Mombasa County · Kenya
Mombasa travel guide
Mombasa is a city in Mombasa County, Kenya, home to about 1,208,000 people.
- Best months
- July and August
- Nearest airport
- MBA8 km · Moi International Airport
- Currency
- KESKenyan shilling
- Time zone
- Africa/Nairobi
- Language
- English, Swahili
About
About Mombasa
Mombasa ( mom-BASS-ə; also US: -BAH-sə) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907.
Mombasa is Kenya's main tourist destination. It is on the eastern coastline of Kenya, bordering the Indian Ocean which has made it a popular destination for its beaches. Mombasa offers a diverse marine life, world-class hotels and friendly atmosphere. There is a tropical climate all year and it is a great destination filled with activities for all ages. Mombasa is one of the oldest cities in sub-Saharan Africa, and its precise date of founding remains unknown.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Mombasa
See
Considering Mombasa's action-filled history, surprisingly there are only a handful of sights. The nature and a slew of different activities is what makes Mombasa interesting for visitors. In addition to these, there are a couple of sights within 20-30 km north, west and south of Mombasa. These are listed under.
- Fort Jesus
- Fort St Joseph
- Old town
- The tusks of Moi Avenue
- Leven House
- Holy Ghost Cathedral
- Hindu temples
- Shri Kutch Satsang Temple
- New Dwarikadham Temple
- Lord Shiva Temple
- Mangrove of Tudor Creek
- Haller Park
Do
Even as the 13½ km of white sand beaches along the coast would tempt you to do nothing but bathing in the sun and the sea, Mombasa also offers other kinds of activities. All beaches in Kisauni offer camel rides and on Jomo Kenyatta Public Beach in Bamburi you can rent bikes too. There are also guided walks on the beaches. There are 3 main beaches north of Mombasa. First is Nyali Beach which is frequented mostly by locals as the water quality is not very good due to the closeness to the town that has no functioning waste water treatment plants. The next is Bamburi Beach.
- Wild Waters Amusement Park
- Mombasa Marine National Park and Marine Reserve
- Bouccaner Diving
- Peponi Divers Mombasa
- Bigfish Sports Fishing
- Deep Sea Fishing
- Mama Ngina Park
- Bamburi Forest Trails and Butterfly Park
- Jomvu Kuu
- Tiwi Beach
- Mtwapa Creek
- Bombolulu Cultural Centre
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Which part of Mombasa to stay in
Hardly a tourist will stay in Mombasa city, but mostly along the beaches of the north or south coast.There is a wide range of accommodation on offer in Mombasa from camping to Backpacker hostels to hotels and villas with all comforts.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Mombasa
2 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Africa Hotel | 1.8 km | |
| Sentrim Castle Royal | 1919 | 1.4 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Mombasa
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Mombasa are July and August. March is the warmest month, with average highs of 33 °C; May is the wettest, with about 263 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Mombasa: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Moi International Airport (MBA), about 8.2 km from the city centre in a straight line; Malindi International Airport (MYD, 103 km) and Tanga Airport (TGT, 133 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
Mombasa is an important node for all forms of transportation. It is the end of the Trans-African Route 8 from Lagos and of the railway to Uganda. It has an international airport, Moi Airport, and one of Eastern Africa's most important ports, Kilindini, which is also the main port for goods to Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda. The flight between Nairobi and Mombasa takes some 45 minutes, enough time for a cold drink and a view of the Tsavo East National Park. The flag carrier Kenya Airways, as well as the low-cost airlines Jambojet, and Fly540 (Five Forty Aviation) fly this route.
Getting around
The traffic will likely appear chaotic to a westerner. Traffic laws are not respected, even when police are present. There is no regular public transportation network in the city. The closest equivalent are the aforementioned matatus (minivans) of which there are about 3500 (licensed ones have stickers on the windshields) in the city. They're cheap — ask someone at the hotel what the going rate is and don't let them scam you. Don't expect to be comfortable; as the drivers want to take as many passengers as possible, you will often be crammed in like a sardine.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
MBA · Moi International Airport
MYD · Malindi International Airport
TGT · Tanga Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Mombasa
Eat
Mombasa is a cosmopolitan city with Arabic, Chinese, European and Indian influences, and this can be seen in the local cuisine. Many local dishes include coconut, for instance waly ya tui (basmati rice with coconut milk), kuku wa kupaka (chicken with coconut milk) and mahamri (coconut donuts with cardamom). Pizzerias and snack bars serving Kenyan cuisine are found in Mvita and places that are frequented by tourists such as the beaches. Many hotels also offer this kind of affordable eating. If you want to try out the Kenyan cuisine in such places, check that the place is overall clean, that it does not smell of old frying oil.
Drink
There are quite a number of good bars, pubs and entertainment spots in Mombasa Town and the North Coast. Nightlife is very vibrant in Mombasa and in the village Mtwapa (15km north of Mombasa, called "the village that never sleeps").
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Mombasa: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Mombasa?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Mombasa are July and August. March is the warmest month, with average highs of 33 °C; May is the wettest, with about 263 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Mombasa?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Moi International Airport (MBA), about 8.2 km from the city centre in a straight line; Malindi International Airport (MYD, 103 km) and Tanga Airport (TGT, 133 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Mombasa?
Kenyan shilling (KES).
Nearby
Destinations near Mombasa
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.