You can buy almost anything on the beach in Mombasa.
Kilometres of white sands stretch away north and south of this island town, and on almost every mile of that you’ll find someone trying to sell you something. In the nicest way possible, and with a friendly chat beforehand; but nonetheless doing their best to part you from your shillings.
People like Miriam; standing beside her racks of khangas as they flutter in the kusi; the southeast monsoon wind that brings rain and rough seas.
“When you buy a cow you must see it first,” she insists, pulling three, four, five khangas from her beachfront boutique and displaying them proudly. “These ones, they are just 800 shillings but,” she says with a wink, “everything is negotiable.”
“How about a ride on my BMW?” asks Abdul, appearing behind Miriam with a bored-looking camel, “His name is Mr Mombasa. The price, we can negotiate!”
That should be the motto for Kenya; ‘everything is negotiable’. No fee is set and talking around the price seems a national sport. Batting away the beach boys, curio-sellers and camel touts is part and parcel of the beach experience in Kenya, but eventually they’ll realise that you really – no, really - don’t need a giraffe key-ring with ‘Hakuna Matata’ carved on it, and leave you to suntan in peace.
Or you can retreat to the sanctuary of your beach hotel. Palm-fringed resorts run for kilometres north and south of Mombasa and offer something for almost every pocket.
Diani Beach to the south is the most glamorous strip of sand in the area, but can get crowded in peak season. Keep going further and resorts like Pinewood Village attract a more family-friendly crowd, while down at Wasini you can swim with dolphins and explore deserted islands. This stretch is also popular with kite-surfers who come to take advantage of the steady trade winds, warm water and flat seas.
I chose to head north though; through the upmarket suburb of Nyali, past the Haller Park wildlife sanctuary and beyond Jomo Kenyatta public beach.
Twenty-five minutes from town we turn into Serena Beach Hotel & Spa, one of the best hotels in the area, offering both top-notch accommodation and value-for-money.
Many of the hotel resorts in the area offer a similar product – beach-facing rooms, water sports, three meals a day – but Serena Beach injects a dose of Swahili style into your stay.
A welcome departure from monolithic beach hotels the Serena is built in the style of a traditional Swahili town; a minaret watching over rooms scattered amongst lush gardens in stand-alone villas. Carved wooden balconies overlook courtyards that melt into winding lanes leading you towards the seafront.
Here you’ll find a grassy carpet dotted with sun loungers urging you to leave that book unopened, lie back and simply gaze out over the Indian Ocean.
And with good reason too. Even Karen Blixen waxed lyrical about that view: “The sea at Mombasa is as blue as a cornflower… the long breakers of the Indian Ocean draw a thin crooked white line, and give out a low thunder even in the calmest weather. "
Of course there’s more to tempt you than sun loungers if you feel like getting in, not gazing at, those blue cornflower seas.
Like most resorts in and around Mombasa, Serena has a well-equipped activity centre offering a range of complimentary water sports. Glass-bottomed boat trips, sailing on local dhows and snorkelling excursions (all of which cost extra) are also popular, but it’s the scuba diving that has many a water-baby flocking here.
The stretch of coral reef a few hundred metres offshore is part of the second-largest barrier reef in the world, stretching from Somalia to Tanzania, and this section north of Mombasa is some of the most pristine coral in the region.
Shark Point is home to territorial white-tip reef sharks patrolling the reef like silent torpedoes, while in spring and late summer whale sharks slide out of the shadows as they migrate along this coast. Further south, the wreck of the Dania lies at 30m forming a magnificent artificial reef. Shallow sites inside the reef are perfect for beginners, while the resort offers free ‘introduction to scuba’ sessions at the pool most mornings.
If that all sounds a little extreme the on-site Maisha spa will add a little pampering to your stay. Built in the style of an old Arabic fort, the spa offers an extensive menu of massages, facials and body treatments. Five spacious treatment rooms add more Swahili style, and there are separate-sex areas with sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi.
