Situated on the east coast of Kenya, in Coast Province, Mombasa's bordering the Indian Ocean made it a historical trading center, and it was successively controlled by many countries due to its strategic location. Mombasa City Tour Depart from your beach hotel in the morning and drive to Mombasa.
Begin the tour with a visit to the Baobab forest along Mama Ngina Drive before proceeding to Fort Jesus Museum built by the Portuguese at the end of the 16th century. It dominates the entrance to Mombasa Harbor and commands good views over the Old Town. The Fort is now a national monument and houses an interesting museum. Walk through Mombasa the second largest city in Kenya and which is located on an island. It is a steamy, tropical, low-rise city with asymmetrical streets, languid pace, diverse and intriguing population. It is mostly a Swahili town and women can be seen chattering by in dark bui-bui or wrapped in brilliant multicolored kanga. Mombasa is also a port and a commercial center and has a long and complex history. Walk through the streets of Old Town up to the Old Port to see the Dhows.
The old town is a maze of narrow streets, mosques and crowded buildings, some with impressive carved doors or intricate balconies. Later visit the Mackinon market, Elephant Tusks and Indian Temple before proceeding to Akamba Woodcraft at Changamwe where you can see the craftsmen at work and select your carvings at the lowest price you can ever get in the world. Afterwards, transfer back to your hotel. Tamarind Dhow Cruise In the evening, depart from your beach hotel to the old port of Mombasa for your cruise.
As soon as you step off the gangplank you are greeted by a traditionally dressed waiter who shows you to your table and serves you with a "Dawa"- the house cocktail made from vodka, lime, honey, sugar and crushed ice. As the dhow slips gently away from the jetty, the resident band starts to play and you quickly fall under the spell of the magical Tamarind atmosphere. After a cruise around Tudor Creek with fine views of Mombasa's Old Town and Fort Jesus, your dhow moors in a sheltered bay at the head of the creek. Here, the fine aroma of grilled lobster and steak start to fill the air as the chefs pull out the charcoal grills and prepare a gourmet four course meals. With attentive service to match the cuisine, your meal draws to a close as the waiters serve coffee from a traditional Arab brass coffee service. By now the band is in full swing, playing a variety of popular rhythms which soon have the majority of guests dancing on the main deck.
Afterwards, transfer back to your hotel. Mamba Village Crocodile Farm Mamba Village is situated in Nyali, is East Africa's largest crocodile farm. A tour of the farm starts with a movie on the life cycle and behavior of crocodiles, followed by a comprehensive tour of the rest of farm, and ends with the highlight of the day: a spectacular scene of blood-thirsty crocodiles fighting for food during feeding time. Excellent cuisine is available at the Mamba Restaurant, and the house specialty is superbly grilled crocodile meat. Souvenirs of your visit can be bought at the Mamba Souvenir shop located within the village. Mamba Village Crocodile Farm in Mombasa has crocodiles from all categories/stages, from giant (Big Daddy -Man eater) crocodiles to baby crocodiles (just hatched) and the white crocodiles. The firm has a feeding time schedule every day at 5 pm and it is incredible to see this experience as the crocodiles jump up few metre from their pool to grab a bite of meat.
A tour to the firm would be wonderful and takes 2 and half to three hours visiting the Crocodile firm, camel riding within the same compound, Horse riding or the mamba restaurant which offer a wide range of crocodile meat and sea foods. Also available is the Mamba Disco Open daily and most full on Fridays and Saturdays, as for tourist every day is an experience! Ngomongo Cultural Tour Drive to the "Ngomongo Village", a miniature reflection of tribal community groundings. Sample their lifestyles and culture in the different tribal huts and catch a real life glimpse of what may have been before "Civilization" set in. A number of traditional huts serving different tribal groundings have been recreated in this theme village. Watch or participate in the traditional food preparation, sample the various local brews and marvel or participate in the tribal dances. Return to your hotel late afternoon Full Day Wasini Island & Kisite Sea Adventure Welcome to a day of ultimate pleasure in the richest Marine Park at the Kenyan Coast.
