Active breaks on Kenya's beaches

With its traditional buildings, white sandy beaches and long coastline, Malindi and the surrounding area is an ideal place for an active holiday in Kenya.

The small town is located on the Indian Ocean coast, and is around 120 kilometres from the Kenya's second city, Mombasa.

If you can tear yourself away from the sandy tropical beaches then there are lots of holiday activities on offer in the area, from diving and walking to big game fishing and surfing.

Malindi's waves are reputed to be some of the best on the Kenyan coast for surfers, with June to September getting the largest waves. However, surfboard hire and wax is not so easy to find, so the tourist board recommends surfers bring all their own equipment.

Other water sports available at Malindi include sailing, waterskiing, jet skiing, parasailing and more recently kite surfing.

Whether you want to snorkel or are more interested in scuba diving, the Marine National Park, which can be reached from the village of Watamu, is the place to go for a diving day trip from Malindi.

The shallow and easily-reached corals of the Marine National Park make it ideal for snorkelling, as well as a good learning environment for beginner scuba divers.

For more experienced divers the Mida Creek, within reach by boat from Watamu, is a good place to explore caves, home to large Rock Cod, which can grow to around half a metre in length.

There is also the wreck of a sunken trawler at a depth of 14 metres, accessible only at Neap tides (milder tidal conditions) by the creek. Divers cannot enter the wreck, but it is worth visiting for the sea life in the area, which include grouper fish.

Holidaymakers not so keen on diving can also take a boat trip to Mida Creek, which can be arranged from Watamu.

The mangroves and estuaries are home to a wide range of bird life and are a fun way of spending an afternoon.

For more information on Malindi and Watamu see Magical Kenya and www.malindikenya.com

Among the tour operators with holidays to Malindi in Kenya are BarrHead Travel, Kenya Odyssey and Thomson.