinity pool.

* not the wealth of game as in the Masai Mara, but game and drives to Lake Natron for flamingoes, also late night drives.

See: www.shompole.com/

We are going in November, spending two weeks total - about 8 days in Uganda and about five on the beach.

November is the "short" rain period in East Africa. Rain, if any, often consists of afternoon showers for about 30/min to 1/hr then dry (rarely humid), or overnight rain. This has never inhibited our safari time in Kenya or Tanzania, but in Uganda, be prepared for it to be wet/slippery underfoot when tracking the gorillas.

On the beach, the weather will be warm to hot, definitely humid.

Check out the properties mentioned and see which might work best for you.

you could try Palms on Zanzibar; - the flight Nairobi - Zanzibar return shouldn’t be too much worse than Nairobi - Lamu return, and is one of the few places i can think of with a plunge pool. Though it just depends on flight connections and you would have extra visa costs etc

Matemwe Retreat - Zanibar... its rather amazing is all I can say. Private villa style accommodation with rooftop terrace living area with plunge pool and a butler to deliver your seafood snack platters and meals through out the day. It really looks as good as the pictures. The best part is you don't need to see other guests but if you want to you can head over to the main dining / bar/ lounge / pool areas for Matemwe bungalows.

Alternatively the suites at Fundu Lagoon have plunge pools...

As your homebound flight is out of Nairobi, suggest you stick with the Kenyan coast.

If you wish to head to Zanzibar, unless you can get a flight from Uganda direct to Tanzania/Zanzibar (for some of the properties listed above), you will require a visa (US$100 for US passports; USD$50 for most others) and a Yellow Fever inoculation for entry to Tanzania/Zanzibar.

If you haven't already obtained YF for Uganda or Kenya, this is a costly inoc, though it is good for 10/yrs, once jabbed.