Kenya Beach coast runs for roughly 480 km from Somalia in the North to Tanzania in the South. A fringing reef system and the establishing of effective Marine park reserves have made Kenya an excellent dive location in its own right, but this combined with a Kenya Safari Holiday is what makes Kenya so special.
Mombasa South Coast Dive Sites - Kisite Marine Park & Mpunguti Marine Reserve
The Kisite-Mpunguti marine national park is about 75 miles south of Mombasa in the far south of Kenya. The diving here is not as seasonal as it is further up the coast and local conditions are excellent for much of the year. In Kisite Marine Park and Mpunguti Marine Reserves there have been found around 250 varieties of marine fishes, and over 40 varieties of coral species, including large numbers of pelagic fish, butterfly, parrot, rock cod, angel, manta ray. Turtles, dolphins, reef sharks are also seen. Corals like brain, stag horn, lilac-blue, mushroom, and lavender
Mombasa Marine National Park and Reserve - The Park is 10 km2 while the reserve is 200 km2. Both the park and reserve are the most highly utilized among marine protected areas. The coastline is, in Kenyan terms heavily developed with tourist facilities. The Popular resort area of Bamburi Beach lies within this area. If you are looking for access to great scuba diving as well as accommodation, then this may be the area you are looking for. Bamburi beach is a popular snorkeling and diving location in Kenya.
Malindi - Watamu Marine Reserve
Over 100 species of hard coral have been identified but there are relatively few soft corals due to a combination of wave action and turbulence in the shallow water. Most easily recognizable are the Mushroom corals (Porites) which occur
Surgeonfish, Snappers, Parrotfish, Angelfish, Puffer fish, Butterfly fish, Triggerfish and many, many others offer an unbelievable display of variety and colour. Several types for Ray and occasionally young (and harmless!) Sharks can also be seen. Scuba diving, available at Turtle Bay Beach Club, is very accessible with the outer reef being only 10 minutes boat ride
Best Time to dive - The best time of year to dive most places is November before the short rains start up until March before the long rains begin. In some areas around July and August can become undiveable because of the strong winds. From November through to March diving near Malindi is not great as it is affected by the Galana river and the water literally turns brown and is undiveable on the usual reefs, around July or August is the best time to dive in Malindi.
Diving operators
Kenya has a number of large Diving operators that operate all along the coast. Often one operator will have bases in numerous beach hotels. In Mombasa Buccaneer and Barracuda are the two main operators. Further South on Diani beach there is Diani Marine who make two dive trips daily and as many as six in the high season.
Edwin is a specialist in African Safaris and a tour operator. The tour company he co-owns, African Safaris & Adventures, has presence in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Egypt, Madascar, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Seychelles.
