(13 reviews)
English, Swahili (optional)
Solo, Family, Couple, Group
What?
A full day ocean adventure that brings together dolphin spotting, snorkelling in protected coral reefs and sailing on a traditional wooden dhow, ending in the peaceful waters of Mida Creek.
Where?
Watamu Marine Park and Mida Creek along the Kenyan coast.
When?
Dolphins are commonly seen between October and March. At other times of the year, you may spot turtles or even whales, with beautiful ocean conditions and sunsets throughout the year.
Why?
This experience brings together some of the best of the Kenyan coast. From watching dolphins in their natural habitat to snorkelling among vibrant marine life and sailing with local captains, it is both fun and grounding. It is a chance to explore the ocean in a more connected and memorable way.
How?
Step aboard a traditional dhow with a local crew and spend the day moving between ocean highlights. You can opt for an early start for dolphin sightings or a later departure for a slower, more relaxed sail. The crew handles everything. You just show up and fully enjoy the journey.
Carrying out the dolphin safari ethically, using the sail where possible and giving the creatures space.
The dhow was built in Kenya by Kenyans and the entire crew are from the local area. Including the chef on board, bringing in some swahili twists into your meals!
The crew will share information with you about the local area, ecosystem, culture and marine life. Learn as you have a gooood time.
The authentic African dhow has a sail, therefore whenever possible the dhow moves with the sail rather than engine. Less noisy and much better for marine protection.
Meet your crew near the KWS offices and purchase your marine park ticket before heading towards the dhow. Depending on the tide, a small boat may transfer you across. Step aboard, settle in and take a moment to soack up the charm of your traditional wooden dhow as the adventure begins.
Set sail into the open blue waters of Watamu for a dolphin safari. With a bit of luck, you will spot dolphins gliding through the ocean in pods. From there, head into the marine park for snorkelling, where you can dive into clear waters filled with vibrant coral reefs and colourful marine life.
Take time to relax on board with light snacks, soak up the sun on the dhow and enjoy the calm rhythm of the ocean. If the tide allows, you may also visit a sandbank, a beautiful stretch of sand in the middle of the sea.
Sail onwards into the peaceful waters of Mida Creek, where the landscape shifts to mangroves and birdlife. Enjoy a freshly prepared meal by the onboard chef, either on the dhow or at a nearby island, before easing your way back as the day gently winds down.
Yes, the dhow is booked exclusively, therefore only your group and the crew will be on the dhow!
Yes, it is. KWS rules state that to be out at sea in Watamu, you need a Marine ticket. A crew from the dhow will meet you at the KWS office, where you can purchase this ticket (130 Kshs for Kenyan Residents and $17 for Internationals).
No worries, if you’d like to get into the water we’re well equipped with life jackets, buoys and fantastic swimmers in the crew, to help you!
We booked two tours with Travel4purpose. One in Diani which was a sunset canoe ride through the mangroves and the other in Watamu which was a half day tour on a private Dhow to see the dolphins, snorkel and have a meal on an island. The tours were well planned and the information we needed was provided to us well in advance. It felt so easy.. all we had to do was show up and have a great experience. The best part of the tours are the amazing tour guides. They are full of energy and so knowledgeable. This really adds a special touch to the activity. Thanks for an amazing time 🙂
Our Watamu dhow tour with Travel4Purpose was an amazing experience, and I can only recommend it! The trip started in the morning, and we saw many dolphins – from there we went snorkeling, and finished with an amazing Swahili lunch. We had the dhow to ourselves. Everything was perfectly organized from the first moment, and you can feel the commitment of the whole team to create a unique experience! A must do when in Watamu 😊 thanks to everyone!
We had a very nice time on the overnight dhow boat experience organized by T4P. It was very relaxing and my friend and I had the whole boat to ourselves for the afternoon and overnight. The food was delicious. Shammi also gave us some great recommendations for Mombasa and the coast!
Amazing personalised experience! The hosts Omi and Fatema are a good company on the dhow. Shammi went an extra step to make our experience an amazing one!!! Really loved it
Had an amazing experience with Travel4purpose. Sham was very accommodating. I made a mistake in the date of booking and Sham managed to find us a dhow last minute!
The crew of the dhow were amazing! Would definitely recommend using Sham!!
We spent an amazing day on the dhow that Sham arranged for us. The trip started at Lichthaus Watamu. First stop was an amazing snorkeling spot after which we went to a small island in the mide creek on which our chef served a super good lunch. After that we did an additionally paid kanoe ride through the mangrove forest (mida creek) which was so beautiful. All in all the trip was really perfect. Recommend it to everyone who’s visiting Watamu.
Overall perfect experience. It was well curated, the crew on the boat and chef were amazing. We saw loads of dolphins and then went snorkeling. I will definitley book future trips with Travel4purpose as a lot of thought goes into making the trips fun, varied, reasonably priced, local and authentic.
I cannot recommend Sham enough. The itinerary she had set out for us, was perfect for us. The highlights were plenty from the overnight dhow, Sunset Canoe on the river and Dolphins and snorkelling. Would highly recommend for those looking for activities to do on the Kenyan Coast – Stress-free
Everything from planning to execution – the trip was perfect! Sham was always available to help with any questions we had.
We set off sail at 7 am in search for dolphins! We were lucky enough to see them 🙂 spent almost an hour with the pod of dolphins!
We then set off to snorkel. Unfortunately, we were hoping for some reef sharks and turtles and didn’t see either – but we did see 2 sting rays, which was quite cool!
They provided breakfast on the boat and a chef later cooked lunch for us on a small island. Lunch was fantastic!
Thank you, Sham, for the most incredible day trip planned for our family! Had the most amazing time.
Honestly a trip out of this world, never have I been so close to so many dolphins and in a sustainable way. Food was also lovely and the best was it was cooked right in front of us.
Seeing the dolphins was an absolute site. Definitely recommend this trip as it was so much fun!! The staff were very friendly and helpful. The food was incredible and the paddling boring through mida creek was super peaceful while being served a hot lunch on the dhow. Something completely different to usual and hours just pass by without realising, cause always an activity going on.
Travel4Purpose helped us book a weekend away with such ease, budget friendly and so much fun. Highly recommend her for she goes the extra mile to make sure your needs are met!
Choosing T4P for the dolphin watching was the best decision I made during my trip to Watamu! Why? See below:
1. They personalized it for me and my wife, made it special – a souvenir gift.
2. Dolphin watching – choosing the dhow cruise for this was special, minimum disruption to the dolphins which makes the dolphins come very close to the dhow. We saw about 10 to 15 dolphins as close as 4 metres! Boom!
3. Breakfast on the dhow after dolphin watching – brilliant! Yes, we had a chef on board!
4. Snorkeling – watching the beautiful coral reefs and different types of fish – eyeopener for me, the crew on board were generous and helped me since I did not know how to swim, while my wife was the mermaid, she did not want to stop snorkeling but the crew were so patient, they let her spend as much as time she wanted. What an experience!
5. Lunch served on board while paddle boarding at Mida creek – amazing experience!
6. Last but not the least, T4P make a positive impact to the local community which I was very touched by.
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