Diani, Watamu and Malindi are the most popular beaches in Kenya. When I was planning our stay there I kept googling which ones are the best but I didn’t find an unanimous answer. Then I remembered one of my favorite quotes “Why choose when you can have them all”. So I booked us a few days stay in each of the above places and here are my observations:
Diani – ok, I will spoil all the fun and tell you that this is my favorite. I like several things about it:
- the beach is long and broad with sparkling white sand
- there are a few nice spots for lunch if you don’t want to eat at the hotel all the time. Our best food experience in Kenya was in Diani. Grilled octopus, sizzling prawns, avocado salads- Yes! We basically kept ordering the same anywhere we went and we were never disappointed. We stayed at Blue Marlin Beach Hotel and had all the dinners there but for lunch we tried Lymington’s Bar and Restaurant and Mvureni Bar and Restaurant. Both totally recommended. The second one doesn’t accept credit card.
- the prices of the food were lower compared to Watamu and Malindi
- It’s a great spot for kitesurf. At H2O Extreme, which was right next to our hotel, one hour of a group lesson was 100€ while a private lesson was 200€.
- there are monkeys, plenty of them. I am not their biggest fan but it was fun seeing them browsing around the hotel. A little bit less fun was the moment when one of them entered the room. Pro tip: don’t leave the balcony door or windows open. We were told that they even know how to open the fridge. Luckily the intruder didn’t manage to find my snacks in time.
- there is Uber – the app works perfectly there and it’s easy to find a ride to everywhere. Prices are much lower compared to a normal taxi.
Watamu – we went to Watamu with an Uber from Diani. Paid 80 usd for it while the hotel quoted us 150 usd. The distance is just 150 km but it might take between 3-5 hours depending on the traffic.
- Little Italy would be a proper name for this village as almost everyone speaks Italian, many Italians run hotels there or have holidays homes.
- the beach is not as wide as Diani but with the low tide it’s possible to walk to the nearby sand banks or little islands and enjoy a little bit of marine life, like crabs, shells and even starfish.
- there are way too many beach boys. They follow you even when you walk far away from the beach, into the low tide, trying to seel stuff o make you go to their restaurant for lunch.
- I would avoid booking a hotel around the beach that shows as Watamu Beach on Google Maps. It’s very busy, smelly and a bit dirty. But if you want to enjoy the local kids playing football or having a bath, that’s the right place to be. The best part for me is around Seven Islands Resort. Anything on that beach is goo.
- Make sure yor hotel has a direct access to the beach unless you are planning a pool holiday. We stayed in Mawe Resort which was on a cliff and we could only walk to the beach during low tide. Or go to the road and get a motorbike.
In front of Seven Islands Resort
Watamu Beach
Malindi was my less favorite. It’s 20 kms away from Watamu and we came with a transfer arranged by our hotel. One wat 25€.
- We barely stepped on the beach because the moment we did we were surrounded by beach boys.
- We had booked full board in Malindi which we didn’t particularly like but there weren’t any other options nearby.
- It’s impossible to swim in the sea because of the excessive amount of seaweed.
