Experience the best of Mombasa
Mombasa is Kenya's main port, an old Swahili island city on the Indian Ocean with a Portuguese fort, a narrow old town and palm-lined beaches.
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Mombasa stands on an island joined to the mainland by bridges and a causeway, and it has been a trading port for many centuries, visited by Arab, Persian, Portuguese and Indian merchants. Fort Jesus, a coral-stone fort built by the Portuguese in the 1590s, is listed by UNESCO and stands above the entrance to the old harbour. Behind it, the Old Town has narrow lanes, balconies and carved wooden doors.
Mama Ngina Drive runs along the sea cliff, where families gather in the evening, and the giant tusks over Moi Avenue mark the city's centre. North of the island, the beaches of Nyali and Bamburi line the coast, and Haller Park, a former quarry, has been replanted as a nature park with giraffes and hippos. South of the ferry, Diani Beach and the Shimba Hills reserve lie within an hour or two, and Tsavo East is a day's trip inland.
Swahili cooking is spiced and coconut-rich: pilau rice, biryani, fish in coconut sauce, and mahamri, soft fried bread, are eaten with tea. Street vendors sell cassava chips with chilli and lime, and sweet kaimati dumplings. Sugar-cane juice and fresh coconut cool the afternoons. Heat and humidity last all year, broken by the long rains of April and May.
- 3 skip-the-line tickets
- Free cancellation on 79% of experiences
- Day trips to Diani Beach
Top experiences in Mombasa
Day trips from Mombasa
49
Free cancellation
Nature and wildlife tours in Mombasa
77
Free cancellationSkip the line
Signature experiences in Mombasa
![3 Days(2 nights) Tsavo East Tour & Saltlick (Cost based on minimum 2 persons)]()
Free cancellationSkip the line
Go beyond Mombasa
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Diani Beach · 28 kmKaya Kinondo Sacred Forest
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Zanzibar City · 242 kmNakupenda Beach
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Moshi · 271 kmMateruni Waterfall
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Moshi · 271 kmLake Chala
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Amboseli National Park · 309 kmObservation Hill
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Arusha · 339 kmLake Manyara National Park
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Arusha · 339 kmArusha Cultural Heritage Centre
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Nairobi · 441 kmNairobi National Park
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Nairobi · 441 kmGiraffe Centre
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Naivasha · 516 kmHell's Gate National Park
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Naivasha · 516 kmCrater Lake Game Sanctuary
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Maasai Mara National Reserve · 604 kmMara River
Questions about Mombasa
- What is there to do in Mombasa?
- We list 362 experiences in Mombasa. The largest groups are day trips (54), city tours (15).
- What is the most popular experience in Mombasa?
- By number of traveller reviews it is "Walking Tour Through Old Town Mombasa and Fort Jesus", rated 4.9 out of 5 from 465 reviews.
- How long do tours and tickets in Mombasa take?
- The typical experience in Mombasa lasts about 48 hours; the middle half run between 7 hours and 72 hours.
- Can I cancel a booking in Mombasa?
- The operator lists free cancellation on 79% of the 362 experiences we hold for Mombasa. The cut-off differs by experience and is shown on each product page before you choose a date.
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