Things to do in Lamu
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Lamu
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry season, hot and humid, peak weather. January and February bring peak prices.
Cooler, breezier dry season, good sailing and fewer crowds than Christmas.
Sleeper best month: dry weather, warm sea, shoulder prices, and it can coincide with the Yoga Festival.
Lamu Cultural Festival in most recent accounts, with short rains that are usually showers, not washouts.
Start of the Kaskazi season. Late December to early January is the busiest, priciest window, book months ahead.
Long rains, May usually wettest: rough seas, curtailed boat trips, some places closed, but the lowest fares.
Transition month, rains easing and the island still quiet.
What's on
- Lamu Cultural Festival Four days in November, dates move, confirm the year
Donkey races, dhow races, Swahili poetry, henna, bao, dance and food centred on Lamu Town. Hotels fill and prices spike.
- Maulidi Festival Moves with the Islamic calendar, confirm the year
Processions, recitations, poetry and feasting centred on Riyadha Mosque. Town fills and dress expectations are at their most conservative.
- Lamu Yoga Festival Usually March or Oct/Nov, confirm the year
Over 150 classes with more than 20 teachers across Shela, Town and Manda, plus sunset dhow meditation and a closing beach party.
Best things to do in Lamu
Lamu Old Town
A guided walk reveals markets, carvers and house interiors in the oldest preserved Swahili settlement in East Africa.
Lamu Museum
The town museum for dhow models, ceremonial daggers, inlaid furniture and Swahili wedding exhibits.
Lamu Fort
An Omani era fort worth it for rooftop views over the old town and whatever exhibition is currently housed there.
Swahili House Museum
A furnished period house that quietly shows how the courtyard houses you pass in the alleys actually worked.
Shela Beach
A 12 km sweep of fine white sand with long empty stretches, best at sunrise or from the dunes at sunset.
Hippo Dhow
A named local dhow for the essential sunset sail between Lamu, Shela and Manda with a swim stop and snacks.
Takwa Ruins
An abandoned Swahili town of coral stone houses and a great mosque, reached by boat through mangrove channels.
Shela Women's Association
Hands on Swahili cooking classes run by a women's community association, from samosas to coconut rice and pilau.
Where to stay in Lamu
Shela
first trip, beach, families, solo, almost everyone
Quieter, cleaner and directly on the 12 km beach, with Lamu Town an easy boat or walk away for day trips.
Lamu Town
budget, immersion, history first travellers
Cheaper at every tier with museums, the fort and local eateries on foot, but dirtier, smellier and more hassly than Shela.
Manda Island
resort luxury
Resort pools and a private beach feel facing Shela, with sunset over Lamu, at the cost of a boat for every trip out.
Kipungani / Kizingo / SW Lamu
seclusion, eco lodges, final nights of a longer trip
Total quiet and empty beach at the far south west tip, with lodge food and no village to wander to.
Think twice about
- Mainland Lamu County (Mokowe, Mpeketoni, Hindi)
Mainland Lamu County carries terrorism and kidnapping risk; Lamu and Manda Islands are explicitly outside that risk picture. Mokowe is a transit jetty only.
- Far-north archipelago (Kiwayu / Kiunga)
Remote, with the 2011 kidnapping history and the most restrictive advisories. Go only with a specialist operator confirming the current position, or not at all.
Best restaurants in Lamu
Peponi Hotel Restaurant
The best all round table in Lamu, for octopus, ginger crab, red snapper and Swahili curries on a sea breeze terrace.
Kijani Rooftop Restaurant
Shela's current foodie favourite, a sunset rooftop for Swahili fish curry, grilled fish and cocktails.
Moonrise Restaurant
The best dinner in Lamu Town, tree shaded and ocean facing, with Friday tapas plates and live Swahili music.
The Floating Bar & Restaurant
Dinner as an event: boat there, eat fresh catch, lobster and jumbo prawns barefoot, then boat home under stars.
The Majlis Resort
Italian, Swahili and Japanese beach restaurants on Manda, the smart splurge or day trip lunch with sunset over Shela.
Whispers Coffee Shop
Lamu Town's garden cafe for fresh coffee, juices, lemon coconut cake and a breeze cooled midday escape.
Seafront Café
A local seafront cafe on the Corniche for grilled fish, pilau, biryani and fresh juices at local prices.
Mangrove Restaurant
The popular harbour front restaurant by the boat boarding point, with a large menu and good value deals.
Outdoor things to do in Lamu
Manda Toto Island
The archipelago's best snorkelling, with reef fish, live coral and a fresh seafood lunch cooked by the crew.
