A Swahili port of long standing and a seaside town Italians have been coming to for half a century: Malindi is both, often on the same street.
Malindi is the largest urban centre on this stretch of coast and the administrative reference point for anyone staying in Watamu. It has a fishing port, a market, an airport with domestic flights and an old town that records centuries of exchange between the Swahili coast, the Arab world, India and Portugal.
Vasco da Gama called here at the end of the fifteenth century and the pillar that bears his name still stands on the headland south of the port. Close by are the old mosque, the pillar tombs and the small Portuguese chapel.
The Italian community in Malindi has been here since the 1960s and has left clear traces in the restaurants and the buildings. It lives alongside the Swahili and Giriama Malindi that was always here: they are two overlapping towns, and I take you to see both, not only the one you recognise from the signs in Italian.
In front of the town there is a marine protected area managed by the Kenya Wildlife Service; a little to the north the mouth of the Sabaki river carries fresh water and sediment into the sea, creating a wetland used by water birds and waders.
It can be visited all year round. Between June and August the south-east monsoon brings wind and a rough sea; between October and March the weather is generally more settled and hot. December and January are the busiest months.
From Watamu it is a short drive on tarmac. Malindi airport is served by domestic flights and is the one I use for itineraries that continue by air, for instance towards the Maasai Mara.
In town you move by car, by tuk-tuk or on foot around the port and the market. For the historic part a guide genuinely helps: many places are unmarked and without the context they stay walls.
| From | Indicative hours | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Watamu | 0.5–0.75 | Indicative time on tarmac, variable with traffic. |
| Nairobi | 1.5 by air | Indicative duration of the direct flight, not counting waits and connections. By road it takes roughly 8–10 hours. |
A morning on foot through the old town of Malindi, taking in the Portuguese pillar, the harbour and the market where people really do their shopping.
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No off-the-shelf programme: you tell me how much time you have and what interests you, and I write you an itinerary built on that.
See the experience
Not everything on this page has an official source cited yet: some details are still waiting for a direct confirmation and may change. Ask me to confirm before you plan the day around it.
I don't have an official source to cite for this place yet.
