Kilifi town sits on the north side of the gorgeous Kilifi Creek, midway between Mombasa and Malindi. It is a quiet backwater, almost undisturbed by tourism until recently, except for the occasional visitors to the Mnarani ruins on the south side of the creek, which date back to the early 14th Century, eventually being abandoned in the 17th century.

For years it has been a holiday destination, mainly for up-country farmers who owned homes here and enjoyed water sports but, in the last decade, others have discovered the pristine unpopulated beaches on the north shore and Kilifi is much in demand as a holiday destination, both by Kenyan residents and overseas visitors, with a resulting boom in property sales and the construction of holiday villas.

In addition, the creek provides probably the best anchorage on the coast, and many yachts and power boats are moored at the Boatyard, a recommended destination for international yachtsmen.

Except for phenomena such as el Nino, the weather on the coast is fairly predictable, with temperatures varying little throughout the year, sometimes reaching 34°c in the hottest months and rarely lower than 20°c on cold wet June/July nights.

The only significant variable is the rain, which falls mainly during the south east monsoon, or “Kusi”, which blows from March to September. These “long rains” occur from April into June and, after the onset of the north east monsoon, or “Kaskazi”, in October we have the short rains. Bear in mind that, unlike in the tropical Pacific Ocean, even during the long rains it seldom rains continuously for days on end!

As we are only a few degrees south of the equator, daylight hours do not vary much from the 12 hours of the equinoxes. Dawn breaks between 5.30 and 6.00am and darkness falls between 6.30 and 7.00pm, with twilight for only 15 minutes or so.

Please look at the activities page for things to do in Kilifi.