Things to do in Malindi
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Malindi
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Hot, dry and calm with a clear sea. Best snorkelling and marlin fishing, at peak prices.
The long rains. Heavy rain, muddy tracks, a brown sea, some properties closed and the fishing season paused. The worst months.
Cooler and dry but windy in the southeast monsoon, with a rougher, greener sea. Best kitesurfing and good value.
The sea calms, sailfish peak and the international fishing festival runs. A prime shoulder month.
Short rains early, then the sea calms and sailfish stay strong. December festive weeks are a domestic tourism peak.
What's on
- Malindi International Deep Sea Fishing Festival October
The season's big tournament gathering around the Sea Fishing Club, at peak sailfish movement.
- Malindi billfish tournament January
Tournament season when the marlin fleet is at full stretch in the calm northeast monsoon.
- Summertides Festival Usually July; check dates and venue
A large beach music festival that moved to Malindi for three days and filled the town. Check where it is held before planning.
- Malindi Cultural Festival August
Swahili and Giriama culture in town, with traditional dance, food and crafts.
Best things to do in Malindi
Malindi Marine National Park
Africa's oldest marine park, with coral gardens, turtles and sandbanks best snorkelled at low tide in the calm season.
Marafa Hell's Kitchen
A banded sandstone canyon sacred to the Giriama, best walked in shade and finished on the rim at sunset.
Vasco da Gama Pillar
A 1498 pillar on a headland with the best town view, powerful for its story but a 15 minute sight, not a half day.
Gede Ruins
A walled Swahili trading town in forest south of Malindi, brought alive by a guide hired at the gate.
Malindi Museum
The small seafront museum that gives the pillar, chapel and old town their shared story in 45 minutes.
Portuguese Chapel
A tiny Portuguese era chapel near the pillar, spare and quiet, visited on the same ticket as the pillar.
Falconry of Kenya
A rescue centre with raptors up close, plus crocodiles, snakes and a famously elderly giant tortoise.
Malindi Old Town
Narrow lanes, carved doors, mosques and the market, where the Swahili town is strongest and best walked with a guide.
Where to stay in Malindi
Casuarina and Silversand
first trip, resort strip base
The historic beachfront hotels by the marine park jetty, heritage cluster and most restaurants, with some tired properties between the good ones.
Mambrui
quiet, kitesurfing and villas
Golden sand, dunes and large quiet plots north of the Sabaki, beautiful and genuinely isolated, with a car or tuk-tuk needed for town.
Malindi Town
budget and road trip stops
Small hotels near the market, banks and matatu stages, cheaper and livelier, with the beach a walk or short ride away.
Think twice about
- North of the Sabaki and Galana river toward Lamu by road
Do not travel in Kilifi County north of Malindi or on the coast strip north of the Galana. Do not base or road trip there.
- Malindi town centre as a beach holiday base
Noisy, busy and set back from the sea, fine for a night or two on a road trip but the wrong base for a beach week. Stay on the Casuarina strip or at Mambrui.
Best restaurants in Malindi
Sapori
Careful Italian cooking with Ethiopian dishes alongside, in a garden setting.
Billionaire Grill & Bar
The beachfront grill of the Billionaire resort, the luxury tier's social centre for dinner and drinks in season.
Baby Marrow
A busy Italian restaurant famous for enormous seafood platters, generous portions, good pizza and Saturday talent nights.
Rosada Beach Restaurant
The beach lunch institution on Casuarina Road, with sunbeds, pizza, pasta and seafood and a social weekend crowd.
Olimpia Club
A long running Italian seafood restaurant with a loyal resident following that keeps it honest outside charter season.
Seafront Swahili Dishes
The Swahili kitchen to try first, coconut fish curries, pilau and grilled fish at local prices on the seafront.
Simba Dishes
The town centre local canteen, Swahili and Kenyan staples at the prices Malindi residents pay, busy at lunch.
Jabreen
A small African restaurant in town with simple Kenyan and coastal plates at local prices and no beach view.
Outdoor things to do in Malindi
Malindi Sea Fishing Club
Kenya's historic billfish club, for marlin and sailfish charters in the October to April calm season.
Che Shale
A kite school on a glittering golden beach at Mambrui, at its best in the windy southeast monsoon months.
