Diani Beach, South Coast

Diani Beach, South Coast

Safari Package

14 Day Safari

Date

15 May 2018

Tags

LODGES PARKS HOTELS

Although the words “South Coast” brings to mind all of the beaches which lie to the South of Mombasa Island,the main seaside these words bring to mind is Diani Beach. This is reached via a short ferry ride, but with a long wait, from Mombasa and a 20 miles (32 kilometer) drive, and it is here that most of the South Coast’s resort and hotel development are situated, although there are also accommodations at beaches of Tiwi, Galu, Msambweni and Shimoni.

There is a decent maintained single-lane artery running along the South Coast, and there is also a small airstrip, Ukunda, within close proximity of the Diani resort district, to welcome safari guest arrivals from Nairobi Wilson Airport. Diani Beach is 6 miles (10 kilometers) long, and is a pristine beach of white sand which leads down to the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean. Much of the accommodation along this beach is placed in cleared patches of the Jadini Forest, which is home to not only black and white colobus and vervet monkeys but a wide variety of colorful birds.

Besides hotels, there are also houses (some of which are rented out) and self-catering villas. Many hotels have their own private facilities for enjoying water activities such as windsurfing, water-skiing, kitesurfing, scuba diving, snorkeling and deep-sea fishing. There is a magnificent golf course at Diani by Leisure Lodge Resort, and the best place for fishing is Shimoni, which lies further south of Diani, close to the border of Tanzania, near Lunga Lunga. The Diani Beach area in Ukunda provides travelers with a few restaurants to choose between, offering discerning dining and entertainment.

Many reefs along the South Coast may be viewed with little more than a mask and snorkel, and maybe a pair of flippers. The entire strip of seashores that form the central South Coast of Mombasa are 50 miles (80 kilometers) end to end, consisting of Diani Ukunda, Tiwi, Galu Kinondo, Msambweni, Chale Island, Funzi Island (Funzi Keys) and Shimoni. There is small beach close to the Likoni Ferry called Shelly, though no proper or reliable tourist beach hotel exists there.