Full-day dhow sailing
A full sailing day around Lamu or to Kipungani, with swimming, grilled fish and learning how a lateen dhow works.
Tusitiri Dhow
A restored trading dhow turned luxury multi day coastal safari vessel, the apex dhow experience here.
Siyu Fort
A remote fort on Pate Island that very few visitors reach, part of the serious Swahili history day trip.
Pate Town
Nabahani ruins, tombs, old mosques and Portuguese era remains in a town few short stay visitors ever see.
Shanga
A very early settlement site on Pate Island with origins in the 7th century in operator accounts.
Channel fishing, Lamu
Light tackle fishing in the sheltered channel, often combined with a sail and fine for beginners and kids.
Deep-sea fishing, Lamu
Offshore fishing for tuna, marlin and big game in season, sensible only for committed anglers splitting a boat.
Best hotels in Lamu
Peponi Hotel
Shela's institution where the beach meets the village, with a pool, a famous bar and the terrace that is Shela's living room.
Kijani Hotel
The connoisseur's Shela alternative, Swahili houses in tropical gardens around a small pool with a rooftop restaurant.
Banana House & Wellness Centre
The best mid range wellness base in Shela, with daily yoga, organic food, massages and a garden pool.
Jua House
A tasteful, design led small Swahili bed and breakfast in the heart of Shela near Banana House.
Fatuma's Tower
A restored historic tower house with a garden and retreat feel, bookable by the room or as a whole house.
Dudu Villas & Lamu Backpackers
A genuine budget foothold in pricey Shela, a short walk from the centre with backpacker level prices.
Stopover Guest House
A budget Shela guest house praised by a solo guest for a stunning room and a great breakfast.
Lamu House Hotel
Lamu Town's smartest waterfront hotel, with a pool, a seafront position and the Moonrise Restaurant.
Is Lamu expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | KES 8,500 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | KES 23,000 a person |
| Splurge | KES 55,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Lamu Old Town: a few days ahead
- Hippo Dhow: a few days ahead
- Takwa Ruins: a few days ahead
- Shela Women's Association: a few days ahead
- The Floating Bar & Restaurant: a few days ahead
- Natural Lamu: a few days ahead
- Manda Toto Island: a few days ahead
- Full-day dhow sailing: a few days ahead
- Book accommodation first, then flights, then activities. Tiny capacity sells out late December to early January, at Easter and in festival weeks.
- Book dhows the day before by noon through your hotel or a named captain, and agree total price, duration and inclusions before boarding.
- Swahili home dining, the Women's Association cooking class, Cabanas lunch, Moonrise Fridays and a Majlis day pass all need a day's notice or a call.
- Festival dates move every year. Confirm current year dates with your hotel before building non refundable flights around them.
Is Lamu safe?
- Fly directly to Manda Airport and do not road travel through mainland Lamu County. Recheck your own government's advice before booking and departure.
- Check insurance wording: Lamu and Manda Islands are excluded from the mainland risk area, but some insurers use county-wide language, so get their position in writing.
- Cover shoulders and knees in Town and Shela village, keep swimwear for the beach and pools, and ask before photographing people.
- Cash is king: bring enough Kenyan shillings from Nairobi, as ATMs are limited and many places take no cards.
- Use hotel boats after dark, keep valuables discreet in the market, and follow hotel and captain advice on northern excursions on the day.
Lamu travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- First jetty dhow pitches: the same trip is quoted at very different prices. Get two quotes and agree inclusions in a message.
- Day tripping Lamu from Malindi or Mombasa misses the point and goes against the safety advice. Lamu needs nights, at dawn and dusk.
- Lamu Fort alone can disappoint with ticket friction and locked rooms. Do it inside a guided Town morning for the view and exhibition.
- There is no beach club infrastructure, no loungers or banana boats, and no golf anywhere in the archipelago despite aggregator listings.
- Rushing Lamu Town in a hot midday hour makes it look overrated. Go early, with a guide, and stop at a cafe.
Getting around Lamu: public transport and more
- Fly to Manda Airport on Manda Island, then take a short boat to Shela or Lamu Town. Do not drive or bus the mainland route.
- There are essentially no cars on Lamu Island: walk, take boats or use a boda. Shela to Town is about 15 minutes by boat or 40 minutes on foot.
- Boats are the taxi system. Agree the total price, destination jetty, waiting and return, and what is included, every time.
- Tides rule the schedule for Takwa, Siyu and some jetties. Build days around your captain or hotel's tide guidance, and pack soft bags.
Who Lamu suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | OK |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Lamu your trip
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