Abduljabbar Ali You are in Mombasa for a day, but you want to get the most out of it. It can be super tricky to explore the city to the fullest.
To get the most out of Mombasa city you need at least 3 days. But since you have limited time, let me share how you can maximize your day in Mombasa.
Read also; 3 Days Mombasa Itinerary On A Budget
You still can do a lot within a day in Mombasa but you have to be supercharged to move around.
If you are the kind of person who visits a place and gets caught up in admiring it — you won’t cover much in Mombasa.
So, let me assume your day starts at about 6 am. This means you typically have less than 14 hours to explore the city because you will also need rest.
You have from 6 am to 8:30 pm, let us make it count.
THIS IS HOW TO SPEND YOUR DAY IN MOMBASA;
6 am to 8 am | Wake up early to catch the sunrise at the closest beach.
The first thing I recommend you do is catch the sunrise at the nearest public beach you can get to.
I can’t think of a better way to start your day in Mombasa than this — the warmth of the sun on your face, walking along the shore barefoot, and if possible a swim in the calm water is going to start your day with a bang.
You don’t have to walk along the shore if you think it will exhaust you since you race for the entire day moving from place to place.
Just sit on the white sand and enjoy the view while listening to your favorite playlist.
Enjoy the sunrise and when it’s heating up, prepare yourself to leave the beach.
You need to get a heavy breakfast to give you the energy to explore the city. But if you feel that you have the energy to carry you on from you this early in the morning until the afternoon then don’t bother eating anything.
Read also; 6 Top Public Beaches In Mombasa
The first thing you should do is prepare yourself to start moving around the city seeing and doing things.
You have limited time, so you have to make the most out of it.
I advise you to get some cash early in advance or ensure that you have a Safaricom sim card with cash in it.
It will be easier to make payments via M-PESA or to withdraw cash on the go without wasting time.
If you will be exploring Kenya for a while, M-Pesa services will come in handy, so keep that Safaricom line on your phone always.
You are going to move a lot during the day via tuk-tuks and matatus, to get around Mombasa.
Having cash in hand or your Safaricom sim card is going to save you time when making payments.
Also the chances of you losing your money while on the go are going to be slim.
Using public means of transport is the easiest and cheapest way to move around Mombasa, especially for those who are traveling on a budget trying to save money.
Read also; 11 Ways To Save Money While Travelling
8:30 am to 11 am | Get a tour of Fort Jesus and Explore Mombasa’s Old Town.
You haven’t truly explored Mombasa until you visit Fort Jesus — this is one of the biggest tourist attractions that everyone who visits the city for the first time must tour.
If you want to learn the historical heritage of Mombasa and how it came to be the way it is right now, you need to tour the Fort.
Make sure that in every destination that you visit, you make time to learn something about the history of that location.
You will learn everything you can about the existence of the Portuguese and the Arabs who later took charge of Mombasa.
It’s through touring Fort Jesus, you will learn a little bit about the Swahili civilization and a little bit about their administration in Mombasa.
If you are within Mombasa CBD I recommend you get a tuktuk ride to Fort Jesus.
Read also; 7 Best Areas To Stay In Mombasa
That’s the fastest way of getting there on time to avoid the large crowds at the entrance starting from 9:30 am.
So, to keep time ensure that by 8:30 am you have paid for your entry ticket and you are within Fort Jesus touring.
The entrance fee to Fort Jesus is Ksh 1200 for foreigners while citizens pay Ksh 200.
I recommend you get a tour guide who is going to take you through Fort Jesus and explain to you everything you need to know.
It’s the same tour guide who will take you around Mombasa’s old town.
After Fort Jesus, don’t make a point of rushing to another destination without exploring the old town.
Read also; 5 Things To Do In Mombasa Old Town (After Fort Jesus)
The beauty of the streets of Mombasa is hidden within the old town.
If you want to go back in time, take a tour of Mombasa’s old town, see the architectural designs of the buildings standing from the 1930s, and learn something about the Swahili people.
