Never in my mind I would have thought of coming to the beaches in Africa, but I must say that they have all left me with my mouth open. Whenever I thought about beaches, I ended up thinking about the Caribbean or the small paradise islands that there must be in the Pacific, but never what I have seen here.
If you like to relax on the beach and enjoy hot weather, Diani Beach is a place you should go. It is one of main beaches you can find in Kenya. It is less than 40 minutes from Mombasa and is a beach of 25 kilometers that you can enjoy. There are all kinds of accommodations and activities nearby that make your stay amazing.
How to get to Diani Beach?
In my case, I decided to take the bus. I was volunteering in Nairobi and as I told you, I need to leave a little faster … Sadly, I didn’t know there was a train because I would recommend this option is cheaper and faster. I didn’t have time to find out well what should I take so I used what I found the fastest. The rates I got were the following:
- Train: 1,000 KES approx 10 USD – 5 to 6 hours
- Bus: 1,600 KES approx 16 USD – 8 to 9 hours
- Plane: 4,000 KES approx 40 USD – less than 1 hour
In the case of train, bus and some flights, they will leave you in Mombasa. To get to Diani, you can take a taxi that will charge you almost 40 USD or you can take public transport by steps or pay a tuk tuk or motorcycle to take you. The way I did was clearly buses and Tuk Tuk. If you are on a low budget and want to see the real Africa, you have to do the following:
- Tuk tuk bus station – ferry: 100 KES for 5 minutes trip
- Cross the river on the ferry: as a pedestrian it is free, if you agreed with the transport you took a price, they should not charge you the ferry because it should already be in the price.
- Bus from ferry – Ukunda: 100 KES for almost 50 minutes of travel
- Tuk tuk Ukunda to your hotel: It should not cost more than 200 – 300 KES
Remember that you can always negotiate the tuk tuk, when they see that you are Muzungu, they try to charge you more, but I trust you can negotiate.
What to do in Diani beach?
Kongo River:
Definitely the best plan you can do. I loved watching the sunset on this beach. You should buy some beers and go with your friends. In my case I was alone, but in the hostel I made several friends and we went to spend the afternoon there. The tuk tuk should cost you about 300 KES each way for the whole Tuk Tuk.
Rent a motorcycle:
This is not so easy but if you do it, it will be amazing, talk to one of the motorcyclists who offers to take you if he lends you the motorcycle. With a friend we managed to rent it for 24 hours for 1,000 KES. This included a “permit” and “accident insurance” you can go find your own beaches away from everyone and move along different roads.
Wasini island
A fun plan, although I recommend doing it with your hotel or a good agency. A bus picks you up at the hotel and takes you to the pier where you cross to the island. First they take you searching for dolphins and then you should do some snorkel in a marine park. Sadly we realized that we were not taken to the park but to a random place so the guys saved the money of the park entrance. We had made the reservation with the people from the beach so we could save some money . After snorkeling, they take you to the island a bit and there you can have lunch at a local restaurant. One of the best fish I have ever eaten.
Enjoy the sunrise on the beach
If you don’t mind getting up early and you like to see the sunrise, the plan is worth it. It is the same as in any beach only with a 25 km beach for you to enjoy.
Shimba mountain
It is a mountain that is 1 hour from Diani Beach, to see the sunset is a spectacular place. Although it can be very cloudy, I think it is worth going because the view is great.
Partying:
There are several bars where you can go and have a good night, I think the beach atmosphere and everything makes people want to celebrate almost every day. In my case we finished two days at Tandori Club.
