Think of eighty five degrees, soft sand in your toes and peace. The tranquil tickling of cool water sprayed wind, caressing your fore head as you sip a glass of chilled white wine. You watch the beach boy in the distant shallows anchoring his small raft-like structure and you begin to slowly drift into a world of no work and no cold. You start day dreaming about how you might stay here forever and how you could even withdraw your pension in the years to come from the ATM along the Nyali road. All you would need, surely, is your laptop and a good internet connection! That’s it, you’ll work remotely! “Jambo jambo” awakens you as the new waiter takes over from the one serving you up until now. Gladys did say goodbye but you were too deep into your dream to hear her.
That was just a five minute clip of what will happen to you at some point during your stay in Mombasa, Kenya. Once you arrive at Mombasa airport you’ll feel free and relaxed. Of course the heat will greet you in no small amounts but the airport is open plan and you walk straight from the aircraft, across the tarmac, to where you collect your bags. It’s quite a refreshing experience because you can more or less see the whole process normally hidden in large airports. You may well be walking alongside the vehicle carrying your baggage, hop on if you’re feeling lazy. Just kidding! When you pass through customs you’ll be surprised how hassle free the experience is. Well, that has always been my experience, perhaps because I’ve always flown internally from Nairobi, so all major security has been carried out. I’m a bit of an adventurer in that way and always spend at least a night or two in Nairobi before flying to Mombasa. I love how the comparison feels.
Big Daddy - Man Eating Croc @ Mamba Village
Visit Mamba Village Crocadile Farm and taste some Crocadile meat before it tastes you.
Anyway, we’ll save Nairobi for another blog. Just be aware that most flights by the major airlines fly via Nairobi and the aircraft transfer is not automatic. By this I mean you have to collect your own bags and ferry them across the airport road to the internal terminal. This actually isn’t as bad as it sounds but just so that you don’t go to the connecting terminal thinking that your bags will follow you. They will not.
Leave the exit gates of the airport terminal and feel like you are in very civilized outdoor marketplace. You may start to feel that it is you that is on sale as each of the Taxi firms try to latch you in eye contact to win your business. They make assumptive gestures to win your trade and promise you the very best prices. This is where you must put your bargaining hat on and fear nothing. I have had a fare dropped from £30 down to under £5. Don’t be shy to move to the next vendor for a better price and please, don’t be scared to make ridiculous offers to test their movement. Believe me when I tell you that 99.9% of the time the first price you hear will be far from what you should or could pay.
Now, any stay in Mombasa should cover the North Coast, where you’ll find Mombasa town itself and of course, the South Coast. In both cases, you’ll want to be close to the water, although internal towns are always worth visiting but when you think that you have the rest of inland Kenya to explore, why go inland when you’re in Mombasa? Your first port of call, after the toilet, will probably want to be your hotel. Now, depending on your budget and class, there are many hotels to choose from I’m sure and there are also lodgings available for those who like to travel on a shoe string budget. Straight from the airport you should be heading for Bamburi beach where most of the hotels are found. Now, the Serena Beach and Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort are probably considered as amongst the top hotels along Bamburi beach so I didn’t even consider them. I could not even imagine that they would impress me when it comes to my Dollar: Quality score. I love quality and love first class accommodation, but I hate being ripped off. If you are of presidential calibre then of course you would want the guaranteed security that these hotels offer but otherwise, your money would be better spent elsewhere. But that’s just me.
The first hotel I gave a chance to was the Severin Sea Lodge in Bamburi Beach. This is classed as a 5 star hotel but is smaller than the other two mentioned earlier. We had pre-booked a superior room because I like to experience the best a place has to offer first (if I can afford it) and if that cannot make me happy, then I will vacate the establishment altogether. Less time wasted. It was around Valentine’s Day when we arrived and I remember being pleasantly surprised by the airiness of the superior room, although I felt that there was something missing. I couldn’t really see the Ocean. Superior rooms do not have an Ocean view! What is the point in being in a Paradise on the beach on Valentine’s Day, with your loved one and you’ve paid for a superior room with no Ocean view? Anyway, the Hennessy VSOP that I picked up in Duty Free soon made me forget about that. To get close to the beach we had to walk through the hotel, either through the bar or lobby and passed the pool, then the Comfort rooms….Hold on, those rooms are cheaper and they have an Ocean view. At least, some type of Ocean view even if they are not literally sitting on the beach. Off I went to reception in my usual ‘I feel like I’ve been hard done by’ huff. Reception found a way of convincing me that the room I had was the best room even if it was located next to the engineering workshop. They informed me that the rooms that I was talking about do not even have TV’s and are less comfortable. But they looked cute and round, so anyway, I shut up, for now.