You will also come across the Arabs who are still highly populated in this area of Mombasa.
A location is clearly defined by the people living there, exploring Mombasa’s old town will give you an authentic picture of how things role there.
It’s also a great thing to have a tour guide who is going to take you around the streets so as not to waste so much time navigating by yourself.
The streets of Mombasa’s old town are a maze, even the Google Map can confuse you.
Another important thing you should also consider is your safety.
Deep within Mombasa’s old town, the streets are Dodgy, you need a local guide who understands the area better to keep you safe.
Read also; How To Stay Safe When Travelling In Mombasa (Kenya)
As you are exploring the streets of Mombasa’s old town, you need to keep your eye on time.
Wasting so much time within a single spot is going to cost you the day trip — you won’t manage to reach other areas.
11:15 am to 12:00 pm | Hang out at Mama Ngina Waterfront.
After you are done exploring Mombasa’s old town, you now need to head to Mama Ngina Waterfront.
You need to see the Ferry before you leave Mombasa. You will be able to do that when you get to Mama Ngina.
This is another famous hang-out spot that is usually crowded with locals and tourists.
This park is worth a visit because it has an incredible view of the Indian Ocean and the other side of the Island.
There are so many things to do at Mama Ngina Waterfront — since you have a limited time let me list down for you some of the activities you should do.
This is what to do at Mama Ngina Waterfront in Mombasa;
- Try horse riding.
- Walk around the park.
- Watch the Ferry crossing people to Likoni and to the Island.
- Try typically Mombasa street foods at the park.
- Take a picture of the pigeon towers.
- Chill and catch the breeze of the Indian Ocean.
- Enjoy the spectacular view of the coral reefs by the shore.
Read also; 10 Things To Do At Mama Ngina Waterfront In Mombasa
Make sure you enjoy your time at the park because this is a one-in-a-moment opportunity you will get while on Mombasa Island.
Don’t forget to capture some amazing photos of the Waterfront.
If you want to learn historical facts about the park you will come across facts board along the rails.
The fact boards will help you understand why some structures still exist up to date.
You will be blown away by what you will learn here because it connects to what you learned about Mombasa while you were in Fort Jesus.
I almost forgot an important point to mention. It’s free to enter and explore Mama Ngina Waterfront — don’t let anyone tell you that you have to pay to access the park.
You don’t need a tour guide to take you around the park.
But you will have to pay for the activities you will do at the park.
12:30 pm to 2:20 pm | Visit the Tusk Monuments and Try Street Foods.
When you are done hanging out and having fun at Mama Ngina Waterfront, you need to head to Mombasa CBD to explore a little bit of the prominent streets and try some street food.
You haven’t fully seen Mombasa unless you see and touch the tusk monuments.
To get to the Tusk monuments (Pembe-mbili) you will have to take a tuktuk from Mama Ngina Waterfront to the CBD.
The monument is also one of the biggest tourist attractions in Mombasa — it holds a rich historical heritage of the city.
So, leaving Mombasa without seeing these tusk monuments it will make you feel like your trip is incomplete.
Since you don’t have enough time to explore the city — moving around as you are getting to the tusks it will give you an impression of how the streets in the CBD hold up.
Every person who visits Mombasa for the first time visits this iconic piece to take some videos and photos.
Seeing them in pictures and videos it’s another story. Get closer to them and this will give you the satisfaction of a trip well done.
Next to the tusk monuments, there is a garden called Uhuru, you can chill there for a few minutes to catch your breath before you start exploring the streets.
Walk around the garden, see the bats hanging from the trees, and grab some videos and photos if you want to.
Ensure you keep time because you still have other places to see throughout the city.
You are along Moi Avenue for now. If you prefer you can walk to Haile Selassie Avenue to see the Shree Cutch Satsang Swaminarayan temple because you are just closer to it.
After seeing the temple you can head further and connect to Jomo Kenyatta Avenue (one of the beautiful streets in Mombasa) where you will try some street foods.
