Three sheltered bays, a coral garden marine park established in 1968, and the Arabuko-Sokoke forest at its back.
Best time to visit
October – March for whale sharks and calm seas
Getting there
1-hour flight to Malindi then 30 minutes by road, or 2 hours north of Mombasa
Ideal for
Snorkelling, Quiet escapes, Nature lovers, Couples
Watamu is quieter than Diani and, for many travellers, more beautiful. Three crescent bays of white sand are broken by weathered coral outcrops, and the water inside the reef glows an improbable turquoise.
Watamu Marine National Park was one of the first in Africa, gazetted in 1968. Turtles nest on these beaches, and whale sharks pass through between October and February.
Inland, Arabuko-Sokoke is the largest remaining coastal dry forest in East Africa, and Gede — a Swahili town abandoned in the seventeenth century — sits in the trees nearby.
Coral gardens in waist-deep water, reachable by dhow.
Local Ocean Trust protects nests along these beaches.
A thirteenth-century Swahili town swallowed by forest.
Mangrove boardwalks and one of the coast's great sunsets.
Every one includes transport, park fees and a guide. Private dates available for all of them.
Watamu, Kilifi County
Turquoise bays and a marine park gazetted in 1968, the Gede ruins standing in coastal forest, and sunset over the Mida Creek mangroves — four days on Kenya's quietest coast.
From
Ksh 21,500Ksh 26,000
per person
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