Malindi

Malindi is situated 140 km north of Mombasa and it is an interesting mix between a historic swahili town and a modern holiday centre with a variety of options of fine dining and fancy discos. Malindi was a thriving trading post in the 15.th century swahili city-state with connections by ship to India and China. At the harbour stands the Vasco Da Gama pillar which was erected by the Portuguese explorer in 1498 for navigational purposes and one of the oldest European monuments in Africa.

Silver Sands beach in Malindi

About 10 km down the road to Watamu lies the turn off to Gedi or Gede ruins. About fourteen houses have been excavated and it is still a mystery as to why the ancient swahili town was abandoned. Today European settlers have alongside other investors transformed Malindi into a reputable destination of tourism and one of the best beaches is the immaculate Silver Sands beach just 5 min. from town. Offshore is the Malindi Marine Park and a bit further south Watamu Marine National Park gives you another option for world class underwater adventures but since especially Malindi is not far from the Galana river delta, the visibillity of the water can be severely reduced by the silt from the river between March and June.

The beach about 20 km north of Malindi is extremely wide and local people sometimes take their livestock onto the beach