After two nights in Mombasa, we headed south to Diani Beach for the next stop on our journey along the Kenyan coast.
We spent four nights here, staying in a quiet gated community between the beach and the main road, with private access directly onto Diani Beach. Unfortunately, we had quite a lot of rain during our stay, so we didn’t explore as much as we’d originally planned.
Our first impression of Diani was a little mixed. It felt quite touristy and prices were higher than we’d expected, but the beaches were beautiful, we ate well and we really liked the quiet area where we stayed.
Here’s what we found during our four days in Diani Beach.
How to Get to Diani Beach
If you’re coming from further away, you’ll most likely arrive via Mombasa by plane or train. Diani also has its own small airport, Ukunda Airport, with domestic flights.
We travelled from Mombasa to Diani by private car.
If you’re travelling between Diani and the SGR train station in Mombasa, another option is SGR Shuttle. The station is outside central Mombasa, and the shuttle takes you from the station directly to your accommodation in Diani.
You can book the shuttle in advance, although when we were at the station, there also seemed to be drivers holding SGR Shuttle signs for passengers who hadn’t pre-booked.
The service runs according to the train timetable, so it won’t work for every journey, but it’s a useful and affordable alternative to arranging a private transfer.
Self-driving is another option if you’re travelling around Kenya with your own vehicle.
Where We Stayed in Diani
There is a huge range of accommodation in Diani, with options across pretty much every price range.
We stayed in an Airbnb towards the southern end of Diani Beach and not far from Galu Beach. For us, this was a great part of Diani to stay in.
The Airbnb was inside a quiet, green gated community between the main road and the beach, with private beach access for the properties inside. We could be on the sand within a few minutes, without staying in one of the large beachfront resorts.
The main road was also close by, so getting around was easy. There were always plenty of tuk-tuks passing, and we could walk to several restaurants and other places nearby.
We really liked the balance of the location: quiet and residential, very close to the beach, but still well connected to the rest of Diani.
Getting Around Diani
We mainly got around by walking and tuk-tuk. Tuk-tuks are everywhere in Diani, and you can easily flag one down from the side of the road. However, we found that drivers often quoted us higher prices when we did this. Most of the time, we ordered tuk-tuks through Bolt instead. We could see the fare before booking and didn’t have to negotiate every journey. The only downside was that we sometimes had to wait a little longer, particularly when there were already plenty of empty tuk-tuks driving past us. Read our guide on how to use M-PESA in Kenya for small expenses like tuk-tuks.
What Is Diani Beach Like in September?
The beach itself was one of the highlights of Diani for us. It’s a long stretch of white sand backed by palm trees, and even with the less-than-perfect weather during our stay, it was easy to see why Diani is one of Kenya’s best-known beach destinations.
That said, it didn’t look quite like the perfectly clear, turquoise water you often see in photos.
We visited in September, and there was a lot of seagrass washed up along parts of the beach, and other parts were clean. This could also change from day to day. The water was also quite cloudy rather than crystal clear, particularly with the rain and rougher weather we’d been having.
This didn’t make the beach any less beautiful, but conditions can look very different depending on the weather, season and tide.
You will also encounter beach boys and vendors along the beach. We were regularly approached by people selling things, offering excursions or starting conversations. It is a bit annoying, not being able to just walk without being approached by someone.
Once we were sitting at a beachfront cafe or bar, we were generally left alone, so these were good places to spend some uninterrupted time by the water.
High Tide vs Low Tide in Diani
One thing worth knowing before visiting the Kenyan coast is just how much the tide changes the beaches.
At low tide, the water retreats a long way, leaving large areas of shallow water, sand and exposed rock. This can make it difficult to simply walk into the sea and swim as there are reefs and sea urchins.
Around mid tide, there is much more water close to shore and swimming is generally easier, in high tide the sea could be a little rough.
We quickly got into the habit of checking the tide times before deciding when to head to the beach. If you specifically want to swim, we’d recommend doing the same.
Low tide isn’t necessarily a bad time to visit, though. It completely changes the landscape and gives you a chance to explore areas that are underwater at high tide.
Near the Neptune resorts, we found sand bar area that you could walk out to at low tide. Where there was a small natural pool where enough seawater remained to sit and cool off, even when the ocean had retreated much further out.
We really liked this spot, particularly when the tide was too low for swimming directly from the beach. There were quite a few beach boys around this area, though, so expect to be approached.
Water shoes can also be useful if you’re planning to walk across rocky or exposed areas at low tide.
Where to Eat in Diani
There are many restaurants on and off the beach in Diani, so you will never have an issue finding somewhere to eat.
Pallet Cafe The Beach
We really liked Pallet Cafe The Beach, which sits right by the ocean and has beach chairs where you can relax by the water.
Pallet Cafe was created to provide great food and service while promoting the training and employment of deaf people in the hospitality industry. Depending on who serves you, you may communicate using signs, gestures or by writing things down.
We loved the concept, and the service was excellent.
Pallet Cafe The Patio
We also visited Pallet Cafe The Patio, which has the same owner but in a completely different setting. Rather than being on the beach, it’s located in a small shopping area with some cute shops around it.
The menus at the two Pallet Cafe locations are slightly different, but we really enjoyed the food at both.
We wouldn’t necessarily choose one over the other. The Beach is great if you want to combine lunch with some time by the ocean, while The Patio is a nice option on a rainy day or if you want to have a look around the shops too.
Salty Squid
Salty Squid was another favourite. The food was really good, although it was a little pricier than some of the other places we visited.
It’s also very popular, so booking a table may be a good idea, particularly for dinner or at the weekend.
We arrived at around 2 pm on a Monday without a reservation and had no problem getting a table.
Jolly Pizzeria
We also had a really good meal at Jolly Pizzeria. The Italian food was great, particularly the pasta. It’s located in central Diani on the Main Street, so it might not be the most atmospheric place, but we enjoyed it.
Madafoo’s Beach Bar
We were less impressed by the food at Madafoo’s Beach Bar, but we liked it as somewhere to spend a relaxed day by the beach.
When we visited, the pool was available for 500 KES per person, while you could use the beach chairs if you ordered food or drinks.
It was very relaxed. We never felt pressured to keep ordering just because we were using the beach chairs. If anything, sometimes it was quite difficult to get the staff’s attention when we actually wanted something.
We probably wouldn’t return specifically for the food, but we’d happily come back for a relaxed afternoon by the beach.
Was 4 Days in Diani Enough?
For us, yes, although the rain definitely affected what we managed to do.
With better weather, we probably would have spent more time swimming and exploring different parts of the beach.
If you’re coming primarily for a beach holiday, you could easily stay for a week or longer. There’s a huge choice of accommodation and restaurants, and plenty of places where you can settle in for a day by the ocean.
As part of a longer journey along the Kenyan coast, four nights worked well for us.
What We Thought of Diani
We had slightly mixed feelings about Diani when we left, but looking back, we think we were probably a little hard on it.
It felt quite touristy, and being approached regularly while walking along the beach could get tiring.
Our timing didn’t help either. We visited in September and had quite a lot of rain, quite a bit of seagrass along the beach and rough sea with water that wasn’t particularly clear during our stay.
But the beaches themselves are beautiful, we ate some good food and we loved the quiet, green area where we stayed.
It did end up being our least favourite of the places we visited along the Kenyan coast, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t enjoy our time here. Diani simply didn’t click with us in quite the same way as some of our later stops.
We’re glad we included it in our trip, and four nights felt about right for us.
From Diani, we headed back north and continued our journey along the Kenyan coast to Kilifi, where we’d be staying for the next two weeks.