Travel to Shimoni

excellent boat trips to the marine conservation areas

The Shimoni area lies at the extreme southern end of the Kenya Coast, running down to the border with Tanzania.

This is definitely one of our favourite sections of this southern coast. Although the town of Shimoni itself and the surrounding mangrove forests may not be desperately attractive, once you get out on a boat and sail around the various offshore islands it can be very pleasant indeed.

The substantial Kisite Marine Reserve contains probably the best diving in the country, on a par with that around the busy Malindi area further north, but arguably more reliable year round.

The Shimoni area remains unusually free of mainstream tourist development, primarily because the waterfront is mainly comprised of mangrove forests rather than the usual white-sand beaches.

The village of Shimoni itself is essentially a quiet backwater with some local character, but little of real interest other than the local “slave caves” and the jetty which provides access to the aforementioned marine reserve.

Unfortunately there is no highly recommended accommodation in this area, so we tend to more often recommend staying at lodges in the Msambweni and Kinondo areas further to the north, from which it is easy enough to visit Shimoni on day trips for the diving and dolphin excursions.

day trips from beaches further north