Kenya Download this Kenya travel guide to your Palm or Windows CE handheld. Until the ascendancy of the Western powers in the Indian Ocean, Mombasa was second only to Zanzibar as a centre for trade with Arabia, India and the Far East - slaves and ivory were exchanged for spices and small goods, and later for gold dollars. Mombasa is still an important port, prospering from its position at the head of the only railway into the Kenyan interior, but visitors are likely to find the rakish grey forms of foreign warships to be more typical of modern Mombasa than the flotillas of Arab dhows that still collect in the Old Harbour . Mombasa is the headquarters for Kenya's coastal tourist trade, but has none of the fine beaches to be found to the north and south.
Staff are very helpful.
The North Coast is famous for such resorts as Bamburi Beach, Kenya Beach, Watamu Beach and Casuarina Beach. The South Coast, protected by its coral reef, is famous for its beautiful and safe beaches. Resorts include Likoni, Tiwi, Diani Beach and Shimoni. The little village of Mambrui , north of Malindi, is also worth a visit. No motorised vehicles are allowed on the island and the streets are so narrow that donkeys and hand-carts are the only vehicles that can negotiate them.