The Kenyan coastline and its islands have some of the best tropical diving spots that features beautiful coral gardens, large schools of fish and sea creatures; and interesting ship wrecks. Like other East Africa islands, Kenya is also a haven for migratory whale sharks and humpback whales which are some of the most interesting creature you can come into an encounter with during your diving excursions. In this guide we shall cover some of the popular diving spots in both Mombasa north and south coast.
Kisite- Mpunguti
Kisite – mpunguti is a government protected marine park and the leading diving spot in the south coast. The diving destination is in the south of wasini and encompasses two marine parks kisite and mpunguti. Here there are 11 diving sites ranging from 5 m – 30 m. The rich coral gardens in the marine park boasts 45 types of coral reefs and over 360 different types of fish. There are several shallow sites some accessible from the wasini island shorelines and which are the best picks for snorkelers and beginners. These include : kisite point, kisite garden, kisite west and inner kisite. Kisite also boast one of the most incredible wall dive for scuba divers having uninterrupted wall coral ecosystem running from 2 m to 32 m. The Wasini channel is along the passage of migratory whales and you might be lucky to encounter some in your underwater excursion.
Mombasa
Mombasa marine park has some of the most stunning diving spots boasting scenes of coral gardens, large schools of fish and ship wreck sites. With the marine park being situated along the coastline near Mombasa city, this is the most accessible diving spot in Kenya. The marine park has 5 popular diving sites each offering a unique under water experience. The mushroom coral accessed by a 15 minutes boat ride is the most outstanding diving site. The coral reef ranges from a depth of 17m and 26 m. Divers here enjoy sights of large schools of fish inside and outside the coral. Some of the most common varieties are scorpion fish, crocodile fish and snappers.
Diani- chale
Diani chale is a marine park encompassing the chale island and surrounding waters. The diving site has a stunning shallow reef that drops to just 14 m depth. This side of the sea is relatively calm and is a popular destination for beginners and snorkelers. The coral reef features different types of corals and large schools of fishes like barracudas, snappers and angel fish. The shallow bottom of the sea also forms one of the most alluring sandbanks. Between the chale island and the coastline is a 600 m wide channel that is a passage for the sociable whale sharks who migrate to the East Africa coast in December.
Kinondo
The diving site is accessed from the sand at chale in Kinondo about 40 km south of Mombasa. Kinondo reef is accessed in a 30 minutes boat ride. Fishing has been prohibited along this stretch and the coaral garden is a dwelling for the largest number of fish in the south coast. Here divers go to a maximum depth of 13m. The shallow depth makes it an ideal choice for divers with just basic diving skills. Some of the common varieties of fish are Barracudas, groupers, turtles, octopus and red tooth trigger fish.
Watamu marine park and Mida ship wreck
Watamu marine park is a beautiful lagoon along the Kenyan north coast beach of watamu. The marine park boasts one of the richest coral gardens with over 500 fish varieties. The park is greatly protected and most of the reef formation still remains undamaged. Here there are over 20 diving spots inside and outside the lagoon. The coral garden in the various diving spots goes to a depth of between 10 m – 30 m. The lagoon has great conditions for beginners making it a great choice for divers who are in their initial stage of learning. Mida shipwreck in the mida creek is one of the shipwrecks dives you can embark on when in the marine park. The ship wreck features large schools of fishes of different colours.
Kilifi creek and vuma caves
The diving spot is on a river mouth in the north coast beach of Kilifi. The creek has a shallow dive starting at 5-6 m and drop to 18 m. The kilifi reef has large schools of groupers and corals of different types and colours which creates one of the most fascinating seascapes in the Kenyan coast. The creek is also situated along the passage of migratory whales and divers has on different occasions claimed to have encounter the big fish. Vuma cave another diving spot in the creek is a dark sink hole that is a dwelling from large schools of fishes mostly the big eyed soldier fish. Moving around the cave with a torchlight will give an insight of some of the most hidden underwater ecosystem. Dolphin can also be seen playing in the open waters near the cave.
Malindi marine park
In Malindi the reef gradually drops to a bed of sea grasses and is a dwelling for large varieties of sea creatures amongst them jelly fish, sea cucumber and sea star. The coral reef can be divided into two North reef and barracuda reef separated by a channel that is a haven of pelagic fish. The Malindi reef has a range of coral varieties like Acropora, Turbinaria and Porites. The Marine park is popular with both shallow water divers and deep sea scuba divers.
Kiunga marine reserve
Kiunga Marine reserve is one of the best destinations for divers in the Kenyan coastline. The marine reserve encompasses over 50 isles and corals in the Lamu archipelago. Here dives are at their best in the two hours into either of the low tides when most coral garden are in shallow waters. Kiunga boast the most diverse seascape with a wide variety of soft and hard corals and large schools of coral and non-coral sea creatures. Some of the common species are sharks, turtles, butterfly fish, zebrafish and rubberfish. The most distinguishing diving spot is the water around kinyika island where there is the first drop off of the open sea in the Kiunga reef. This is the perfect spot to go deep sea diving and sight pelagic fish, whales and dolphins.
