What's on in Mombasa, Kenya through the year

Peak crowds — Kaskazi, the calm season, Festive season peak

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Kaskazi, the calm season (1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually)), Whale sharks off the coast (1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually)), Festive season peak (18 Dec – 5 Jan (usually))

Peak crowds — Ramadan, Kaskazi, the calm season

• Holiday

  Ramadan

  17 Feb – 19 MarClosures

  The Old Town keeps the fast: daytime eating places shut, working hours move, and the streets around Mackinnon Market fill in the hour before sunset. Beach hotels carry on as normal. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Eid al-Fitr

  20–23 MarRamadan & EidCrowded

  Eid empties the city onto the beaches at Nyali and Diani for three or four days. The Likoni ferry and the matatus south are packed from first light and the coast road barely moves. Source ↗

Still on: Kaskazi, the calm season (1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually)), Whale sharks off the coast (1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr

• Nature

  Green turtle nesting

  1 Mar – 31 Jul · usually

  Green turtles come up the beaches at Watamu and Diani through the middle of the year, and the local conservation groups move nests above the tide line and post the hatchings when they happen.

Still on: Ramadan (17 Feb – 19 Mar), Eid al-Fitr (20–23 Mar), Kaskazi, the calm season (1 Dec – 15 Mar (usually)), Whale sharks off the coast (1 Dec – 31 Mar (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  The long rains

  1 Apr – 15 Jun · usuallyMonsoonClosures

  The real thing on this coast: days of rain, seaweed piled on the beaches and a good share of the south-coast hotels closed for renovation. Room rates are at their lowest of the year.

Still on: Ramadan (17 Feb – 19 Mar), Eid al-Fitr (20–23 Mar), Green turtle nesting (1 Mar – 31 Jul (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Green turtle nesting (1 Mar – 31 Jul (usually)), The long rains (1 Apr – 15 Jun (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Kusi, the cool monsoon

  15 Jun – 30 Sep · usuallyWind season

  The southeast monsoon blows steadily and takes the edge off the whole coast. Rougher water, cheaper rooms, and the kite crowd out on Diani an hour to the south.

Still on: Green turtle nesting (1 Mar – 31 Jul (usually)), The long rains (1 Apr – 15 Jun (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Green turtle nesting (1 Mar – 31 Jul (usually)), Kusi, the cool monsoon (15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Kusi, the cool monsoon (15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Kusi, the cool monsoon (15 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in November.

Peak crowds — Kaskazi, the calm season, Festive season peak

• Season

  Kaskazi, the calm season

  1 Dec – 15 Mar · usuallyMonsoonCrowded

  The northeast monsoon: hot, humid and close to windless, with the flattest water and the clearest visibility on the reef. It is also the coast's high season, and priced like it.

• Nature

  Whale sharks off the coast

  1 Dec – 31 Mar · usuallyDive season

  Whale sharks move along the Kenyan coast through the northeast monsoon, and the boats that go looking for them run out of Diani and Watamu rather than Mombasa itself. Sightings are a matter of luck, not schedule.

• Holiday

  Festive season peak

  18 Dec – 5 Jan · usuallyChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  Nairobi comes down to the coast in force. Hotel rates roughly double, the Likoni ferry queue runs to an hour, and every beach bar has a band on. Source ↗