A small, sleepy town with a generally low-key atmosphere, comprised of ramshackle, low-rise concrete buildings offering little to tourists. Although it is a Giriama tribal centre, it has an international flavour owing to the fact that the town is "nirvana" for the sailing fraternity, with huge yachts moored in the creek. The "yachties" mingle with the old British Kenyan settlers who have built up a small community of retirement homes along the creek and coast. There is the possibility of terrorist attacks on tourists in Kenya; Foreign Office advisory notices offer the latest official advice and should be consulted before booking.

Package tourists wanting to go off the beaten track, seeking local colour and interested in water sports.

Very basic lodgings in town, with more salubrious choices along either side of the creek towards the lake. Three large upmarket oceanside beach hotels to the E, with another on the S side of the creek.

Breathtaking white powder beaches stretch for miles beneath high cliffs of coral rock to the oceanside NE of town; good snorkelling just off shore. Beaches along the creek are not as attractive and the creek can become murky at times. Beach facilities, where there are any, are exclusively provided by hotels. Generally, it is not advisable to wander around on the beaches after dark.

Local, authentic African open-air markets full of fruit and vegetables. Boutiques are only found in hotels.

Daytime: diving, snorkelling and sailing; tennis; 17th-century ruins of Mnarani town on S side of creek include mosque and several pillar tombs. Nightlife: 2 local nightclubs with African music and a Kenyan crowd, plus entertainments offered by resort hotels.

Limited in town to basic eating houses serving chips or ugali (pounded maize meal) with stews or grilled fish; a number of more upmarket places along the creek serving seafood, British and Italian fare. It is not advisable to drink the local water; stick to bottled varieties.

Public buses run up and down the main coast road from Malindi to Mombasa at all hours of the day; beware low-cost "matatus" (pick-up minibuses) which are often overcrowded and in need of repair. Taxis are readily available in the centre of town, but agree the fare before commencing your journey and bargain hard.

Half day: Mombasa; Arabuko-Sokoke Forest (last of the indigenous coastal forests and one of the most important conservation sites in E Africa). Full day: Watamu National Marine Park combined with Gedi ruins (old Swahili town); Malindi town and Malindi National Marine Park; deep-sea fishing. Two days plus: wildlife safaris to Tsavo East National Park and Amboseli National Park (arranged in Malindi).

Halfway up the SE coast, on a creek overlooking the Indian Ocean. 340 mls SE of the capital, Nairobi. 30 mls N of Mombasa. 40 mls S of Malindi. 38 mls S of Malindi airport; 36 mls N of Mombasa's Moi international airport.

Spread along the N shore of the deep-water Kilifi Creek that extends inland and opens out into a small lake. The land either side is undulating and planted with huge baobab trees.

Telephone Area Code: 41

Airport : Moi International
Airport Code: MBA
Flight time from ther U.K.: 10 hrs