Mombasa was last year, so this year we went further south to Diani Beach. What a huge contrast! The water was beautiful and clear, the beach was spectacular with some of the softest sand I’ve felt and it was not at all crowded (we were there the beginning of February). We flew out of Wilson Airport in Nairobi on SafariLink and landed in Diani around 11 am-just over an hour flight. We had an incredible birds-eye view of Mt. Kilimanjaro along the way. On our descent, we had a sweeping view of Diani and the coastline with boats scattered across the ripples of the emerald waters.

Upon landing, we quickly stopped at a grocery store and got some essentials. We checked in to our AirBnB, changed in to swimsuits, and went to meet the captain of our glass-bottom boat. I had been told about Robinson Island and had done a little research and it looked like a fun side excursion-and it wasn’t too expensive-well worth it! We were a party of 5 and had the boat, My Flamboyant, to ourselves. On the way out, we stopped and our captain went diving for starfish, sea spiders, banana slug, and anemones. He also fed the zebra fish under the glass so we could see them.

After about a 10 minute boat ride, we disembarked on the “island”. It’s really just a sandbar, but the mystery of an island seems more enticing. Within 10-15 minutes, there were at least 4 other boats there with more passengers wanting to play in the ocean. It became pretty crowded and with the crowds came the locals trying to sell you shells. We left and went to a nearby area to do some snorkeling. It became crowded there as well so we decided to end our journey. We noticed as we were heading back to shore that the little island was becoming very popular. If you go, talk to your captain about a time that might not be as teeming with people!

Tuk tuks are the main mode of transportation in Diani-they will definitely try to overcharge you if you are muzungu, so know prices and be willing to grab the next one-they are abundant.

Our next morning we got up to see the sunrise and were not disappointed. It was stunning.

We spent quite a bit of time on the beach, walking around, splashing in the water, watching the kite surfers, looking for shells. It was a peaceful retreat from the bustling city. Our airbnb was in the Tumani division-right on the beach. It also had a really nice pool that we took advantage of! We took the express train out of Mombasa back to Nairobi. I had not traveled through Tsavo during the day-we saw several elephants. The landscape of the country was dotted with small brush, acacia trees, mountains and the occasional animal.

As a muzungu, Diani was very friendly and felt much safer than Mombasa. There were lots of Europeans in Diani-the grocery store even had more American food in it than what we find in Nairobi. We were warned by the housekeeper when we left for Robinson Island to make sure any valuables were either with us or out of sight as the “beach boys” would easily jump from boat to boat and grab them. For a beach retreat, I would highly recommend Diani-beautiful and relaxing!