Malindi marine boat excursions — Attraction in Shella ward

Malindi Marine National Park is located in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Kenya. It is claimed to be oldest marine park in Africa. It is protected and administered by the Kenya Wildlife Service. Along with Watamu Marine National Park, Malindi Marine Park is enclosed by the Malindi Marine National Reserve.

The sea creatures here (And other places!) are quite magical. You can dive, snorkel or go on a glass bottom boat to experience it.

The place is a bit neglected and you have to pay for parking, toilets, fresh water shower etc.

In general, if you are not a Kenyan resident you pay more for entrance, parking etc. While a Kenyan resident pay as little as 1 USD you as a nonresident have to pay as much as 25 USD.

It is not uncommon that a tourist family spend 200-300 USD just to enter the Marine park and to get out on a glass boat while a local family for same experience spend 10 USD.

It is truly a nice experience to take smaller kids and non-swimmers on a glass boat and support Kenya wild life.

It is for the adults and older children possible to experience underwater life nearby (outside the Marine Park) both snorkeling and diving as little as 5-20 USD using a smaller boat, or absolutely for free swimming out from the beach as the fish and marine life do exist outside the boundaries of the Marine Park.

It is understandable a conflict with the Marine Park if you arrange for your own boat trip as this is a loss in revenue for the Marine Park.

I did consider the star rating of 2 stars to be relative to if you are reading this as a resident or non-resident as the price level and neglect of the area is truly putting the star rating down.

If you are visiting Malindi, then try it out, but if you have an experience with snorkeling other locations this place would be a...

For the 2 hour long trip, you ride in glass bottom boats to a coral reef and to The Magic Island. Our boat captain S and his assistant M were helpful, polite and took good care of us. I'm not a strong swimmer but they had a float tube and M was in the water with me the entire time.

Sadly the coral reef isn't as vibrant as it used to be but that's beyond their control. Note that dolphins are easier to spot in Malindi from December to around February.

Things worth noting:- 1) It's cheaper to go in a group. I was a solo traveller and joined people I met there thus slashing the cost. 2) Bargain with the boat operators. Some of them are a bit slick 3)There is a longer trip which includes a seafood bbq lunch. 4) There were 2 snorkeling masks shared by everyone. This means the mouthpiece travels from mouth to mouth without sanitization! All the guides do (if they remember) is to rinse it with ocean water before passing it to the next snorkler. This is unhygienic and reckless. (Has Covid taught us nothing?) 5)There is a (very basic) shower available after the boat ride which is charged at 30shs. We were told of the charges after we'd used it. It's not costly but surely after paying KWS entry fees and a few thousands for the boat, a shower should be offered as value add to customers. Anyway...

The variety of exotic marine life was breathtaking. The local guides are super knowledgeable and really love the ecosystem.

How to get there: Malindi Marine Park is located 25mins away from Malindi town. You can use a private taxi, a three-wheeler (Tuktuk) or a motorcycle.

The boats all have lifesaver jackets and the guides are well trained.

What to carry: Swims suits and loooots of sunscreen😄. The expert guides will provide you with snorkeling equipment within the package.

Payment: You will need to pay the Kenya Wildlife Society (KWS) Park Entry fees at the gate, either via Mpesa, or Card. No cash payment is accepted for the entry.

The boat excursion will range between $45 - $65 depending on whether you're on a private excursion and you have the whole boat to yourself or whether you're sharing with other guests.

Time: There's two type of experiences while at Malindi Marine Park. You can decide to do the full day excursion which sets from 9am, and sails to the Marine Park, and further to the Magic Island, and finally to a private island deep in the water. Here, you'll get a chance to eat freshly grilled seafood. Boats return by 3pm.

The other shorter and more popular experience is the Marine Park and Magic Island excursion which takes roughly 1.5 - 3hrs depending on the...