Abduljabbar Ali January is when Mombasa is still calming down from vigorous activities that left the city on fire in December.
Most of the things are still running on the December vibe — the only difference is that the festive seasons are over and the city is turning into a new chapter of the year.
Read also; Is December A Good Time To Visit Mombasa?
If you are thinking that visiting Mombasa in January is going to be good for you, let me share something you have no idea of.
In this article, I will give you a summary of how Mombasa holds up in January for you to understand why it’s not a good idea to visit during this time of the year.
Read also; What Is The Best Month To Visit Mombasa?
Visiting Mombasa in January is like visiting a location where a party was held last night early in the morning — everything seems messy, untidy, and confusing.
This is the same case that applies when you visit the city in January.
Is January a good month to visit Mombasa?
January is not a good month to visit Mombasa if you are traveling on a budget since it’s still a peak season. Also, most of the internal festivals are over, the city is dull and it’s when people are working on bringing the dead city back to light by bringing things back in order.
The city vibe in January isn’t calling at all because locals consider this the hardest month of the year.
They have to hustle to take their kids back to school — so much money is spent on traveling in and out of the cities.
Those who closed their business in December are when they are reopening them, it’s just serious business everywhere.
How Mombasa holds up in January;
1. It is still a peak season.
The surprising thing is that you expect January to be a low season in Mombasa, but it’s the opposite.
Don’t let anyone lie to you that in January things are cheaper in Mombasa because the festive seasons are over.
Indeed, all festivities that were happening in December are over, but the price tag of most activities and things is still higher.
So, if you visit Mombasa in January you are likely to spend so much money yet you won’t have an amazing experience compared to the people who visited the city in December.
Those who were in Mombasa in December surely spent so much money since it was a peak season but at the same time, they managed to see and do a lot of things.
If you visit Mombasa in January you don’t have much to do and see since the internal festivals are over, you are only left with the beaches and historical sites.
January in Mombasa is still a peak season because many people who visited the city in December are still in their hotels.
People are cooling off the steam of exhaustion during the last days of December in Mombasa.
They keep spending so much money because most of them came to Mombasa for vacation — they aren’t backpackers who were traveling on a budget.
Much money is still circulating thus making the price tags of touristic destinations and activities still a bit expensive.
2. The transportation costs are still high.
The means of transportation get super chaotic in January because people are moving in and out of Mombasa.
We still have the tourists who were within the city in December for their holidays — in January it’s when they are all moving out of the city.
This means the number of people traveling via buses, trains, and airplanes is many thus making the cost sky-high.
In Kenya, when the year starts, the students also have to travel to schools thus adding to the number of people traveling in January.
So, if you are traveling to Mombasa in January you have to know that you are going to spend so much on transportation.
You can’t get away from that because people have to travel just like the situation is in December.
People who left Mombasa to other counties and countries for holidays, in January they all come back to the city.
This keeps things busy and chaotic on the transportation side.
It’s during this time of the year in Mombasa when the locals and tourists moving out and coming in would spend so much money without thinking twice.
We have other people with businesses in Mombasa and they wouldn’t want to be left out.
So, you get why I am telling you that traveling to Mombasa in January is going to be super expensive.
But once you get within the city you won’t have to spend so much moving around, though you should expect chaos and traffic jams on the major roads taking people out and into the city.
3. The accommodation prices are set high.
I gave you a little of an impression of what makes Mombasa expensive to travel to in January — it’s still a peak season, so expect the accommodation to be expensive.
Many tourists who visited Mombasa in December are still occupying most of the amazing accommodations in the city.
It will be super hard for you to find amazing and cheap accommodation around the best areas to stay in Mombasa, like Mombasa town, Nyali, Bamburi, and Tudor.
Read also; 7 Best Areas To Stay In Mombasa
While we still have tourists coming in early January to escape the cold weather from their countries, the city is pretty packed up.
The hotels and apartments facing the beaches are going to be fully booked in January.
In January the temperatures in Mombasa are expected to be high so people make the point of finding these beachfront apartments and hotels early in advance.
With the demand being higher and the hostels and apartments being few the prices are hiked.
The Airbnbs that are around the city center, major recreational facilities, and beaches also tend to set their prices higher because they usually expect so many visitors.
The accommodations you are likely to find are those that are far away from the city center, the beaches, and major tourist attraction sites.
This means you will still have to spend so much moving around just to get from one location to another.
At the end of the day when you make your calculations you will find out that you spent so much money than you anticipated.
4. The city is chaotic.
January in Mombasa is when most people are rushing to get their businesses running again after a few days of festive seasons in December.
We have those who traveled for holidays they are now all rushing back to the city to open up their businesses.
There are a lot of movements in and out of the city to get things back to where they were again.
The tourists leaving and those coming into Mombasa also add to the chaos of the city.
This is not a similar situation that you will experience in December when you are in Mombasa.
In December, it’s the celebration vibe and chaos that hits the city. This is a good moment for anyone visiting Mombasa to enjoy the festivities.
But if you travel to Mombasa in January expecting to get the same energy, you are setting yourself up for failure.
With the large number of people moving in and out of the city, the students traveling, the businesses opening rush, and bringing back the city in order — this is all enough to keep the city crazy and chaotic.
It’s not a good environment for anyone who is visiting Mombasa for the first time because they might hate how the city holds up.
5. The temperatures are super high.
The temperatures in Mombasa are super high in January.
The lowest temperature on average is 23°C while the highest is 33°C on average.
This might be either a good or a bad thing depending on your preference.
We have those who escape the cold weather and enjoy the summer in Mombasa in January.
This in turn brings lots of international tourists to Mombasa in January.
As a result, Mombasa has become a hot spot for most of the tourists running away from the cold winter from their countries.
Lastly…
I don’t see the point of visiting a destination when most of the activities have ceased and yet it continues to be expensive.
January is not a good month to visit Mombasa if you are traveling on a budget — but if you are in for luxury travel, you should visit during this month.
When you visit Mombasa in January, the city vibe won’t be calling for you and you won’t have lots of things to do and see that concerns the culture of the locals other than the beaches and historical sites.
You will spend so much money traveling around Mombasa but you won’t get the same experience compared to someone who visited the city in the best month.
Read also; What Is The Best Month To Visit Mombasa?
If you want a summer in January, you should visit Mombasa because it’s this time of the year when the temperatures are high and you only have 2 days of rainfall on average.
But if you want to visit Mombasa for the sake of learning more about the cultural activities of the locals, see how the locals handle themselves, and experience the internal festivals — January is not a good month for you to visit the city.
Otherwise, the beaches, historical sites, and monuments are still intact, you can still get the most of them if you visit Mombasa in January.
In my opinion, January is not a good month to visit Mombasa because there are fewer activities to see and do, the internal festivals are over, the city vibe has faded, things are expensive unnecessarily and it’s when the city is slowly getting back in shape after a heavy festive period.
Related reads;
