Safari and beach: Zanzibar or the Kenyan coast?

Why end a safari on the beach?

A safari is wonderful and tiring: early starts, long hours in a vehicle and the concentration of watching. A few days by the sea gives the experience time to settle, and suits honeymooners, families and anyone who wants to finish a long journey slowly. It also makes the most of a long-haul flight, adding a different landscape without another international journey.

The choice is usually between Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania, and the Kenyan coast. In our catalogue the answer is simple for now: our beach journeys that name a destination all go to Zanzibar. The Kenyan coast is a tailor-made request.

Zanzibar

Zanzibar is part of the United Republic of Tanzania, and Tanzania’s immigration service confirms that one visa covers a visit to both the mainland and Zanzibar; it asks applicants to name their first destination when they apply. Five journeys in our catalogue include the islands, from 8 to 15 days, combining them with a Tanzania safari or with both Kenya and Tanzania. Since 1 October 2026, visitors also need Tanzania’s government inbound travel insurance, bought once for the first point of entry: from the National Insurance Corporation if the journey starts on the mainland, or the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation if you fly straight to the islands.

The Kenyan coast

Kenya Wildlife Service manages a chain of marine parks and reserves along the coast. It describes Watamu Marine National Park and Reserve as home to Kenya’s “Marine Big Five”, sea turtles, whale sharks, dolphins, whales and billfish, with coral gardens, Mida Creek and the Gede Ruins, a historic Swahili settlement, nearby. On the south coast, Diani Chale Marine National Reserve protects reefs, mangroves and turtle nesting grounds, and Kisite-Mpunguti, which it calls the home of the dolphins, protects three coral islands.

• Watamu: reef-protected lagoons and the “Marine Big Five”.
• Mombasa Marine National Park and Reserve: coral gardens and seabird colonies, including internationally significant numbers of crab plovers and roseate terns.
• Diani Chale: reefs, mangroves, seagrass and turtle nesting grounds in Kwale County.
• Kisite-Mpunguti: coral rag islands, dolphins and an Important Bird Area.

Kenya Wildlife Service describes the coast as warm and humid. None of our catalogue journeys includes it yet, so if the Kenyan coast appeals, ask whether it can be added to a tailor-made route.

Kenya’s “Twin Migration”

Kenya Wildlife Service describes Watamu as hosting the seasonal humpback whale migration, the marine half of what it calls Kenya’s “Twin Migration”, coinciding with the annual wildebeest migration on land. The Mara Conservancy says the wildebeest usually reach the Maasai Mara around June or July and stay until about November. We have no official month-by-month calendar for the whales, so we do not promise them on any date.

Zanzibar or the Kenyan coast?

• Zanzibar

  The natural choice after a Tanzania safari, already built into five of our journeys, with one visa covering the mainland and the islands.

• The Kenyan coast

  A natural choice after a Kenya safari, especially one that ends in Tsavo, with marine parks managed by Kenya Wildlife Service. It needs a tailor-made request.

Let the safari decide the beach. If your journey ends in northern Tanzania, Zanzibar is the obvious extension; if it ends in southern Kenya, the Kenyan coast may be closer. Ask us how the last safari day connects to the coast before you choose, and how long that travel day will be.

How many nights by the sea?

Our beach journeys run from 8 to 15 days, and the number of beach nights differs from journey to journey; it is confirmed with us when you plan. As a guide, allow enough nights to rest after the travel day: a single night by the sea is mostly a transfer.

Packing for safari and sea

A safari-and-beach trip needs two wardrobes in one bag: layers and neutral colours for early game drives, and light clothes, sun protection and swimwear for the coast. If your journey includes a light-aircraft flight, check the luggage limit first, because it may decide how much beach kit you can bring. Pack a modest cover-up too, for towns and villages near the coast, and ask about the dress code at your hotel.

What to ask before you book

• How do we travel from the safari to the beach: by road or by air, and on which day?
• How many nights do we spend at the beach, and where?
• What is included at the beach: meals, transfers, activities?
• Are there luggage limits on any flight between the safari and the coast?
• Do we need any additional entry documents for the route? (For Zanzibar, one Tanzanian visa and one Tanzanian insurance policy cover both.)