miss_michelle

I'm planning to go to the coast after my safari. I'll be taking a night train on a Monday evening from Nairobi to Mombasa and need to be back in Nairobi for my Sunday morning flight, so basically I'll have Tues-Sat on the coast. I was thinking of heading straight up to Malindi by bus/matatu after the night train then ake my way back down to Mombasa with a stop in Watamu and then take the bus to Nairobi on Saturday.

How long do you recommend I stay in each place for and how difficult would it be to travel between each? I'm interested in seeing the old towns and doing some snorkelling in the marine parks, but I'm not a big beach/resort person. I've also read about the ruins of Gedi that sounded cool. Is it worth squeezing that in too?

Travel_monkey

If you still need feedback - I was on the Kenyan coast in mid-August. I didn't spend time in Malindi, but I did drive through and was not impressed. Watamu was a cute and friendly town. We stayed at a more remote and peaceful place (Kanani House) a couple of miles north of town - it was incredible. No real beach, but a beautiful, serene view and you can walk around at low tide. We went snorkeling/mangroves trip one day, and while the Mida Creek mangroves were fun, the snorkeling was pretty disappointing (not a lot of color or variety). Gede ruins are fantastic; take some time to wander around in the woods and see the less frequented ruins. We also saw blue monkeys there! You'll probably be ok with one day in Mombasa.

Zambezi

Lamu is a great place and easily reached. The only reservation is its closeness to Somalia and the fairly remote chance of activity by Somalia warriors. You don't say when you are going to Kenya. I would keep options open and make firm decisions about the coast either just before I went or after I arrived. Keep your ears open for imformation on skirmishes near the Kenya-Somalia border. ZZ

sandi

Due to recent kidnappings in the northern areas at Kiwayu (guests) and a French woman from her private resident, nearby... many are avoiding these areas.

Right now the UK FCO is advising their citizens to avoid (actually a 'no-go') areas from Lamu north (so including Manda). They've advised no closer to the Somali border than 150Km. The US doesn't have such specific advisory (yet), and cannot say what other countries are advising.

twaffle

Australia has released an advisory saying that Lamu is a 'Do Not Travel' zone. I wouldn't go there at the moment as the Somali pirates are trying to find easier targets than the (now) heavily guarded freighters.