Along Jomo Kenyatta just around Nawal Center, you will come across so many street foods being sold there.
I took you to this street because I want you to try Shawarma (one of the best street foods in Mombasa) first before you think of eating anything else.
Of course, there are so many other street foods you will come across like bajia, samosa, viazi karai, vitumbua and so many more.
Walk along Jomo Kenyatta Avenue and connect to Digo Road. Opposite Mackinnon market (marikiti) you will see more street foods there.
You will also get coconut drinks at that point — it’s important to stay hydrated while exploring Mombasa, the temperatures are super high.
Take this opportunity to try out as many street foods as you can because you need the energy to keep exploring the other side of Mombasa.
After here, you are going out of Mombasa island. The street foods are cheaper and incredible to give you the taste of how Mombasa dishes taste.
This is what exploring is all about — trying new foods and learning the culture of the destination you are exploring.
This part of the street is usually super active because it’s around the market, make sure it doesn’t take so much of your time.
You still have other places to explore before the sun sets.
2:30 pm to 4:30 pm | Get to Haller Park to see the feeding programs.
Once you are done with the street foods in Mombasa CBD you need to take a matatu (a shift from the tuktuk) and tell the conductor to drop you at Haller Park.
Haller Park is an amazing park that is a must-visit when you are in Mombasa.
Everyone who wants to connect with nature — take a moment away from the heat of Mombasa and get to see animals, Haller Park is a go-to place.
You should explore Haller Park, feed the giraffes, and see the hippopotamus and crocodile being fed.
This is what takes people to Haller Park when they visit Mombasa.
If you want to feed the giraffes and see snakes, fish, crocodiles, monkeys, oryxes, and tortoises, you should go to Haller Park.
The place is worth a visit since it offers an unforgettable experience — I first got so close to the giraffes when I went to Haller Park.
Felt the giraffe’s tongue all over my palm while I was feeding it. It’s something I’ll live to tell my grandkids some days.
The best time to visit Haller Park is from 2 pm. The feeding program of the giraffes starts at 2:45 pm and you will finish with the thrill of the crocodiles at 4:30 pm.
In between the waiting point and walking around the park, there are still amazing things you can learn.
Don’t forget to enter the reptile park, and learn something about the collection of snakes they have there.
The entrance fee of Haller Park is Ksh 600 for the citizens while foreigners pay Ksh 1400, it’s worth the money.
4:50 pm to 5:40 pm | Catch the sunset with Giraffes at Nguuni Nature Sanctuary.
You have gotten to interact with the giraffes at Haller Park, you may be wondering why I am taking you to another nature park.
Nguuni Nature Sanctuary is another hidden gem that offers more than the giraffe’s sighting — it has incredible grounds to hang out and escape from the chaos of the city.
Read also; 8 Best Hang Out Places In Mombasa (6 Free + 2 Pay)
I will always revisit Nguuni Nature Sanctuary whenever I am in Mombasa because it’s one of the unique parks.
This park is located at Bamburi Kiembeni, 17 minutes drive from Haller Park (4.7 km).
If you are going to come across a traffic jam, it will take about half an hour to get there. The jam is common during the evening hours since everyone is rushing to his or her home.
This is when the businesses in the streets of Bamburi are super active — you will get to see how the locals handle their businesses.
A lot of street foods are sold during this time of the hour, the ones you tried while you were in Mombasa CBD were a few.
Anyway, the task at hand, you are heading to Nguuni Nature Sanctuary for now, you don’t have time for stops because you are chasing the sunset hours.
The evening hours in Mombasa are chaotic in the streets, but when you get to Nguuni everything changes.
All the noises are canceled — you will only hear birds chirping, the air is so fresh and clean and the view is just that of a Maasai Mara Vibe.
To enter Nguuni Nature Sanctuary you will have to pay Ksh 1000 if you are a non-citizen for the citizens they pay Ksh 400.
