Mombasa Marine National Park
Mombasa Marine National Park
4.5
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
145 reviews
Excellent
69
Very good
55
Average
13
Poor
5
Terrible
3
pepsimerchant
surrey75 contributions
Mar 2024 • Couples
Good view from the glass bottomed boat. Someone dived under the boat to leave bread to encourage the fish. The snorkelling was nice but as I was the only one to do it I felt I couldn't stay out too long. Couldn't visit the coral reef as we went out when the tide was in but we were told this when we booked but this did make the trip quite short. The boat trip itself was cheap, about £9 each, but the Kenyan government marine park fee was very expensive, $17.50 each, which was very poor value.
Written March 12, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GV88uk
London, England, United Kingdom87 contributions
Oct 2023 • Family
I am not sure what this ride was meant to be !
A Kenyan Marine Park was included !
So expectations were high since the Kenyan Govt Tax was $19 each person plus hire fee of KSH 1800 (£10).
For this price we got taken out about a mile , stopped to Scuba dive/ observe / and see the 5 kind of fish …
I was expecting a move to a proper Marine Park when I was told this is it !☹️
Coral reef was more algae growth and no colour or fish
Altogether , wasted time and money .
We boarded outside our Hotels recommended Blue Ocean company.
Rubbish guide , high safety standards ..
That’s it , I would say don’t waste your time money
A Kenyan Marine Park was included !
So expectations were high since the Kenyan Govt Tax was $19 each person plus hire fee of KSH 1800 (£10).
For this price we got taken out about a mile , stopped to Scuba dive/ observe / and see the 5 kind of fish …
I was expecting a move to a proper Marine Park when I was told this is it !☹️
Coral reef was more algae growth and no colour or fish
Altogether , wasted time and money .
We boarded outside our Hotels recommended Blue Ocean company.
Rubbish guide , high safety standards ..
That’s it , I would say don’t waste your time money
Written October 8, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Miles Archer
Boca Raton, FL7,138 contributions
Feb 2022 • Friends
I'm a certified scuba diver with over 200 dives. But here I was relegated to just snorkeling. Our group had one other person on the boat who also went snorkeling. Everyone just observed from the boat if you're not scuba diver do the snorkeling.
Written February 15, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dean M
5 contributions
Jul 2021 • Friends
I was staying at Bamburi beach hotel which is quite close to the Marine park and I was very keen to go on the glass boat since almost everyone we met was really excited about the park. There were alot of sea creatures to see from the boat but the view gets better when you put on a snorkel and dive into the crystal clear blue sea. It was one of my best experiences ever as the staff from LBE tours was completely experienced and they helped me out with the diving experience. Here are they're contacts and I'd propose you try them out if you want to have a great time. +25410239929
Written July 29, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Karen R
Atlanta, GA7 contributions
Jul 2013 • Family
The Mombasa Marine National Park is a wonderful, easy place to snorkel. Everyone pays $15.00 to access the park. Boat ride and equipment rental was approximately $20. Bring water and a towel. I highly recommend using Blue Lagoon Water Sports located in the Sarvova Whitesands Beach Resort for your guide, boat, and equipment rental needs. The price was the same as the beach boys offered on the beach, but the professionalism and personal interest in marine life was a special treat. Our guide, James, would find anything we asked to look at, like an octopus hiding in a rock or a string ray sitting on the ocean floor. He was very careful to point out to all of us the special things to see. In the beginning, he found a special sea mushroom to coat our mask so that they would not fog. Then each of us were given bread to feed the fish. Don't miss this outstanding snorkeling experience with a friendly guide who made the experience much more than was expected.
Written July 18, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
marcel9000
Ghent, Belgium7 contributions
Nov 2015 • Couples
A marine park with all the tropical fish that comes along with it. It is advisable to visit it with a tank on your back. The entrence fee is 20 USD for non residents. If you go diving with Barracuda Divers, they will get it for you.
Written November 21, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
catherine015Nairobi
Nairobi71 contributions
Apr 2015
YES BY ALL MEANS - DO GO !!
The boatso that take visitors to the National Marine parks give you masks and you can snorkel over a coral reef and admre shoals of beauitful multicoloured tropiical fish. they usually serve a picnic lunch or take y hefor a BBQ on a nice beach. its well worth the cost...
The boatso that take visitors to the National Marine parks give you masks and you can snorkel over a coral reef and admre shoals of beauitful multicoloured tropiical fish. they usually serve a picnic lunch or take y hefor a BBQ on a nice beach. its well worth the cost...
Written June 4, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bobbrooksster
Sharpsburg, MD231 contributions
Mar 2018 • Couples
We took a 3-hr snorkeling boat out with Buccaneer Water sports based at the Voyager Resort. It was amazing, and so exceeded our expectations that we went back again with friends the next day. Water is only 4-12 feet deep, so weak swimmers can enjoy assisted swimming with a PFD, or viewing fish and coral through a glass-bottomed boat. Variety and color of fish and coral equalled any I'v seen in the Caribbean or Mexico. Beautiful huge starfish of many colors was amazing, and I've never seen them before. Also saw sea cucumbers, two varieties of sea urchins, sea anemones and a couple of eels. If you enjoy snorkeling you should not miss this great snorkeling experience.
