Diani Beach
AFRICA · FIESTA SIDE
Twenty-five kilometres of white sand and fringing reef south of Mombasa, with colobus monkeys overhead and steady kitesurfing winds.
The plan
Diani Beach itself
Wide, white and reef-protected, so the water stays calm and shallow. Public access paths run off Diani Beach Road.
Kisite-Mpunguti day trip
Dhow south from Shimoni to snorkel the marine park reef, look for dolphins and eat Swahili seafood on Wasini Island.
📍 Map & photos · €€
Colobus Conservation
The Angolan colobus rescue centre on Diani Beach Road. Open Monday to Saturday, 8.30am-4pm.
📍 Map & photos · € · Website ↗
Shimba Hills
Coastal rainforest reserve an hour inland, with sable antelope, elephants and a walk down to Sheldrick Falls.
📍 Map & photos · €€
Dinner at Ali Barbour's
Seafood in a coral cave over 120,000 years old, open to the stars. Dinner only, 5.30-11pm. Book, and no under-6s.
📍 Map & photos · €€€ · Website ↗
Getting there
Fly to Ukunda (UKA)
Diani's own airstrip takes daily flights from Nairobi Wilson and Mombasa, and sits ten minutes from most beach hotels.
Via Mombasa (MBA)
Fly to Moi International, then about 90 minutes south including the Likoni ferry. Allow generously for ferry queues.
SGR then road
Madaraka Express from Nairobi to Mombasa in about six hours, then transfer south by road and ferry.
When to go
Best time to go
December-March: hot, dry, calm seas and the best underwater visibility.
Cheapest months
May-June low season just after the long rains, when beach hotels cut rates hard.
Priciest & busiest
Christmas, New Year and the August European school holidays.
If you've got one day
Morning
Swim at high tide, then walk the sand south. The reef flat is exposed and sharp once the tide drops.
Late morning
Visit Colobus Conservation to see the rescue centre and the rope bridges strung above the road.
Lunch
Seafood at a beach restaurant along Diani Beach Road. Most of them sit directly on the sand.
Afternoon
Take a kitesurf lesson in the afternoon trade winds, or a glass-bottom boat out to the reef.
Evening
Sunset drinks on the sand, then dinner inside the coral cave at Ali Barbour's.
Nearby & day trips
Wasini Island
A car-free coral island off Shimoni with a coral garden boardwalk, mangroves and a Swahili village lunch.
Funzi Island
A quieter mangrove island further south, reached by boat, with tidal sandbanks, crocodiles and good birdlife.
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