The park is larger, once you pay for your ticket at the entrance, you will still have to walk a few minutes deep within the park to get to the setting point where the giraffes are fed in the evening hours.
If you are lucky enough while walking deep into the park, you might come across oryxes and giraffes along the way.
They graze around the entire park but during evenings they get to the feeding point.
At Nguuni Nature Sanctuary, you should expect to see tortoises, ostrich, oryxes, and giraffes.
There are also camping grounds you will see when you walk around the area if you were staying for more than a day and you want a night in the wild, you would have booked your spot here.
I went to Nguuni Nature Sanctuary in search of adventure but I found a hidden gem there.
Enjoy the park, take photos and videos with giraffes, and don’t forget to walk around to see the swamp that is within.
6 pm to 7:30 pm | Spoil yourself at City Mall and head back to Mombasa CBD for a night walking tour.
It’s now time to get out of the park and head to the city. You need to change the scene a little bit.
From nature to modernity. Since you are still exploring Mombasa City, you should visit City Mall — it’s one of the biggest malls in town.
Enter the mall walk around and see what you can buy before you hit the road to the next destination.
Since it’s getting late, you should also take the opportunity to spoil yourself with an amazing meal.
A change from the street foods of Mombasa to something fancy to wrap up your day in Mombasa.
You will find the creamy Inn on the left side of the entrance — while you are there you can get ice cream, chips chicken, pizza, and other meals.
Outside the mall, there are still other restaurants you can go to if you want a different taste of dishes.
Eat heavy because I will take you back to the CBD of Mombasa for a night walking tour.
You need to see the city during the night hours and see how everything is before you leave.
If time isn’t on your side, you should take away the food. Put it in your backpack, you will deal with it when you are in the comfort of your hotel or Airbnb.
I don’t recommend exploring at night because it’s kinda unsafe, especially in areas like Kisauni, Bamburi, and Old Town.
Read also; Is It Safe To Walk In Mombasa, Kenya?
Take a matatu or tuktuk to Mombasa town. Once you have been dropped off around the Jomo Kenyatta Avenue junction that connects to Digo Road — take a walk along Jomo Kenyatta Road.
You can also walk along Digo Road until around the Post Office. This will give you an impression of how the city operates during night hours.
I earlier recommended you walk along Jomo Kenyatta Avenue because this street is beautiful at night — there are neon lights in the middle of the road that make the entire street flashy.
Don’t wander too deep within a narrow street at night. Just use the main roads, it’s safer that way.
At about 8 pm the streets are still super active especially the areas around the market and Biashara streets.
But at 9 pm the streets start to get quieter, during this time you should be already in your hotel or Airbnb.
I don’t recommend you wander solo that late in the streets of Mombasa unless you have a group of people with you.
8:30 pm | Get back to your stay | You are done with your day trip in Mombasa.
At 8:30 pm you should be heading back to your hotel or Airbnb — you are surely tired, and you need to rest sufficiently to prepare yourself for the next journey.
You have done so much for a day in Mombasa, I know it hasn’t been easy for you.
This is the thrill of exploring, you get to your Airbnb super exhausted but deep down you feel that it’s worth it.
If you have managed to explore every side of Mombasa I have shared in this article, you have outdone yourself.
You have gotten the most out of your day in Mombasa. Next time revisit and do the things that you haven’t managed to do.
Lastly…
This is how you should spend a day in Mombasa — if you have done everything I have shared with you in this article you have done much.
Though there are other sides you haven’t explored, but what you did gave you the impression of how Mombasa is.
This is how Mombasa holds up, it can get super chaotic and calm depending on the month you visit.
It’s usually chaos during festive seasons.
Read also; What Is The Best Month To Visit Mombasa?
There are usually a lot of things going on in the city but that is when things get a little bit expensive.
You should try to visit Mombasa during Iddul-Fitr (the celebration marking the end of fasting of the holy month – Ramadhan) that’s when the streets are super alive.
What you should know is that Mombasa holds the largest population of Muslims.
Related reads;