It’d be easy to spend all your time in the spa or at the seaside, but then you’d be missing out on the real Mombasa. The beach resorts are a wonderful place to de-stress, but wandering the bustling pavements and winding alleyways of Mombasa’s Old Town is half the adventure!
In Kiswahili the island now home to modern-day Mombasa is known as Kisiwa Cha Mvita – ‘Island of War’ –and wandering the ramparts of Fort Jesus it is easy to imagine the fierce battles that once took place here.
Built by the Portuguese in 1593 to defend their trade routes to the East, the Fort sits at the entrance to the Old Town’s harbour; exactly why it was attacked, besieged and squabbled over for 250 years.
It’s a quiet, sombre sort of place today though, where 18th century cannons still gaze out over Tudor Creek, ever watchful for hostile sails on the horizon. Guides are available for hire at the entrance to the Fort, but simply wandering on your own through the ruins is an equally good way to soak up to the atmosphere of the place.
From the top of San Mateus bastion you can gaze out over the Old Town, a labyrinth of alleyways and Arabesque buildings little changed since the Sultan of Oman laid siege to the town in the early 1800s.
Parts of the Old Town can be seedy though, and unless you’re an adventurous tourist you might want to hire a guide to lead the way. If you’re a DIY traveller keep an eye out for the occasional maps posted throughout the area.
It’s a place well suited for wandering. Owners of curio shops will beckon you in from the doorstep, and winding lanes lead you past hole-in-the-wall restaurants and down to the old harbour, where goods from up and down the coast are offloaded.
Mombasa has always been a trading port, and there is a wealth of souvenir shopping to be had.
“Come my shop! You come my shop” is the call that’ll follow you as you wander down Biashara Street, the best place to shop for colourful khangas and kikoys. Many of the shops have similar designs, so sharpen your haggling skills and get to work.
Woodcarvings are another popular souvenir, and the Akamba Woodcarving Cooperative on the airport road is a great spot to stock up. Hundreds of craftsmen from the Akamba tribe turn out a range of products from the ever-present giraffes to wooden bowls and ornaments.
After a day pounding the pavements there is only one place in town to drop your bags and take a break; the delightful Tamarind restaurant with its gorgeous terrace overlooking the Old Town harbour.
Seafood is the speciality here; from local snapper to prawns scooped fresh from the Indian Ocean. Kenyan crabs are some of the best in the world, so it’s no surprise that the Chilli Crab is one of their most popular dishes.
My spiny crustacean arrives in a hand-carved wooden bowl, swimming in a delicious broth. The chef has done most of the hard (and messy) work in the kitchen, but the waiter sets a large wooden truncheon on the table.
“This one,” he says with a stern tone, “it is for the crab. Not for the wife!” a smile rippling across his face.
With a cold Tusker lager in one hand (wine is fiendishly expensive in Kenya) and a claw of chilli crab in the other, Mombasa’s Old Town starts to twinkle on the far bank of the Creek.
It may once have deserved the moniker ‘island of war’, but today it’s a fairly peaceful place. Chaotic, for sure, and a city that frustrates as often as it charms but, as with so many cities I’ve been to, it’s about give and take. You win some, you lose some. A bit like negotiating, I suppose. And remember, in Kenya, everything is negotiable.
Travel advisory
- November to April is the best time to visit Mombasa, when the ‘kaskazi’ northerly wind brings calm seas and warm days, with little chance of rain. This is also the best time for diving.
- Mombasa is a malaria area, so consult your doctor three weeks before travelling.
- Currency: Kenyan shilling. R1 = 10 Kenyan Shillings.
- Kenya Airways flies daily from Johannesburg to Nairobi, with frequent connections to Mombasa. For reservations, call 082 2345 786 or visit www.kenya-airways.com.
- Serena Beach Hotel & Spa. Visit www.serenahotels.com or call the Johannesburg reservations office on 011 0212 607/8/9.
- To book a table at Tamarind, or discover more about the famous Tamarind Dhow, visit www.tamarind.co.ke.
First published in Shape Magazine; November 2009.
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