Skip to content

Explore the fieldnotes

Coast and island travel guides

Explore East Africa's coast and islands, from beach-base decisions to marine habitats, heritage and onward connections.

The coast offers more than a beach finish. Towns, creeks, forests, reefs and ordinary village life can each give a stay its focus. Use these guides to choose an actual base and a clearly described experience, then consider the connections and changing water conditions. A marine excursion is a separate arrangement from the beach outside your room.

21 guides · Page 1 of 2

Kenya Route ideas

A 10-day Kenya safari-and-coast idea

Nine nights split between Amboseli, Diani and Nairobi, with two full wildlife days and three full days at the coast.

Zanzibar, Tanzania Route ideas

A 10-day Tanzania safari-and-Zanzibar idea

Nine nights pairing Tarangire and Ngorongoro with Stone Town and two full beach days, with a separate day for the island connection.

Zanzibar, Tanzania Journey inspiration

Choosing where to stay in Zanzibar

Choose a Zanzibar base through the geography of Unguja, the days you want to spend there and the practical difference between a coastal area and a particular room.

Pale sand and shallow water at Diani, with colorful kites and palms along the beach.

Kenya Places to explore

Diani travel guide: shape a coastal stay around your own pace

Plan a Diani stay through beach access, downtime, conservation learning and the practical choices that make a coastal base work.

Canoe and pedal boat beside a grassy Lake Muhazi shore, with cultivated hills across the water.

Rwanda Places to explore

Lake Muhazi: paddling, lakeside meals and where to stay

Compare specific Muhazi shores and hosted experiences, from a reserved day pass to an overnight meal and paddle among the lake’s branching arms.

Green wooded hillside descending to a narrow Lake Tanganyika shore, seen across clear blue-green water.

Tanzania Places to explore

Lake Tanganyika: choosing Kigoma, Kipili or the southern shore

Compare Kigoma shore stays, Kipili island outings and Kalambo’s falls, with actual road connections and accommodation distinctions.

Boats and stacked sacks at Lamu’s working waterfront, with people and donkeys beside the shore.

Kenya Places to explore

Lamu travel guide: living heritage and the island journey

Explore Lamu’s waterfront, carved doors and museum collections, with the island geography and current travel advice explained.

A shoebill’s grey head and broad bill rise above dense wetland vegetation at Mabamba.

Uganda Places to explore

Mabamba Wetland: shoebills, papyrus and the boat journey

Understand the shoebill’s feeding habitat, the working wetland and the difference between a Nakiwogo transfer and a Mabamba birding excursion.

Mafia Island shoreline with mangroves, palms, a small boat and thatched shelters beside calm water.

Tanzania Places to explore

Mafia Island Marine Park: Chole Bay, reefs and whale-shark waters

Separate Chole Bay diving from Kilindoni whale-shark outings, and understand the reefs, seagrass and tidal channels behind a Mafia stay.

Kenya Places to explore

Mombasa and the Kenyan coast: fit city heritage into the beach plan

Explore Fort Jesus’s bastions, prison cells and museum, then follow Mombasa Old Town’s streets on a coastal visit.

Orange-and-white Kenya Railways passenger coaches beside the platform at Mombasa Terminus.

Kenya Practical travel

Nairobi to Mombasa by train: booking, terminals and coastal transfers

Plan the Madaraka Express journey from your Nairobi address to your coastal hotel, including service choice, identity checks and official ticket arrangements.

Zanzibar, Tanzania Places to explore

Nungwi and Kendwa: beach-area planning

Compare north-coast stays through their actual waterfront, evening programme and activity arrangements, without treating Nungwi or Kendwa as a swimming guarantee.

Zanzibar, Tanzania Places to explore

Paje and Jambiani: kite lessons, sailing and seaweed

Discover east-coast Zanzibar through Paje’s kite schools, Jambiani’s sailing options and a seaweed-production visit.

East Africa Journey inspiration

Planning an East Africa honeymoon

Choose the privacy you want, balance safari days with time together and compare room upgrades with experiences you will actually use.

East Africa Travel comparisons

Safari and beach: choose the Kenya coast or Zanzibar by the whole journey

Work backward from the beach days you want to compare coast locations, heritage interests and the transfers after safari.

Zanzibar, Tanzania Practical travel

Safari plus Zanzibar: sequence the whole journey

Compare safari-first and Zanzibar-first routes through actual arrival points, camp airstrips, luggage movements and usable time in Stone Town and at the beach.

Blue water beside a low rocky shoreline, trees and thatched roofs in the Watamu area.

Kenya Places to explore

Watamu travel guide: reef, creek and Swahili history

Choose Watamu through its marine landscape, Mida Creek, Gedi and conservation learning, with realistic water-activity expectations.

East Africa Journey inspiration

When to visit East Africa: weather, wildlife and travel tradeoffs

Choose travel dates by the places and activities on your route, with clear distinctions between climate patterns and forecasts.

Zanzibar, Tanzania Travel comparisons

Zanzibar snorkelling and marine excursions

Compare managed reef visits and mixed dhow outings through actual access, guiding, participation and environmental practice.

Zanzibar, Tanzania Practical travel

Zanzibar tides: what they mean for beach plans

Understand water level, tidal range and current as different pieces of information, then apply them to a specific Zanzibar beach or activity.

Your next chapter

Big dreams.
A personal beginning.

A destination in mind, or just a feeling? Tell us what you’re imagining.

Plan My Trip ↗