Things to do in Diani Beach
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Diani Beach
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Kaskazi season: hot, dry and calm, best all round for beach and diving, with whale sharks peaking January to February.
Long rains: the worst beach months, with rough sea and seaweed, but lowest prices and the greenest Shimba Hills.
Kuzi season: cooler, dry and windy, best kitesurfing and a good pairing with safari season.
Short rains: shoulder prices and fewer crowds, with diving improving from late October and whale sharks from November.
What's on
- Kenya Kite Cup January
Two days of kite competition at Nomad Beach Bar with a craft market, beach volleyball and an afterparty.
- Diani Beach Touch Rugby July
A spectator and social beach rugby weekend with East African teams in Kuzi season.
- Diani Beach Festival early December to New Year's Day
Intermittent multi week skydiving, watersports and music festival; verify the current year's programme.
- Jamhuri Day 12 December
Kenyan public holiday bringing heavy domestic tourism; beaches, trains and ferries book out.
Best things to do in Diani Beach
Diani Beach
A 17 km reef lagoon beach best at mid to high tide, with a low tide sandbar walk in reef shoes.
Colobus Conservation
A one hour guided forest tour to see wild colobus monkeys and the rope bridges over Beach Road.
Kaya Kinondo Sacred Forest
A sacred Digo forest walked with local guides past ancient trees, shrines and medicinal plants.
Kongo Mosque
A small 16th century Swahili mosque among baobabs at the Kongo River mouth, best before sunset.
African Pool
A natural tidal rock pool shaped like Africa, swimmable only at low tide with a local guide.
Robinson Island
A glass bottom boat trip to the reef and offshore sandbar for snorkelling and swimming.
Diani Beach Art Gallery
A free to enter gallery of contemporary Kenyan and East African art, good for a rainy hour.
Chale Island
A private island day with mangroves, a kaya forest patch and a tidal sandbar, arranged in advance.
Where to stay in Diani Beach
Central Diani
first trip, all-round base
Walkable restaurants, bars, supermarkets and tour offices, with the busiest beach and most tout attention.
Galu Beach
kitesurfers, couples, return visitors
Quieter and greener with boutique hotels and kite schools, but fewer walkable restaurants and a bigger tidal effect.
Northern Diani
budget and local texture
Hostels, apartments and Kongo and Tiwi access near Ukunda, with more road noise and longer rides to Galu.
Tiwi
seclusion
Scattered cottages on a wilder reefy beach by the African Pool, needing a car or transfers for most dinners.
Think twice about
- Ukunda town
A working town inland from Beach Road with traffic and no beach, despite cheap rooms advertised as Diani.
- Isolated villas on unlit back lanes
Robberies recur on quiet unlit roads to villas behind the beach. Choose security and lighting, or use door to door tuk-tuks after dark.
- North of the Likoni Ferry
Listings sold as Mombasa or Diani on the Bamburi and Nyali side are a different beach, with a ferry queue to everything in Diani.
Best restaurants in Diani Beach
Ali Barbour's Cave Restaurant
Dinner in a candlelit natural coral cave, Diani's signature setting for seafood and celebrations.
Sails Beach Bar & Restaurant
The food lovers' splurge in Diani, with daily local fish and European influenced seafood at Almanara.
Nomad Wine Cellar
Nomad's small wine cellar tasting menus are the insider booking for a group celebration.
Nomad Beach Bar & Restaurant
Diani's default great beach restaurant, from breakfast on the sand to dressed up dinners.
The Salty Squid Beach Bar & Restaurant
Beachfront Galu dining where sesame seared tuna, octopus and kingfish outpunch the casual setting.
Asha Bistro
Barefoot boutique hotel dining known for seafood, curries and chilli ginger crab, served slowly.
Leonardo's Restaurant
Italian run wood oven pizza, handmade pasta and house gelato in a garden, a family default.
Shashin-ka
Diani's Japanese restaurant, prized for sushi and fish quality and known for very slow service.
