mer253

my husband and i will be visiting our daughter, who is spending fall semester studying the swahili culture "along the coast" (mainly in lamu and mombasa) in november and after a brief safari in the mara, we will be heading up to shela, lamu to relax for a few days. jess would like us to visit kaloleni as she also did a 10 day homestay there--we would be just visiting for a few hours--and then head on to malindi or watamu for a night or two. i am also intrigued by the sound of kilifi creek. i definitely do not want to drive myself or have my husband drive. 1)any of you have experience hiring a car and driver in mombasa? 2) any thoughts on watamu, malindi, kilifi, gedi ruins, arabuko-sokoke forest? this is forum is the best--there are some things that you just can't get from the guide books.

saridder

I was just in Lamu 2 weeks ago and since Kenya Air canceled flights into Lamu due to what they claim was a "horrible runway", the way in was either bus from Mombasa, fly540 or Air Kenya. I'm sure there are drivers from Mombasa or Malindi, I'm just not familiar with it. But knowing what I know about Africa now, it's probably cheaper to fly than take a private car.

From what I saw, if you've seen one Swahili village, you've seen them all (from a tourist perspective) and from what I saw between Malindi and Lamu over air, it was all farms and turquios beaches that no one exploted. Lamu was quite peaceful, probably the most peaceful place I've ever been, and I'd rather fly from Malindi to Lamu to get the most out of the village. I ate at the Lamu House (new hotel on the "main road" and it was the most peaceful, delicious dinner(s) I had in Africa the entire month.


Steve

aby

hi mer253

It's a pity the 'rope-ferry' over the Tana R. is not there anymore. imagine all the passengers get off the bus in order to pull a thick Sisal-rope, in order to get to the opposite bank...

<i>&quot; i am also intrigued by the sound of kilifi creek&quot;</i>
i wonder how many Fodorites have been to Kilifi??
you can have a nice walk - where the forest community is continuing down into the Mangrove community

<b>Gede</b> Ruins &amp; Forest
a must.
simply beautiful.
Best place to see <u>Elephant-Shrews </u> keep your binoculars at hand &amp; search the trail ahead - they'll pass... also if keen on birds look for Trogons; what a colourful beauty

Malindi
in early morning, do not miss the fish Market (actually a mini 'Fish Museum')

There's also the Primate Reserve
for some rarities like
The endemic Tana River Red Colobus
Tana Crested Mangabey

aby

mer253

aby,
did you stay in the area for awhile and were you travelling by local transport or did you rent a car? how long would you allot for visiting the gede ruins?
jan

aby

Jan

i've been there a number of times using public transportation, car &amp; flights...

it's hard to say how long one should spend in Gede; depends if you want to walk around in the forest, watch birds, sit around near the ruins conquered by the forest breathing in the special atmosphere...
press me a bit more &amp; i'll say 2-3 hours; some will do less, others more

enjoy it anyhow
aby

roadwarriorafrica

Hi

Kilifi Creek is beautiful (it is very wide). There is one option to stay there - The Mnarani Club which overlooks the Creek, and has an amazing infinity edge pool. The Creek View rooms - though basic are very clean and have million dollar views. Service is excellent, and meals are all buffet style. Around the corner from the Creek is Bofa Beach, where there are two hotels - Kilifi Bay Resort, and Boaboab Hotel (both owned by Mada Hotels). Kilifi Bay Resort is the nicer of the two on a very white sandy beach (no beach boys). Bofa Beach has mainly holiday homes. If you get a chance, visit the Kilifi Boatyard where you can get a cold beer and some fish. On Saturday's at lunch time there are free Oysters, and many of the residents get together for a catch up.

The road from Mombasa to Kilifi has been repaired, and the 70km journey now takes around 1 hour, 15 minutes. Kilifi to Malindi is in the process of being repaired, and the 60 km journey takes 1 hour.

Watamu has excellent beaches, and many hotels. My favourite hotel there is Hemingways Resort, followed by Turtle Bay. The Gedi Ruins are not very exciting, however the Arabuko-Sokoke forest is beautiful.

Watamu is nicer then Malindi as a place to stay - nicer beaches. The forest can be done easily from here.

What I would suggest is that you take a taxi from Mombasa to Kilifi. To get around Kilifi, there are plenty of tuk tuks. Then take a taxi from Kilifi to Watamu, and then Watamu to Malindi. I would then fly from Malindi to Lamu, and Lamu to Nairobi. It saves the hassle of driving, and you can head back to Nairobi straight from Lamu.

In both Kilifi and Watamu there are plenty of holiday homes for rent with cooks, maids, etc. If you would like contacts of booking offices, and also excellent taxi drivers (very very safe), please ask.

I love the Kenyan Coast.

bnws930

Hi mer253

I spent a semester back in 2003 studying along the Kenyan coast. Most of that time was in Mombasa and Lamu as well. If your daughter went through SIT make sure you meet Athman, the program director, an amazing man.

I would advise against driving from Mombasa to Lamu for several reasons. As previously mentioned it is a long drive and somewhat of a hassle. In addition to the airlines previously mentioned I believe there is a carrier by the name of Air Flamingo or Flamingo Airlines (not exactly sure) that may be an affordable option as well. Further, the road up to Lamu takes you into Northern Kenya and close to the border with Somalia. There has been unrest in this area and a guest lecturer with my program lost his wife and daughter in an ambush on a bus traveling on the road to Lamu. This may have been an isolated event but our program required all students to fly to Lamu. We could drive to most other parts of the country.

Hope this helps. The coast of Kenya is amazing and Lamu is still my favorite place on earth. Make sure you drink a smoothie at Bush Gardens. The waiter Satan is a character.

bnws930

Forgot to add my 2 cents on Malindi and Gedi.

Malindi always seemed touristy to me. It has a large Italian expat community so it is a great place for pizza and gelatis.

The Gedi Ruins are haunting and a must visit. The way the light falls through the forest onto the stone is impossible to describe.