Shopping: Get a taste for genuine East African life in Mombasa's vibrant markets. Join the fray and haggle good-naturedly for a brightly coloured khanga cloth or a hand carved curio.
Grown-up families: History comes alive on a Mombasa night tour. Walk through the Old Town and be entertained, wined and dined at 16th century Fort Jesus.
Active types: Mombasa's coastline is perfect for underwater exploration. Whether you're snorkelling or scuba diving, the viewing is exceptional. Dive centre offerings range from beginners' courses to reef and wreck dives.
Day trips from your city or beach base in Mombasa include a visit to the Shimoni Caves, ancient limestone caves also known as the 'slave caves', as they were used to hold slaves before they were transported. You could also opt to sail the seas aboard a dhow, a traditional sailing vessel, and tuck into local cuisine as you have fun on the water. Wildlife fans can also take to the seas for a dolphin-spotting safari.
And of course the wildlife of Africa is never far away, and trips can be organised to one of the impressive national parks, including Tsavo East, Tsavo West and Amboseli. Tsavo East is good for spotting elephant, cheetah and zebra, while Tsavo West, which shares a border with neighbouring Tanzania, is home to rhinos, elephants, leopards and lions. Swampy Amboseli covers much less ground than the Tsavo parks and is a great place to see smaller animals.