Swing Bar
My view from Swing Bar - I should have been a Photographer!
The best parts of the Hotel by far are the staff, except reception, and the Swing Bar! Boy, did I spend until sunset and then some at that bar. The view was to die for and I couldn’t work out why I was hearing German more than Swahili. Was it the ice cold Tusker (Kenyan) beer translating the Swahili into German? Or do Germans love this place (Mombasa) as much as I do?
Okay, the first time I was easy on them. The second time I was not so easily appeased. Our room was on the top floor and with no elevator so my then pregnant wife struggled with the stairs. We managed to get transferred to the ground floor but the room was damp and the service changed immediately. Each day the room cleaning appeared to decrease until it appeared to not be cleaned at all. For the money we were now paying for this superior room this should not be.
Anyway, with my vexed mood we went for a walk down Nyali Road towards a bar/restaurant called ‘Big Tree’ which boasts the standard open-sided, thatched roof construction - lovely and peaceful location overlooking the beach. If you ever get there make sure to try the chicken noodle soup. You can reach it by turning off the Nyali Road, to the left, just by the first gas station after the Bamburi branch of Barclays bank. First, you’ll see a Bar called ‘Cheers’ which is famous (perhaps notoiously at nights) for its vibrant atmosphere and snacks. You’ll follow signs for ‘Big Tree’ although they’re not so easy to see as they look hand painted and on the way (I’ll now let you into why I took you down this back street), you’ll see the entrance to a hidden diamond, never even mentioned on the travel sites.
Pa Pweza Adamsville Beach Suites – wow, I was impressed!
We found it by mistake on the way to ‘Big Tree’. We just saw the great gate at the front closing as we passed and I caught a glimpse. I thought it was a mansion but then saw the sign post – so understated. I managed to get in and was converted on the way across the car park to reception. I mean, I could see the Ocean as I walked, through the reception seating area and across the beautifully landscaped gardens. Cut a very long story short – they are suites, forget piddly little rooms with dampness, and for half the price.
They have 1, 2 and 3 bedroom suites each with ensuite facilities, kitchen, living room and veranda to every room. The rates are 9′400ksh, 12′400ksh and 22′200ksh respectively. By todays exchange rate (17th July 2009) that is about £75, £99 and £177 respectively. These prices are off peak prices and I normally travel off-peak anyway. Check out their website for peak time rates but I can asure you that they are far cheaper than most places of tourist calibre. There’s even internet connection for next to nothing for your whole stay. I’ll stop now, but I will say – GET ROOM 201 – when I’m not there of course. It’s an end room and although most rooms have a Ocean view (imagine, not even superior) the end rooms have direct, sniff the Ocean priviledges. Awesome and staff are great. I will sing this establishments praises because they deserve it. Yes, I had a few issues which I made sure that they sorted out but the overall experience was amazing. We went from a superior room for over £150 pounds a night, damp decor and no privacy, to a 2 bedroom suite with ensuit this and veranda that for under £100. We even invited friends to stay with us so we had six in our suite all with privacy for a under £100.
For reservations call +254 (041) 5480340 You can tell them that I sent you (Jay from Gifted Travel) and that you want room 201. Not early November though because I’ll be in it – sorry! Visit their website for more rates and information:
We’ve run out of space for this blog but look out for Part 2 where we look at the south coast, where to eat and where to party, amongst other exciting things.
You can find direct flights to Mombasa from selected airports aboard charter flights but not, so far as I am aware of, by any airlines directly, at least not from the UK. For top notch advice on all of these points check out www.dialaflight.co.uk. If you are calling, which I strongly urge you to for a comprehensive, real time assistance: +44 1732 593086 and ask for Cat. Tell her that I told you to call. You can do all your other research first and then call them or call them first. You will not be disappointed. I used to call them last and they, 98% of the time, beat the prices that I had already found and 2% of the time they matched them. I would not recommend them otherwise.
Until next time – Jay