Mambrui Sand Dunes
Wind built dunes behind the golden beach at Mambrui, a late afternoon walk with views over the river mouth.
Arabuko Sokoke Forest
East Africa's largest coastal forest, for dawn birding, elephant shrews and elephants at the waterholes with a named guide.
Tsavo East National Park
A long day trip to red dust elephants, lions and the Galana river country, transformed by one night inside.
Malindi Golf and Country Club
Nine holes played twice from different tees by the sea, a relaxed holiday round with baobabs on the course.
Vipingo Ridge Golf Resort
Kenya's only PGA accredited 18 hole course, a championship day trip south on a ridge above the coast.
Sabaki River Estuary
A wide river mouth of mudflats, mangroves and dhows that draws waders and turns gold at sunset.
Best hotels in Malindi
Billionaire Resort & Retreat Malindi
Malindi's most famous luxury address, suites around pools on the marine park beachfront in the Casuarina strip.
Diamonds Dream of Africa
The five star, couples oriented half of the Diamonds pair on the silver sand beach, with a spa and ocean views.
Leopard Point Luxury Beach Resort & Spa
A small design led luxury resort with spa and private beach on the quiet Mambrui shore north of town.
Ocean Beach Resort & Spa
The strip's best balance of location, facilities and price, with gardens, a spa and a private beach section.
Scorpio Villas
A family run garden resort near the pillar and jetty, with carved wood rooms, small pools and loyal regulars.
Kola Beach Resort
Suites with verandas around a pool on Mambrui's golden beach, the comfortable full service way to do the north.
Che Shale
Rustic chic bandas on the golden beach by the kite centre, with a well regarded seafood restaurant.
Silver Rock Hotel
The honest budget base near Tropical Beach, with a pool, a garden and a published rate card from KES 4,100.
Is Malindi expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | KES 6,500 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | KES 14,000 a person |
| Splurge | KES 38,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Malindi Marine National Park: a few days ahead
- Malindi Sea Fishing Club: weeks ahead
- Che Shale: a few days ahead
- Arabuko Sokoke Forest: a few days ahead
- Tsavo East National Park: a few days ahead
- Vipingo Ridge Golf Resort: a few days ahead
- Billionaire Resort & Retreat Malindi: weeks ahead
- Diamonds Dream of Africa: weeks ahead
- Book fishing charters weeks ahead around the October festival and January tournament, through the Sea Fishing Club or a named operator.
- Book Tsavo safaris and Arabuko named guides days ahead, and confirm park fees are included.
- Book Vipingo Ridge tee times days ahead direct with the pro shop.
- Book beachfront hotels weeks to months ahead for Christmas, Easter and Summertides weekend, and Sapori or a weekend Baby Marrow table a day or two ahead.
Is Malindi safe?
- Kilifi County north of Malindi and the coast strip between the Tana and Galana rivers are high-risk no-go areas. Check current advice before travel.
- Malaria is present year round and a US Embassy dengue alert covered the coast in August 2026. Use prophylaxis advice, repellent and nets.
- Take taxis or tuk-tuks after dark, do not walk unlit beach or dark streets at night, and keep passports and spare cash in the hotel safe.
- Dress modestly in town, at the market and in the old town, and ask before photographing people.
Malindi travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Only book boats, fishing and safaris through the club, your hotel or a named operator, never for a large cash deposit on the sand.
- The Vasco da Gama Pillar sold alone is overrated. Do the whole heritage cluster on one ticket.
- All inclusive compounds waste Malindi. The town, its Swahili kitchens and its dusk seafront are the point.
- Check any restaurant or small hotel still operates before you go. Two of the most blogged restaurants in town are marked permanently closed.
Getting around Malindi: public transport and more
- Fly domestically to Malindi Airport, about 5 km from town. There are no direct European flights.
- Use tuk-tuks in town and agree the fare before you move. Keep small notes and use M-Pesa where accepted.
- Matatus run the coast road to Watamu, about 25 km and 40 minutes, and to Kilifi and Mombasa.
- For Marafa, Arabuko, Tsavo and Mambrui, hire a car and driver through your hotel and fix price, fuel and park fees in writing.
Who Malindi suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Malindi your trip
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