If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen that I recently returned from an incredible trip to Kenya. My Dad was born in Mombasa so we went on a family trip to celebrate a milestone birthday for him. I loved every place we visited and had such an incredible experience, but Mombasa was definitely a Kenya highlight.

Mombasa Kenya

We spent 7 days and 6 nights in gorgeous Mombasa, Kenya. A combination of white sand, blue water, gorgeous architecture and a melting pot of influences, Mombasa is entirely unique. It has at times been conquered by Arabs, Persians, Portuguese, Turkish and British which contributes to its unique style and history.

We visited Mombasa at the end of our Kenyan trip and I decided not to strictly enforce a packed itinerary as I tend to do early on in the trip. While we missed a few things, I’m keen to share everything I researched and everything I learned from the trip.

Getting to Mombasa Kenya

Most tourists are likely coming from Nairobi to Mombasa. We took the train down from Mombasa and flew back to Nairobi, so I can speak to both experiences.

Dad organised the train tickets from Nairobi to Mombasa. He said that it proved to be a bit tricky because they required MPesa for payment, which in turn requires a Kenyan SIM card. This website has some helpful tips for booking as a tourist. I booked the airline tickets and that was as straightforward as booking tickets anywhere else.

Dad booked premium class for the train which was very fancy. It had a lay flat seat, a movie screen and came with a huge breakfast and coffee. It was an extremely nice way to spend five hours. Bonus? The train goes through Nairobi national park early on and then Tsavo later in the trip. We spotted a number of elephants, zebra and a giraffe en route. I would recommend choosing a seat on the left hand side of the train for this trip – that side was better for wildlife. However, a lot of people had gotten off the train by the time we got to Tsavo so we could easily swap into the other seats to watch the animals.

Plane or train?

The flight was undoubtedly quicker than the tickets but I loved the balance of both. If you have the time and interest, I thought the train was really cool and it was nice too see more of Kenya. If you fly back to Nairobi from Mombasa, choose a window seat on the left hand side. On a lucky day, you might see Kilimanjaro (more likely early in the morning before cloud drops in).

Tips for getting to and from Mombasa

• If you take the train from Nairobi to Mombasa, know that they take security pretty seriously. When you first arrive at the SGR Nairobi Terminus, they line all the passengers up against a wall and have a sniffer dog peruse the bags. The bags are then scanned and they will take alcohol off you if you have any in your luggage. We learned that the hard way with a bottle of wine. NB: you can then buy alcohol to drink on the train, if you wish. A white wine or Tusker while animal spotting is not a bad way to spend a few hours!
• The train from Nairobi is not the one on the edge of Nairobi CBD. It is about a 30 minute drive from the city. With that said, Nairobi traffic can be absolutely appalling so I recommend budgeting your time to get to the station generously.
• We took the morning train which I recommend for seeing more as a tourist on the train. We were checked into our hotel room in Mombasa by about 3.45pm that afternoon.
• The trains leave right on the second and they are very orderly. Every resource says to get there an hour early and I’d agree with that. We had a bit of time left but not a whole heap – there is a lot of security to go through and the train starts boarding 30 minutes early.
• In terms of flying, I have a few recommendations. Firstly, leave plenty of padding if you have something important after your flight (a long haul home, for example). Our flight time was changed the day before which meant my sister was cutting it very fine to get back to Australia.
• Both Mombasa and Nairobi airports are light on activities (aka boring airports). Get there with time but don’t plan on perusing the airport for hours.

Where to stay in Mombasa

Mombasa old town is an island connected to Likoni to the south, Changamwe to the west (this is where the airport and train station are) and Bamburi/Nyali areas to the North. Where you want to stay depends on how much time you have and what you prioritise.

We stayed at Sarova Whitesands which is in Bamburi. Because of some hectic and long term roadworks, it generally took us about 25-30 minutes to get into Mombasa old town or places like English point. It took around the same amount of time to get to Mtwapa.

As I mentioned, we stayed in Mombasa for 6 nights and 7 days. That was a generous amount of time, which made a beachy, resort-style hotel the perfect choice for us. If I had less time, I would have stayed in the city or closer to it.

In terms of a beachy hotel, I have no hesitation in recommending Sarova Whitesands. The hotel was lovely and had lots of different entertainment options including 5 pools, a swim up bar and a waterslide. It didn’t feel overtly ‘kid pool’, as lots of adults went on the slides. The breakfast was great and Cocos beach bar was extremely cute. The rooms were a bit dated and our aircon was lacklustre, but I loved it and look back on our stay very fondly.

If you wanted to stay closer to Mombasa old town, I would recommend The Tamarind. We docked from our Dhow cruise at The Tamarind and it looked gorgeous. It seems that the hotel is apartment style with kitchens in the rooms, but there is breakfast available. The Tamarind is also a nice restaurant, so you have somewhere to stroll to for dinner.

Things to do in Mombasa Kenya

I’ll start with the things that we did and that I enjoyed the most in Mombasa. First off, I am thrilled we stayed in a beachside resort. I really struggle to do ‘stop and flop’ holidays so it was nice to incorporate plenty of morning swims. I will say that you will be hassled the second you step onto the beach, but it’s a bit of fun if you expect it.

One highlight of our stay in Mombasa was our Travel 4 Purpose food tour. We opted to do food and city tour, but next time I would recommend doing those separately. We thought both elements (food and city) needed their own dedicated time to get the most out of both. I would recommend doing an all food tour and then doing the city tour on another day if you can.

Any which way, the tour was a highlight and an amazing way to see a city that isn’t super touristy. We got to interact with lots of locals, learn some of the history and see places that we might not have been able to on our own.

