Mombasa (Kenya)

Advantages: Great weather, great people, great scenery!
Disadvantages: sometimes VERY hot, people always trying to sell you things!

Hi there everybody!! I recently travelled to Kenya and i just thought i'd share some of my experiences with you! I travelled to Mombassa Kenya in July of this year and i have to say i think it was the best holiday i have been on! I have totally fallen in love with Africa and the African people! I am even thinking about saving up so i can travel there sometime in the future with my friends! I stayed in a hotel called The Voyager Beach Resort, the ...
...10 mins from Mombassa Town. The views are breathtaking across the ocean and if you have a sea view room then this is what you are to wake up every morning for the next 2 weeks!! The food was fantastic and all the staff were very obliging! I am still in contact with many of them even now! As a 17 yr old i get very bored very easily, but the hotel offered so many different activities, i always found myself being roped into some kind of sport! :o) However ... Read review

Advantages: Great place to relax and unwind. Hot.
Disadvantages: VERY HOT!

...you want to go to Mombasa - do it. Don't be put off by the terrorists, otherwise, I think, they'll have won... ***MOMBASA*** Mombassa is a port town – newly designated as a city (the President’s New Year present) – on the Indian Ocean coast. It is a bustling, vibrant place, sadly lacking in anything resembling the levels of cleanliness we are familiar with in our major cities. The Town centre is no safe place to be after dark for tourists, but ...
...remember the golden rules – carry no valuables in obvious places, not even jewellery and keep money well hidden away. Take a taxi if you are not sure – it is better to be safe than to be sorry. But there is much to see in the centre of Mombassa – most notably Fort Jesus: a stop off for slaves in the 18th century. And now onto the op… **TRAVELLING TO MOMBASSA** There are a number of ways of getting to Mombassa – as we were staying in Nairobi beforehand ... Read review

Advantages: Beautiful landscapes and fantastic excursions
Disadvantages: Beach boys and price difference

I went to the Papillon Lagoon Reef Hotel on Daini Beach, Mobasa, Kenya in May 2001. The deal we got was brilliant - £480 each for two weeks all inclusive. Jostling about on the plane journey, which was a fair bit longer than we thought it would be - about 10 hours travelling - I didn't really know what to expect - considering I'd only seen Africa in documentaries about lions and in the Lion King by Disney. The previous opinions have showed you how ...
...was no exception, but I feel that this opinion should inform people of the various problems we encountered, as you don't want to hear the same stuff over again. I will start, however, with a description so that you can weigh the pros and cons for yourselves. Mobasa itself is not for the feint hearted - travellers should be aware of the poverty that the residents live in. There was a great flood through the area which practically destroyed the roads ... Read review

Advantages: Great weather all year round.
Disadvantages: Beware of crime.

My worst memory of Mombassa was the day we hired a boat to take us to the reef. A respectable looking guy approached us on the beach and offered to take us on a tour of the reef. I was keen on doing some snorkelling so we arranged to go that afternoon. We had mistakenly thought he was the official hotel boat operator but when we eventually found him it was at a different booking office. No matter, he seemed a decent chap and the boat looked OK. The ...
...a good snorkelling site first, then on to the reef. On arrival at our first destination he dropped anchor, sorry, I mean he threw over a piece of rope, just long enough to reach the bottom, with a rock tied to it. The snorkelling was great so we stayed there longer than the other boats to get a less crowded look. When we arrived at the reef, most of the other boats were departing for shore. The boatman pulled alongside one of the few remaining boats ... Read review

Advantages: beaches, people, hotels
Disadvantages: beach boys

The beaches around Mombasa are wonderful but it depends where you go! By far the most spectacular are the beaches south of Mombasa but once you get on the main strip you will be driven mad by beach boys unless you choose your hotel carefully. One of the cheapest and the best is Traveller's Tiwi - here they only allow a few to use the beach - they don't pester guests because the hotel allows them to set up a shop after dinner once a week and this ...
...agents at Diani. North of Mombasa life is more hectic and the beach boys are so persistent that the hotels do not put sun loungers on the beach! You have to run into the sea to avoid them! They are very cheerful and funny but a pest ! If you go further north to Sun and Sand etc the sea goes out miles and you can never swim in it. Use the beach boys to take you out snorkelling as they know where to go. bargain hard. Beware of Kenya Airways as they ... Read review