Three days on the coast with one important thing a day: sea, forest and creek, with the rest of the time left free.
Three days are not enough to see everything, and that is fine. This outline puts one single thing at the centre of each day, chooses it according to the right hour to do it, and leaves the rest of the time to you.
It is meant for anyone already on the coast, for anyone with a tail end of holiday to fill, or for anyone who wants to understand this piece of Kenya before deciding whether to add a safari.
Day 1
A boat trip in the marine park with snorkelling, in a time slot decided by the tide. If the sea does not cooperate it moves to the next day: forcing a trip with cloudy water means seeing little and spending two uncomfortable hours. Afternoon free.
Day 2
A morning among the ruins of Gedi (Gede) and the paths of the Arabuko-Sokoke forest, while the temperature is still bearable and the birds can be heard. In the late afternoon, a dhow trip on Mida Creek, coming back at the hour when the light drops over the mangroves.
Day 3
Depending on how the first two days have gone: a morning in Malindi between the old town and the traces of the cultures that have layered up here, or the canoe at dawn on Mida Creek if you feel like being on the water again. In the afternoon I put nothing.
A morning on the water between reef and lagoon, on a route adapted to the sea, the tide and what the group can manage.
See the experience
A sandbank off Watamu that surfaces only when the tide goes out, and disappears when it comes back in.
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A morning split between the ruins of a Swahili town and the edge of the largest coastal forest left in East Africa.
See the experience
A couple of hours on a traditional sailing boat on the creek, in the slot when the light drops. You sit, you don't paddle, and you come back in the dark.
See the experience
A few hours by canoe in the channels of Mida Creek, with the tide deciding the time and the route. You really do paddle, and you move in silence.
See the experience
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.
See the experience
The order of the three days is not fixed: the trips on the water follow the tides and the state of the sea, and when conditions do not hold they swap with the day on land. Opening hours at the sites and times on the road can change without notice.
Until you receive a written proposal with dates, availability, timings and conditions, nothing is confirmed. This page is an editorial outline, not a booking.
Tell me how many days you actually have, where you're starting from and who you're travelling with: I'll move the stops, redo the timings and tell you what I'd cut.
