Mombasa City Tour (Half Day)

Mombasa Coastal Kenya

(Mombasa is the second largest City in Kenya laying next to the Indian Ocean. The total distance from Nairobi, Kenya to Mombasa, Kenya is 274 miles (440 kilometers)

Mombasa Town the Second Largest City in Kenya

Price Per Person

Mombasa City Tour (Tour Duration: Half Day)

Mombasa City Tour half Day takes you to Mombasa Town the second largest city in Kenya, which is on the island, diverse and intriguing population, women in dark bui-bui or wrapped in brilliant multicolored kanga, a visit to Fort Jesus, the old town, Baobab forest, Elephant Tusks and Akamba Woodcraft. On the tour, you will visit the following historical and cultural places: the Fort Jesus, the Mwembe Tayari open-air market, the local bazaars, handicraft carvers, walk through the famous curvy alley-roads and the business district.

Depart from your beach hotel in the morning and drive to Mombasa. Begin the tour with a visit to the Baobab forest along Mama Ngina Drive before proceeding to Fort Jesus Museum built by the Portuguese at the end of the 16th century. It dominates the entrance to Mombasa Harbor and commands good views over the Old Town. The Fort is now a national monument and houses an interesting museum.

Walk through Mombasa the second largest city in Kenya and which is located on an island. It is a steamy, tropical, low-rise city with asymmetrical streets, languid pace, and a diverse and intriguing population. It is mostly a Swahili town and women can be seen chattering by in dark bui-bui or wrapped in brilliant multicolored kanga. Mombasa is also a port and a commercial center and has a long and complex history. Walk through the streets of Old Town up to the Old Port to see the Dhows. The old town is a maze of narrow streets, mosques and crowded buildings, some with impressive carved doors or intricate balconies.

Later visit the Mackinon market, Elephant Tusks and Indian Temple before proceeding to Akamba Woodcraft at Changamwe where you can see the craftsmen at work and select your carvings at the lowest price you can ever get in the world. Afterwards, transfer back to your hotel.

Mombasa City Tour Half Day Price include:

* Price per person

* All entry fees, service charge and taxes

* Visit historical and cultural sites, bazaars, African artisans and art market and Fort Jesus Museum

* Pickup from your hotel in Mombasa - South or North Coast at 0800 hours and drop-off to your hotel

* Professional English speaking guides. All are experts in the African wildlife, culture, and tour guiding, many of who speak other European languages

Mombasa City Tour Half Day does not include:

* Minimum of two persons required

* Tips or gratuity, drinks; travelers insurance; laundry, communication charges, visas

* International airfares and airport taxes; meals, sightseeing not included in the package; optional activities

* Personal expenses such as transfers to/from the airport (supplement airport transfer cost applies for tours starting from the airport)

Mombasa Island

Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya, lying on the Indian Ocean. It has a major port and an international airport. The city is the centre of the coastal tourism industry. The original Arabic name is Mombasa; in Swahili it is called Kisiwa Cha Mvita (or Mvita for short), which means "Island of War", due to the many changes in its ownership. The town is also the headquarters of Mombasa District which, like most other districts in Kenya, is named after its chief town.

The city has a population of 727,842 and is located on Mombasa Island, which is separated from the mainland by two creeks: Tudor Creek and Kilindini Harbor. The island is connected to the mainland to the north by the Nyali Bridge, to the south by the Likoni Ferry and to the west by the Makupa Causeway, alongside which runs the Uganda Railway. The port serves both Kenya and countries of the interior, linking them to the Ocean. The town is served by Moi International Airport.

The town is mainly occupied by the Muslim Mijikenda/Swahili people. Over the centuries, there have been many immigrants and traders who settled in Mombasa, particularly from Iran, the Middle East, Somalia and the Indian sub-continent, who came mainly as traders and skilled craftsmen. Even after four or five generations, their descendants continue to contribute highly to the economy of present day Mombasa and Kenya as a whole.

Traditional dress for the Swahili women is a brightly colored, printed cotton sheet called a kanga, which may have inspirational slogans printed on it. Muslim women wear a covering known as a bui bui, that is traditionally black, along with a head covering called a hijaab, and sometimes wear a veil called a nikab, also known as the "ninja". Men wear a type of sarong, which is colored in bright bands, called a kikoi.

Being a coastal town, Mombasa is characterized by a flat topography. The town of Mombasa is centered on Mombasa Island, but extends to the mainland. The island is separated from mainland by two creeks, Port Reitz in south and Tudor Creek in north.

Mombasa has a warm, tropical climate. Winter months are slightly warmer than summer. The amount of rainfall depends essentially on season. The rainiest months are April and May, while in January to February the rainfall is minimal.

Mombasa is a major trade centre and home to Kenya's only large seaport, the Kilindini Harbor."Kilindini" is an old Swahili term that means "deep". The port is so called because the channel is naturally very deep. Kilindini Harbor is an example of a natural geographic phenomenon called a ria, formed millions of years ago when the sea level rose and engulfed a river that was flowing from the mainland.

Mombasa is the centre of coastal tourism in Kenya. Mombasa Island itself is not a main attraction, although many people visit Old Town and Fort Jesus. North of Mombasa Island is Nyali, Kenyatta, Bamburi, and Shanzu beaches.

South of the town, there is Shelly, Tiwi, and Diani beaches. Several luxury hotels exist on these beaches, while most of cheaper beach hotels are located farther away from the town. Other local industries include an oil refinery and the Bamburi Cement factory.

The exact founding date of the city is unknown, but it has a long history. It must have been already a prosperous trading town in the 12th century. During the pre-modern period, Mombasa was an important centre for the trade in spices, gold, and ivory. Its trade links reached as far as India and China and oral historians today can still recall this period of local history. Throughout the early modern period, Mombasa was a key node in the complex and far reaching Indian Ocean trading networks, its key exports then were ivory, millet, sesamum and coconuts.

In the late pre-colonial period (late 19th century), it was the metropolis of a plantation society, which became dependent on slave labor (sources contradict whether the city was ever an important place for exporting slaves) but ivory caravans remained a major source of economic prosperity. Mombasa became the major port city of pre-colonial Kenya in the Middle Ages and was used to trade with other African port cities, Persia, Arab traders, Yemen and even India.