"Tropical Paradise" Lamu Island by Yogues

Lamu Island Travel Guide: 45 reviews and 95 photos

A trip to the island of Lamu, in the Indian Ocean off of the northern coast of Kenya, is like a trip back in time. No cars, lots of donkies, and a pace of life that one could really get used to.

Trouble in Paradise

Lamu on fire

While in Lamu, there was a protest aganst then President Danial arap Moi's political party that turned violent - quite a rarity in Lamu. We went down to the waterfront in time to see several buildings being burned down. Then , down the street came soldiers with tear gas and we found ourslves stuck in between rock throwing protesters and tear gas shooting soldiers. We retreated back to our hotel and watched the fires and the soldiers patrolling the streets. By the next day, everthing had calmed down and things went back to normal.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Laid back, relaxing
Cons:None I can think of
In a nutshell:What's not to like

Last visit to Lamu Island: Aug 1993
Intro Updated Nov 10, 2004
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Reviews (2)

A Local Experience Restaurants (2)

We ran into this guy on the street in Lamu who said his name was Ali Hippy (apparently, Lamu was a big retreat for... more travel advice

Fresh fruit shakes and Seafood Restaurants (2)

There are many small restaurants along the main street on Lamu. My favotite food/drink was the fresh fruit milkshakes... more travel advice

Comments (2)

Waxbag Mar 3, 2007 at 7:49 PM Report Abuse

Lamu is an unknown gem in this world. Let's keep it that way. It's still a great place!
matcrazy1 Mar 7, 2005 at 4:02 PM Report Abuse

Good restaurants tip. Violent protest? You took an unique picture: Lamu on fire!