We know you’re not the kind of person who takes cruises, or wants every detail laid out for you when you travel. But it makes sense to organize things – just a bit – particularly if your time on Lamu is limited. Here are some options that will save you time, money, and hassle. You can always add on, but it’s not a bad idea to start with one of our long weekends, or week-long archipelago tours.
Shela Village Packages
Long and Low
$350 per person
3 nights at beachfront guesthouse (breakfast included)
or private home with sea view and kitchen
Sunset cruise
Lamu Town tour
Christmas Long Weekend
3 nights in High Season
$500 per person
3 nights at beachfront guesthouse (breakfast included)
or private home with sea view and kitchen
Sunset cruise
Lamu Town tour |
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Lamu Town
Long and Low in Lamu
$275 per person
3 nights at historic hotel, breakfast included
Sunset Cruise
Lamu Town Tour
Christmas Long Weekend in Lamu Town
$400 per person (check for current rates)
3 nights at historic hotel
Sunset Cruise |
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Traveler’s Lamu: Bare Bones Package
$225
3 nights at the best of the budget guesthouses in a top-floor room with a view
Sunset Cruise
Substitutions and Supplements:
Substitute Day-long Sailing Trip (including snorkeling and/or fishing, depending on season) for Sunset Cruise, add $45 per person
Supplement
Sustainable Mangrove Harvesting Tour
$50 per person
The Lamu Archipelago is where 70 percent of Kenya’s remaining mangrove forest remains in pristine condition. But the building boom on Manda Island has caused woodcutters to change age-old sustainable practices to meet growing demand. Take an afternoon boat ride to mangroves on nearby Manda Island, where woodworkers will identify different species of mangroves and talk about their work. Visit workshop of a small business engaged in sustainable harvesting of mangroves.
Supplement
$50 per person
Takwa Ruins
Sail on a traditional dhow to the Takwa Ruins on nearby Manda Island. The ruins are the remains of a thriving 15th- and 16th-century Swahili trading town abandoned in the seventeenth century. Think of history. Eat lunch.
Longer Trips: Navigating the Archipelago
Nature in the Archipelago
$800 total for 1-4 people; $1000 for 4-6.
A three-day sailing trip to Kiwayu, the archipelago’s most pristine island, inside the Kiunga marine reserve. Your crew will catch and cook fresh fish, take you snorkeling, pitch your tent, and if you ask them, they will refrain from playing music and singing. (But it will be hard.)
Nature and a Soft Bed
$1000 per person
2 nights in Shela village, 2 nights at eco-lodge, 2 full days of sailing
Spend a full day sailing to the island of Kiwayu, where you will stay at Mike’s Place for two nights. Enjoy the excellent food and well-stocked bar and library, and take advantage of opportunities to fish and kayak. On the leisurely sail home, you will feel your heartbeat moving with the rhythmic Indian Ocean surf.
Under the Sails of the Sultan
$2,500 for 4 people; other prices range depending on number of passengers
7-day dhow trip following the path of Omani traders in their peregrinations from Lamu Town to the ancient city of Shanga to the heavily defended fort at Siyu, making a stop at the island of Ndau. At each stop, we will have local guides who provide information on local history and culture. Trip ends on to the Kiunga biosphere reserve at Kiwayu, where we will spend the night at the famous hangout for foreign correspondents, Mike’s Place, an eco-lodge perched on a high bluff over a pure white coral beach.
Available seasonally, December-March, August-November
Talk to us about custom trips.
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