Kenya travel: Coping with Mombasa's "Beach Boys"

North of Mombasa, Kenya, is a long stretch of sandy beaches bordered by hotels and restaurants. The warm water and relaxed atmosphere attract visitors from around the world.

If you go, though, be prepared for the "Beach Boys."

The minute you set foot on Bamburi Beach, you will be surrounded by young men trying to sell you snorkeling trips, jet-ski rentals, guide services, wooden trinkets, jewelry. They are called the Beach Boys, and they are very, very, very persistent.

They will follow you down the beach, even if you've told them "No"  multiple times. I practically had to shout "No!" at one of them to get him to leave us alone. We saw people sprint from their hotel grounds into the ocean – and later back again – just to avoid the Beach Boys.

Each hotel has its own pack of Beach Boys who loiter on the sand waiting for people with money. We were at Kenya Bay Beach Hotel (see my review) which wasn't very crowded during our July visit. Normally I'd like that, but in this case it meant that there weren't many other potential customers for the sellers to badger.

Bamburi Beach, by the Kenya Bay Beach Hotel

When I asked one of the young men why they didn't go down the beach  to where there were more people, he said, "If we go down there, it would be a problem." Clearly, they have designated territories.

It's incredible to me that the hotels along Bamburi Beach haven't done something to restrain these persistent sellers. Sure, the beach should be open to everyone, but that doesn't mean it should be open to every sales pitch. The Beach Boys are hardly a secret
– they're described in guidebooks and online forums – so no doubt some travelers take their money elsewhere.

When we first arrived, we found one of the Beach Boys to be so annoyingly persistent that I deliberately avoided him when setting up a snorkeling boat trip for our family. I went down the beach and made a deal with another young man name Mali, who picked us up the next morning in his boat and took us to the offshore reef.

The Beach Boys in front of our hotel noticed. When we returned from our snorkeling trip, we were surrounded by several of them who "accused" us of booking our outing through the hotel. This wasn't true, of course, but it didn't matter to these men, who acted as if we were obligated to give them all our business.

When I tried to hurry my wife away from this group, one of them accused me of not liking them because of "our color," pointing to his black arms to emphasize the point. This was the only time during our two weeks in Kenya that I heard any racial reference. I somehow resisted the urge to tell him that it was not his color that bothered me but his nonstop talking. Instead, I just said I was eager to go to lunch.

Another problem created by the Beach Boys is that is made it hard to tell when a Kenyan genuinely wanted to talk. We found the vast majority of Kenyans friendly, and many were happy to talk about our visit or their lives. Indeed, some of the Beach Boys seemed perfectly happy to talk rather than sell. We definitely wanted to learn about Kenyans and their lives, so we were always hopeful that a conversation could be, well, just a conversation.
 
But in many cases, the talk was only a precursor to get you to buy something.

See also these articles:

• Review: Kenya Bay Beach Hotel, Mombasa 
• Kenya travel tips: Money, credit cards, cash, ATMs

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Review: Kenya Bay Beach Hotel, Mombasa

Most hotels, at a minimum, try to maintain an attractive outward appearance. Even if the rooms are dingy and the service surly, hotel owners know that to attract business they have to at least look shiny and clean.

Kenya Bay Beach Hotel, on the Indian Ocean coast north of Mombasa, is the opposite. On first glance, it does not look very inviting. The paint is peeling, fading and chipped. The pyramid-like roofs are splotchy and ugly. The fish ponds are murky.

But inside is a different story. The rooms are comfortable and clean, with flat-screen TVs, refrigerators, balconies and safes. The staff is friendly and helpful. The buffet meals are filled with a wonderful array of salads, entrees and desserts. White-faced vervet monkeys bounce playfully around the grounds.

The pool at Kenya Bay Beach Hotel

My family spent four days and three nights at the Kenya Bay Beach Hotel recently and, for the most part, enjoyed the stay.

The hotel is conveniently right on Bamburi Beach, and there's a nice pool.

The restaurant there – the Frangipani – is remarkably reasonably priced for a hotel restaurant. They'll even deliver your food right to your seat by the pool. (We also liked the pizzas at Roberto's, a short walk down the beach to the south.)

We had entertainment two of the three evenings, including a dazzling group of acrobatic young men who seemed impossibly agile and flexible. An offbeat "magic" show the next night wasn't as good, but in both cases you couldn't beat the price: free.

Of course, you can't review this hotel without also considering the beach, and in this category there are some pluses and minuses. A big negative are the annoyingly persistent sellers that surround you the minute your foot hits the sand (see: "Coping With Mombasa's Beach Boys"). Try to go very early in the day if you want a quiet walk on the beach.

The ocean water is comfortably warm, but there are no waves here, because a reef along this stretch of the coast knocks them down. So forget any thoughts of boogie boarding or surfing. Also, there's a fair amount of seaweed in the water. It's not terrible, but most people prefer a "pure" sandy beach.

One important tip: If you're the kind of human who likes to sleep, avoid staying at Kenya Bay Beach Hotel on a Saturday night. I was awakened at 12:30 a.m. early Sunday by the incessant bass pounding of music. Even though the windows were closed, I had earplugs in and, in a desperate move, had a towel wrapped around my head, the pounding was unrelenting.

At 1 a.m., I went out and found that the music was coming from the dance floor of the neighboring Il Covo Restaurant. This was actually on the far side of the grounds, so if we could hear the music in our room, every other guest could, too.

I went to the night desk clerk and asked if he could do anything to get the music turned down.

"No," he said, smiling.

"Is it always like this on Saturdays?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, smiling.

Sigh. The music continued until at least 3 a.m.


With the pestering beach sellers on one side, and a closed gate on the inland side of the hotel, you may feel a bit hemmed in. But you can get out and go other places.

Not far from the hotel is Mombasa Go-Karts, a fun outing. You can walk to it, but it's not obvious how to get there. We paid a young man from the beach $5 to walk us there.

The driver who does the airport transfers for the hotel – Dennis – is happy to take you other places, but be sure to negotiate the price in advance and be clear on whether you just want a ride or need a guide, too. In fact, it seemed that just about all the hotel staff members knew someone who operated a taxi or could serve as guide. Just ask them.

See also:

Coping With Mombasa's Beach Boys

Kenya travel tips: Money, credit cards, cash, ATMs



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