Depart early morning for the tranquil fishing village of Shimoni, close to the Tanzanian border. The scenic route takes you through lush coconut and cashew nuts plantations and the colourful villages of the Digo people. At Shimoni jet board an authentic motorized Lamu dhow, which cruise and sail you through an enchanting seascape of Islands to the underwater splendors of the Kisite Marine Park. Here snorkelers will marvel at the incredible variety of marine life in the shallow and warm waters around Kisite Island; the venue for numerous birds. We escort Scuba divers to explore a number of excellent dive sites, also teeming with an astounding variety of Marine life which inhabits the magnificent coral reefs in and around the park. A sumptuous Swahili style seafood lunch is served at Wasini Island Restaurant.
Thereafter visit the traditional Muslim village before returning to your hotel late afternoon. Natural Rail Park (Haller Park) Nature Rail Trail tour departs in the morning from your hotel or after lunch to the Bamburi Quarry Nature Trail. You will enjoy Kenya’s nature during a walk through Haller Park (Bamburi Nature Trail). Haller Park is the largest animal sanctuary in Mombasa. Located next to the Bamburi Cement Factory, the Park boasts an enormous variety of animals, reptiles, insects and botanical gardens.
Walking along the trail is the ideal way to look at the various animals, and on many occasions holding or feeding a reptile such as a snake is allowed under close supervision of a guide. Eland and buffalo, crocodiles and other reptiles can be seen wandering with crowned cranes. Other attractions in the Park include porcupines, peacocks, a snake park, fish farm, crocodile farm, giraffes, zebras, famous giant tortoises, hippos and a restaurant that specializes in game meat. Pre arranged tree planting at the nature trail with certificates is also possible. Get up close and personal with giant Aldabra Tortoises, Hippos, Crocodiles, Waterbuck, Elands and Buffalo. Their highly trained guides will escort you around the park, ensuring your visit is enjoyable and educational. If you have read the story about Owen (the hippo) and Mzee (the tortoise), you can meet them there. Haller Park is open from 0800 Hours to 1700 Hours every day, including public holidays.
Shimba Hills National Reserve Day Trip Shimba Hills National Reserve Day Trip Safari Departs from your hotel at 7am. You will drive for about forty-five minutes to Shimba Hills National Reserve. Your game drive will start from the gate, where the roof of the safari bus is lifted up to enable you to look for the many game animals found here, such as elephant, giraffe, buffalo and warthog, the rare Sable Antelope. You will visit the magnificent Shedrick’s Falls on the slope of the hills before taking lunch at Shimba Lodge.
The lodge is built around a very large tree and is the only tree hotel at the Coast. After lunch you will continue with your game drive until 4pm when you will check out of the park and drive back to your hotel in time for dinner. Tsavo East National Park Day Trip Before sun rise, you will be picked up from your hotel and depart by road (along the Mombasa - Nairobi highway) to Tsavo East National Park. You will enter Tsavo East National Park via Bachuma Gate.
From here you start your game viewing searching for wild animals. Lunch will be at Voi Safari Lodge or Voi Wildlife Lodge. After lunch, another game drive will follow. Animals in the park include the "red" Elephants, Lions, Buffalos, Giraffes, Zebras and many other plain game animals. Your game viewing ends in the afternoon where you will return to your hotel in Mombasa early evening. Tsavo East National Park Day Tour Pick up from your coastal hotel in the morning drive through Nairobi - Mombasa highway.
There will be a stopover en-route for breakfast cum refreshments. We enter the Tsavo West in the mid-morning and commence game viewing en-route for a buffet lunch. We will proceed for an afternoon game viewing drive with a visit to the rhino sanctuary. Drive to Mzima Springs, a natural spring from an underground river from Kilimanjaro to see Hippos and Crocodiles as we drive back to Mombasa to arrive at your hotel late in the day.
