The Mombasa Kenya coastline is a tropical idyll of soft white sands and gentle sea breeze, where the passing of a day is marked by the slow arc of the sun. The pace of life in Mombasa is notably slower, languid, more relaxed and at peace with the world.

On the most popular Kenya tourist beaches, there are many hawkers trying to sell their wares. Informal displays of carving, jewelry and bright cotton kanga are set out along the sand: a small shack professes by its sign to be a “massage parlor”.

Mombasa is the best summed up as a feeling-love it or loathe it, there’s something about the salty heat, the humid air, the sounds of the city and the sensation of the dust sticking to your sun screamed skin that evokes an instant sense of place.