eljay2

I'm looking for suggestions on where to go to spend 5 days on the coast of Kenya. Lamu, Watamu, Tiwi....???? I'd appreciate any suggestions as well as recommendations of accommodations (moderately priced). Thanks for any help.

Nyamera

I would go to Lamu. In fact, I’m going there in June.

To give a recommendation I’d have to write about somewhere I’ve been, like Diani. I stayed at Boko Boko, 200 metres from Galu Beach at the southern end of Diani. More than a hotel it’s like a lovely Seychellois restaurant with a couple of nice big rooms. It’s in a huge jungly garden with lots of animals, including colobus monkeys. I paid 1,800 shillings per night, breakfast included.
http://www.bokoboko-kenya.de/entranceenglish.html

sandi

Check out Peponi Hotel which has been an institution of Lamu for years.

http://www.peponi-lamu.com/index.html

You'd have to check with them directly for rates, but I believe it's moderately priced.

JanGoss

eljay2:

You didn't state whether you wanted to spend the entire five days on a beach-type holiday or safari.

If you want a super experience contact Southern Cross Safaris in Mombasa and have them book you into Satao Tented Camp for a few days. Outstanding experience. Southern Cross has also just opened a new camp called Satao Rock in the Taita area. I haven't seen it yet, will spend time there in August, but knowing how well Southern Cross runs Satao, I am sure it will be another super camp.

Southern Cross (SXS) will pick you up from your Mombasa hotel, drive you to Tsavo East National Park, transfer you to one of their LandRovers and drive you to Satao. You'll be checked into your tent not far from the waterhole where you can see elephants and some-
times hippos. You'll get two game drives a day and see lots of different animals. Tsavo isn't as highly traveled as many parks so it is nice not having huge crowds at a sighting.

You'll never regret doing this. You can spend beach time in almost any country, but there is only one Tsavo East.

Jan

eljay2

Thanks all that have given me ideas.
Jan - actually I am doing a 6 day safari to Tanzania (Ngorongoro, Serengeti and Lake Manyara), followed by some days in Kisimu and Kisii and then heading for a bit of coast time before heading back home to Canada. All in all I will be in E.A. 23 days.

luangwablondes

You may want to consider Lamu. It is a smaller less visited town,with the Arab influence like Stone Town, Zanzabar or Ille de Mozambique. Very nice beaches,and quite friendly.

luangwablondes

You may want to consider Lamu. It is a smaller less visited town,with the Arab influence like Stone Town, Zanzabar or Ille de Mozambique. Very nice beaches,and quite friendly. Lots of choices for quality accomodations. I like the smaller hotels. Good place to kick back and investigate the shops and restaurants.

Patty

Nyamera or anyone else, is Diani beach (the main part) very crowded? What about Watamu beach? The time period would be late Nov/early Dec - I don't know if that makes much of a difference. Also how's the weather on the coast this time of year? Is it comfortable sleeping at night without A/C?

I still haven't decided what to do with our last few days and some beach time is starting to sound pretty good after 12 nights on safari. The research is already starting to tire me out

If we opt for beach time, we'll stay in Kenya but I'm having a difficult time finding exactly what I want which ideally is a very small hotel (preferably 10 rooms or less) set on a quiet stretch of white sand beach that's not too expensive. Oh and it would be even better if those rooms were of the thatch hut variety. I'm not picky at all, am I?

So far I've priced out Kipungani Explorer on Lamu island and Munira Island camp on Kiwayu but they were a bit more than what we wanted to spend for a beach stay. I'd like to pay around $1200-$1500 for the 2 of us for 3 nights including air from Nairobi. Anyone have some suggestions?

As alternatives, I'm looking into Kizingo also on Lamu island, Kikapu Cottages (can't seem to find much info on this one) and Baraka House in Watamu, and Diani House. I don't know how these compare price wise and I still have to find that out, but if anyone has any comments on these 4 places or the areas in general or a different recommendation, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

Nyamera

Patty, I hadn’t planned to go to the coast and I was a bit worried Diani would be like a Mediterranean beach place. It’s not. There are quite a few big “all inclusive” hotels, but there is still forest left between them and I saw more monkeys than tourists. At low tide the beach is 100 metres wide and at high tide there’s less than 2 metres of beach. It was not crowded at all - I was almost alone. 100 metres to the north, where there was a big luxury hotel, there were maybe 6 people on the beach and 200 metres to the south I saw a couple of fishermen. From time to time “beach boys” appeared out of nowhere with all kinds of offers. This was in the beginning of July. It gets busier towards the end of the month. I don’t know what it’s like in Nov/Dec.

It’s always hot on the coast with most rain falling April-July. Local people were complaining about the weather saying it was the worst time of the year with humidity and clouds, but I thought it was nice and sunny most of the time. I was comfortable sleeping with a fan and I think I would have slept well even without it.

Is this what you’re looking for http://www.diamondbeachvillage.com/index.html ? I haven’t been there, but it looks nice. Though the sand doesn’t look as white as in Diani.

Patty

Nyamera, thanks for the info on Diani beach. I'll check out Diamond beach village too

MyriamC

Patty,
Tiwi Beach, which is next to Diani, is quieter than Diani. It caters to more budget-type travelers. The beach is as beautiful though as in Diani.
We stayed on Diani Beach but on the far end (hotel Southern Palms), adjacent to Tiwi. It was a true paradise.
Have you thought about renting a beach cottage?
http://www.world66.com/africa/kenya/...southofmombasa
http://www.maweni-kenya.com/

Do read this travel diary I found on the www: http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ken...blog-3168.html

Patty

Myriam,
We thought about renting a self catering cottage or villa (if that's what you mean) but decided it wasn't worth the trouble for 3 nights. If we were staying longer, we'd give it more consideration. But for a short stay, we prefer to be a bit more 'pampered'. Thanks for the blog link, really enjoyed reading it. Lamu looks lovely.