Malindi: Kenya's Beach Resort Loved by Explorers 

Malindi town is one of four famous beach resorts on Kenya's North-coast tourist circuit. Kilifi, Watamu and Lamu make the other members of the quartet.

Malindi lies 120 kilometres north of Mombasa. It is the main town in Kilifi County, home to the Giriama people who make one of the nine clans of the Miji-Kenda tribe that dominates Kenyan coastal demography.

It is a small town by all standards. However, barely 20 years ago, you would have thought Malindi was about to upstage better-known Mombasa in fame. Tourists flocked here from all over the world. Be it as it may, Malindi's lights suddenly dimmed early this century. But, they look like they are coming on again, and you get the feeling that this time around, they will shine in full-light mode! Not surprisingly, Airbnb named Malindi in its list of the world's top 20 destinations worth visiting in 2020!

A Brief History of Malindi

Malindi Town is more than 500 years old. That makes it one of the oldest urban centres in Kenya and East Africa. For several centuries, the Town lived under Arabic rule and influence. However, at the end of the 19th century,  European influence emerged, even as the town's African roots sprouted again.

It is in Malindi about 500 years ago that Vasco Da Gama, the daring Portuguese explorer, ran for his life after the rulers in Mombasa, and others in several Southern African ports chased him away. He was on a mission to fulfil the King of Portugal's quest to find a sea route to India. The global powers then badly wanted the route to extend their influence into the sub-continent and have their hands on  the booming trade in spices and gold!

Vasco Da Gama arrived in Malindi to a warm welcome by the Sultan of Malind in 1498. The sultans of Malindi and Mombasa were old rivals, which worked well for the explorer. So the Sultan and his guest became close friends. After an extended stay, the Sultan's local seafarers guided the Portuguese explorer-turned-fugitive out of the East African coast. He finally made his way to India. The rest, as they, is history!

To honour the Sultan, Vasco Da Gama built a stone pillar at Malindi's seafront. The edifice has withstood daily lashes by sea waves for 500 years. It is one of Malindi's best-known tourist attractions.

Strange enough, Malindi's ties with man's quest for discovery live on, though in a new form: A few kilometres from the town at Formosa Bay is a modern Italian Space exploration centre.

Malindi Life

Malindi is everyone's place. It is a strange mix of a small, old, struggling African town and a first-world tourist resort. Subject to where you are in the Town, you could be at an affluent summer resort in Southern Europe, or deep inside a large modernising but constrained African village.

The pace of life in Malindi is relaxed. The calm and easy-going nature of its residents hardly hides this fact. It is a hot and humid place, so most tourists prefer to shelter from the hot mid-day sun.

One feature that will not escape your eye in Malindi is the town's Italian connection. Italians own many hotels and holiday homes here. Many locals in the tourism sector speak some Italian too. You will also enjoy great pizza meals and other delicious Italian dishes. That is besides the great seafood that keeps visitors coming to Malindi. 

The town's other standouts are its motor-cycle and three-wheeler scooter taxis. Their sounds echo through the air as they ferry locals and revelling tourists from one location to another, day and night.

Tourist Attractions in Malindi

The Vasco Da Gama Pillar is one of the better-known tourist sites in Malindi. The Malindi Marine Park is another. Here, tourists enjoy rides in glass bottom boats to view coral gardens and lagoons, seagrass beds, fish, dolphins and turtles below. The more daring ones snorkel and water-surf. The park extends southwards towards Watamu, a famous beach resort village.

Sportfishing is common in Malindi's deep-sea waters. However, for most, relaxation is the primary sport! The beach, swimming pool and hotel room are the main arenas.

Walks along the beaches and swimming in the sheltered ocean areas are popular with visitors and locals. Malindi's beaches are impressive, though not as spectacular as those in Lamu or Watamu. However, they still provide a great holidaying feel.

Bio-ken Snake Farm located in Watamu about 15 kilometres south of Malindi is undoubtedly a creepy-in-a-good-way place to visit. The famous snake park keeps live snakes for research snakebite anti-venom. The poisonous serpents are milked to save lives near and far!  You are welcome to join their night hunts for venomous snakes. A visit here may help purge you of your morbid fear of the reptiles! 

If you long for more beach, Watamu, 24 kilometres (15 miles) to the south on the road to Mombasa, or Lamu 138 kilometres (86 miles ) to the North, would easily exceed your expectations.

Trips to Kenya Wildlife Parks from Malindi

You can fly to any of Kenya's famous wildlife parks from Malindi Airport. These include the Masai Mara and the Amboseli. Should you find these too distant, you can explore those within the region.

Tsavo East is 110 kilometres (66 miles) away, and Tsavo West is 285(177 miles) kilometres. Shimba Hills National Reserve is only 170 Kilometers to the south.

Connecting with nature and more history in Malindi

A visit to the Arabuko Sokoke forest will instantly connect you with nature and culture! It is a cultural and ecological forest reserve located an hour's drive from Malindi.

The 12th-century Gede Town ruins are also worth your visit. They are about half an hour’s drive away just off the main road to Mombasa.

The Marafa Canyon that hosts the 'Hell's Kitchen ' is one other not to miss site. There is the Malindi Museum too, and several other places to see and things to do!

Hotels in Malindi

Malindi is awash with good hotels and other forms of traveller accommodation. Indeed the Town's endorsement by Airbnb is well earned!

Celebrities in the corporate, fashion, entertainment and the sporting world are among the hotels' owners and visitors. They keep Malindi in the travel news space and help maintain its fledgeling legacy as a top tourist resort.

There are also lovely villas that serve as holiday homes. Hotels and homestays for the budget traveller are abundant too.

How to get to Malindi

A good road network and an international airport make it easy for anyone to reach Malindi with ease. Road and rail travellers from Nairobi get to Mombasa first and then connect to Malindi by bus or taxi van. However, lately, one can travel on a direct route by bus from Nairobi through a new flanking road that avoids Mombasa's heavy road traffic.

There are daily flights from Nairobi to Malindi Airport. Some tourists fly in from abroad by charter flight too, or if they are celebrities, by private jet.

What more about Malindi?

That's Malindi in a nutshell. We hope you now have a good glimpse of one more option for your Kenya beach safari. Have you ever been to Malindi? What was your experience like? What would you like to know more about Malindi?