Diani Beach

After breakfast, we decided to head straight to the beach and put off exploring more of Mombasa city for later. The beaches are located either north or south of Mombasa. They’re pretty underdeveloped, which means there aren’t any big cities with boardwalks, hotels, and restaurants. We chose one of the southern beaches called Diani Beach. It’s a cozy little spot with a small town and a handful of restaurants and bars. We decided to stay at Marine Divers Village, which is run by Germans, and they also offered diving trips. A double room was a bit pricey, but it was really charming. The place was right on the beach, next to the most popular beach bar and the coziest cave restaurant. In short, we found ourselves in paradise :) Diani Beach is incredibly beautiful. It’s like a real tropical paradise. We took a long walk along the water, passing by some nice all-inclusive hotels. It actually wasn’t that expensive if we ever felt like trying it out. For lunch, we headed into town and ate at a little English restaurant called Globen. The owner was thrilled because her place had just been featured in Lonely Planet, and she was excited to read about her little spot in the book. We had read a lot about the amazing cave restaurant, Ali Barbour. Luckily, we were staying right next door, so we went over to check it out. The place was absolutely stunning. The restaurant was built into a cave with an open top, allowing us to gaze at the stars while we ate. The walls were raw stone with moss and other plants growing on them. We were lucky enough to snag the last table for the evening. After heading back to our place, we showered and got ready to go to Ali Barbour. By the time we were done, it had gotten dark. But since the restaurant was right next to where we were staying, we were allowed to walk there. Otherwise, it’s strictly forbidden to walk around at night; it’s just too dangerous. On our way to the restaurant, we passed several guards—some of whom were even Maasai warriors. We got one of the best tables in the restaurant with a view of the beautiful starry sky. If it happened to start raining, the restaurant could pull a cover over us. The food was delicious. The wine was served in a cooler. For dessert, they brought it out to our table with flames and everything. We really felt pampered. Compared to Kenyan standards, it was an expensive meal—5000 shillings. Feeling quite full, we strolled the short distance down to the beach, where the popular open-air beach bar, 40 Tyve, was located. There was a gentle breeze flowing through the bar as we sat back and enjoyed our drinks :)