Another activity I can highlight recommend is a sunset dhow cruise. We booked with Faraja Dhow on recommendation from our relative who lived in Mombasa. It was something different, a lot of fun and a nice way to see the city. You can ask the dhow to moor at Floating Island restaurant or Tamarind for dinner (subject to mooring space) for an additional fee. Note that you may or may not get the double decker dhow they advertise – ask to double check.

Back at our hotel, we went on a morning snorkelling and glass bottom boat trip. Sarova was nicely located for this but I assume you can boat in from anywhere (and I’d say there would be more places to snorkel). It wasn’t super clear the day we went but we saw an incredible amount of fish regardless. Because of the dramatic tides, you will need to do a fair bit of shallow water walking to get to the boat (for people with mobility constraints).

More things to do in Mombasa Kenya

• Wander around old town and do a tour of Fort Jesus.
• You can scuba dive, jet ski, kayak or book any number of water sports on the beaches or with your hotel.
• Haller Animal Park is a conservation park with giraffes, hippos and more. You can hand feed the giraffes here, so it’s a great option if you missed out in Nairobi.
• Nguuni Nature Sanctuary is another option that is close to Bamburi. This seems to be the place where you can organise a picnic amongst the giraffes (along with other activities) which looks very cool.
• A day trip to Diani beach! I’m very sad I missed out on this because Diani looks incredible – supposedly one of the best beaches in the world. It is about a 1 hour drive from Mombasa (pending traffic, of course).
• If you are adventurous or feeling lucky, Bamburi to Watamu is a 100km drive or about 2 hours. The roadworks in Bamburi are atrocious and put us off doing a road trip, but I would love to go to Watamu and Malindi for a day or even a night.
• Another one if you don’t mind a drive: a day safari to Tsavo from Mombasa. A safari company will pick you up at your hotel early and you can drive out to Tsavo. We did this with Amboseli in Nairobi and although it was a long day, it was absolutely worth the trek.

Restaurant recommendations in Mombasa

My first recommendation is for Monsoons restaurant. While it was a bit of an adventure to get there, Monsoons is an absolutely stunning little Italian restaurant set on it’s own private beach. The seafood is caught fresh from the ocean and you can spot turtles jumping in the waves. The desserts were a highlight for me but everything was really yummy. You walk past some ruins to get there, too, which really adds to the charm. Monsoons is only open during the day and early evening, so I recommend it as a long lunch spot. From memory there is no internet so I recommend booking a driver for the return trip.

Tamarind is another great restaurant we went to and it’s very pleasant to dock your dhow and meander over to dinner. If you are a big seafood fan, the Tamarind does a seafood dinner dhow so you can cruise and eat at the same time. Try dawa, a drink invented by Tamarind group – it is better than the sum of its parts, I promise.

Cool Beans Cafe in Nyali is a cute little cafe that does good coffee, brunch and drinks. A quick read of their website indicated they are open for dinner as well. They have an extensive Western menu but I had the Swahili fish which was very nice.

The Moorings is a quirky little restaurant on the water in Mtwapa. We went on trivia night and it was a short but fun experience that will be a lasting memory of the trip. I had a lovely paneer masala – you can’t go wrong with a paneer masala in Kenya (they were great everywhere).

We also tried Yul’s, Tarboush Cafe and Dad tried Jahazi coffee house. I am not sure I’d put them in the same category as the aforementioned spots but they were all nice if you are in the area.

More restaurants in Mombasa Kenya I didn’t try but had on my list

• The Crab Den, Mtwapa – a cute little beachside spot where they grill fresh catches right on the beach.
• Floating Island Restaurant was high on my list of places to go but sadly we just didn’t get there. Sunset cocktails here would be absolutely gorgeous.
• Forodhani – a restaurant with a view; the reviews are a little mixed but it is on most people’s lists of places to eat in Mombasa.
• Qaffee point – a brunchy spot that gets good reviews.
• Our relative who lived in Mombasa recommended Roberto’s Italian restaurant and she had lived in Mombasa for 8 years.
• The reviews and TikTok go crazy for Crave Cafe.
• Other brunch options that get great reviews include Cafesserie and Mug Shot Cafe.

Restaurants I had saved for Watamu

I am including this section because I found so many places I wanted to go and I can’t let the list go to waste. I fully intend to get to Watamu and Malindi myself, but for now please enjoy and let me know if you have tried any!

• Lichthaus for a sunset drink, of course!
• Hemingways Watamu is a hotel with a restaurant. The grounds and the menu look divine!
• Kokomo Beach Bar and restaurant in Watamu – a Lebanese restaurant with great reviews.
• Crab Shack Dabaso in Watamu – a waterfront fish restaurant that looks cute and delicious.
• Rock and Sea – an Italian fish restaurant that gets great reviews
• Papa Remo Beach – a beachside restaurant with a seafood focus.

Tips

• Have cash on you – Kenya is still quite a cash society and you never know when you’ll need it.
• I didn’t find parts of Mombasa to be touristy at all but it was very easy to get by with English. However, learning some basic Swahili goes such a long way and people loved it.
• Having only seen a lot of swanky beachfront hotel photos in my research for the trip, Mombasa was poorer than I expected (as was Kenya in general). I never saw anything about this online and maybe I am ignorant for not knowing more, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
• Because I have been asked: I never once felt unsafe and I found the people to be noticeably lovely. Nicer than on any of my trips in recent memory! Basic safety tips apply and I was told not to walk the streets at night but beyond that I had no issues anywhere in Kenya, even by myself.
• My experience was that a lot of cute things are hidden away in malls or behind gates (this was in all of Kenya, not just Mombasa).
• Yes, the roadworks really are that bad.
• Uber works well in Mombasa and is extremely cheap. It’s a great option for when the driver doesn’t speak English and you don’t speak Swahili.