Travel Guide Mombasa

The Kenyan coast is often relegated to the background from a tourist point of view, due to the pre-eminence of safaris. And yet! The "Swahili" coast is remarkably beautiful, with its immaculate white sand beaches, its clear ocean protected from sharks by a sublime coral reef, its luxuriant vegetation, its dream climate, and its very particular culture, with Mombasa as its capital, undoubtedly the most beautiful city in Kenya. And the infrastructures, if they are there above all for a luxury tourism which requires a good wallet, are excellent, with ribbons of hotel complexes "postcard", with bungalows and villas surrounded by palm trees in edge of sea. Italians and Germans have long been attracted to the Kenyan coast for a seaside-type stay. The French are often unaware of this coast. If one can of course aim for a seaside stay only on the coast, one can also combine his visit with all the other assets that Kenya presents. Between Mombasa and the south coast and the Lamu archipelago, the beauty of the Swahili coast, so different from the rest of Kenya with its secular civilization, mixed race and Muslim, has not finished provoking praise.The first capital of Kenya (from 1895 to 1907), Mombasa was built on an island located in a deep rift that provided a natural shelter for ships. This geographical and commercial advantage explains the city's prosperity and its troubled history. After having been successively a Swahili citadel, a Portuguese fortress, a strategic port of the English Empire, the city is today the largest commercial port in East Africa and counts more than 1.2 million inhabitants. 70% of them are Africans, the remaining 30% are mainly of Indo-Pakistani and European origin.This mix of peoples and religions is a big part of Mombasa's charm. But this growing population is beginning to feel cramped on its island and the dilapidated suburbs are multiplying.Mombasa is very different from Nairobi. It is more animated, more colorful. In a word, it is more African. When you come here for the first time, the hustle and bustle of people and vehicles may seem tiring and suffocating, but it is in fact a welcoming and pleasant city. After a rather negative first impression, one walks with pleasure in its center. Mombasa is the only city in Kenya that really deserves a visit, especially for its historical heart. However, it does not seem necessary to us, and by far, to stay there. It is better to stay along the coast, at the edge of the beach, 15 minutes north. It is then very easy to come and spend the day in Mombasa. There is no need to plan more than a full day to discover all the charms of the city.