Outdoor things to do in Diani Beach
H2O Extreme
An IKO kitesurf school on Galu lagoon with lessons, rentals, storage and a launch crew.
KiteMotion
An IKO affiliated kite school with Galu and central bases, rescue boats and instructor courses.
Ocean Tribe
A small group dive centre for reef, wreck and wall dives minutes by boat from Diani.
Kisite-Mpunguti Marine National Park
The best snorkelling day from Diani, with coral gardens, turtles and a seafood lunch on Wasini.
Shimba Hills National Reserve
A green coastal forest reserve with sable antelope, elephants and a swim at Sheldrick Falls.
Tsavo East National Park
A real red dust safari with elephants and lions, far better over two days than as a day trip.
Leisure Lodge Golf Club
The Kenyan coast's only resort championship course, 18 holes with water in play and caddies.
Skydive Diani
A tandem beach jump over the reef lagoon, booked early in a stay in case weather postpones it.
Best hotels in Diani Beach
Alfajiri Villas
Exclusive fully staffed villas above Galu Beach, Diani's ultimate privacy stay for groups.
Almanara Luxury Boutique Hotel & Villas
Executive villas with chef service in tropical gardens on Galu, personal rather than corporate.
Kinondo Kwetu
A small all inclusive boutique on kaya protected land with a near private beach and total quiet.
The Sands at Nomad
Boutique rooms and cottages in coastal forest, with Nomad Beach Bar as its social engine.
Elewana AfroChic
A small elegant villa style hotel with ten suites and a strong honeymoon reputation.
The Sands at Chale Island
The island splurge for a two or three night chapter, with comings and goings set by the tide.
Swahili Beach Resort
A striking five star resort with cascading infinity pools, larger than Diani's boutique hotels.
Baobab Beach Resort & Spa
The family workhorse: all inclusive, three pools, a kids club and prime beachfront gardens.
Is Diani Beach expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | KES 5,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | KES 29,000 a person |
| Splurge | KES 150,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Kaya Kinondo Sacred Forest: a few days ahead
- Chale Island: weeks ahead
- H2O Extreme: a few days ahead
- KiteMotion: a few days ahead
- Ocean Tribe: weeks ahead
- Kisite-Mpunguti Marine National Park: a few days ahead
- Shimba Hills National Reserve: a few days ahead
- Tsavo East National Park: weeks ahead
- In peak season book Almanara, Kinondo Kwetu, Alfajiri and Chale Island weeks ahead.
- Book Ali Barbour's dinner days ahead in season, and Skydive Diani early in your stay for weather backup.
- Book Wasini, Shimba Hills, Sails dinner, fishing charters and kite courses a day or two ahead.
- Download a Diani tide chart on arrival; swimming, the African Pool and sandbar boats are all tide gated.
Is Diani Beach safe?
- Keep valuables in the hotel safe, not on the beach, and take a tuk-tuk, Bolt or taxi door to door at night.
- Confirm night security at villas and avoid isolated sand and unlit roads after dark.
- Swim inside the reef, wear reef shoes, and respect currents at the Kongo River mouth.
- The coast is a malaria area; take medical advice on prophylaxis and use nets and repellent.
Diani Beach travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Do not buy Wasini, glass boat or safari trips from unlicensed beach sellers with no insurance or thin inclusions.
- Forty Thieves beach bar is closed; Ali Barbour's Cave on the same compound is still operating.
- Ali Barbour's is the best setting, not necessarily the best food in Diani.
- Low tide in Galu can mean a reef flat instead of a lagoon, and sargassum can pile up in rough months.
Getting around Diani Beach: public transport and more
- Fly to Ukunda Airstrip for the fastest arrival, five to twenty minutes from most hotels.
- Tuk-tuks are the default on Beach Road; agree the fare first. Bolt and Uber are the recommended night option.
- Via Mombasa airport or the SGR train, allow about two hours across the Likoni Ferry, more at peak hours.
- Carry cash and M-Pesa for tuk-tuks, vendors and local restaurants; do not drink tap water.
Who Diani Beach suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Diani Beach your trip
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