Written March 6, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
aab163
Malindi, Kenya47 contributions
Jul 2019
Malindi Marine National Park is located in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Kenya. It is claimed to be oldest marine park in Africa. It is protected and administered by the Kenya Wildlife Service. Along with Watamu Marine National Park, Malindi Marine Park is enclosed by the Malindi Marine National Reserve.
The sea creatures here (And other places!) are quite magical. You can dive, snorkel or go on a glass bottom boat to experience it.
The place is a bit neglected and you have to pay for parking, toilets, fresh water shower etc.
In general, if you are not a Kenyan resident you pay more for entrance, parking etc. While a Kenyan resident pay as little as 1 USD you as a nonresident have to pay as much as 25 USD.
It is not uncommon that a tourist family spend 200-300 USD just to enter the Marine park and to get out on a glass boat while a local family for same experience spend 10 USD.
It is truly a nice experience to take smaller kids and non-swimmers on a glass boat and support Kenya wild life.
It is for the adults and older children possible to experience underwater life nearby (outside the Marine Park) both snorkeling and diving as little as 5-20 USD using a smaller boat, or absolutely for free swimming out from the beach as the fish and marine life do exist outside the boundaries of the Marine Park.
It is understandable a conflict with the Marine Park if you arrange for your own boat trip as this is a loss in revenue for the Marine Park.
I did consider the star rating of 2 stars to be relative to if you are reading this as a resident or non-resident as the price level and neglect of the area is truly putting the star rating down.
If you are visiting Malindi, then try it out, but if you have an experience with snorkeling other locations this place would be a dissapointment.
The sea creatures here (And other places!) are quite magical. You can dive, snorkel or go on a glass bottom boat to experience it.
The place is a bit neglected and you have to pay for parking, toilets, fresh water shower etc.
In general, if you are not a Kenyan resident you pay more for entrance, parking etc. While a Kenyan resident pay as little as 1 USD you as a nonresident have to pay as much as 25 USD.
It is not uncommon that a tourist family spend 200-300 USD just to enter the Marine park and to get out on a glass boat while a local family for same experience spend 10 USD.
It is truly a nice experience to take smaller kids and non-swimmers on a glass boat and support Kenya wild life.
It is for the adults and older children possible to experience underwater life nearby (outside the Marine Park) both snorkeling and diving as little as 5-20 USD using a smaller boat, or absolutely for free swimming out from the beach as the fish and marine life do exist outside the boundaries of the Marine Park.
It is understandable a conflict with the Marine Park if you arrange for your own boat trip as this is a loss in revenue for the Marine Park.
I did consider the star rating of 2 stars to be relative to if you are reading this as a resident or non-resident as the price level and neglect of the area is truly putting the star rating down.
If you are visiting Malindi, then try it out, but if you have an experience with snorkeling other locations this place would be a dissapointment.
Written October 20, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Juri
4 contributions
Sept 2019 • Solo
I've been there for four years. I swim about five to six hours every day. Over the cliffs into the open sea. The boss of Marine Park, Mr Mwachanze, told me the other day, I have to pay $ 19 if I go swimming with my swimming fins. Mind you swim. And do not dive. No swimming glasses, and no diver glasses. Mombasa has done it for me. This greed for money is sick.
Written October 7, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi,
What's the cost for park fees, getting a glass boat and snorkeling?
Asante
Written November 21, 2020
Hi; What's the average cost for the glass-bottom boat and plus guides, for locals - I plan to visit in mid-June?
Written June 5, 2019
HI Bobbrooksster,
Your trip to Mombaba and your activity sounded awesome!
Could you help me understand the cost of the 3 hour activity- with glass bottom boat, snorkellling as well as sand bar stop.
thanks!
Written May 7, 2019
do you open on sundays too? and what is the coast per person? do i need to carry any outfits?
thank you 😊
Written February 26, 2018
Hi Luciana only beach clotes 10£
Written June 17, 2018
Godfrey254
Mombasa, Kenya
What is the current rate for marine park goers as couple
Am not a robot
Written November 8, 2017
You will get a lot of confusing information from the numerous "beach entrepreneurs" I advice you walk to the KWS office just next to yuls club. I paid total of 3500. two kids and two adults. The experience was worth every penny. Best time was around 11am when the tide is low
Written November 8, 2017
Reisepia, скажите пожалуйста. Если вы были на Красном море, Как видимость в сравнении с ним?
Как вам подводный мир в парке в сравнении с тем что есть у берега отелей?
Written October 2, 2017
К сожалению я не был на Красном море )) поэтому не могу сравнить. Но я вам рекомендую либо Ватаму либо Васини
Written October 3, 2017
jkatana03
Mombasa, Kenya
kindly,1.how much is the park fees. 2.how much is it to hire a glass boat to the park.
Written July 31, 2017
For kenyans it's 250 to the marine park and you get a KWS ticket..A glass boat is anything from 1000 upwards depending on your negotiating skills n how many you are..
Written August 15, 2017
jkatana03
Mombasa, Kenya
What are the charges for residents and non residents??
Written October 29, 2016
The best place to dive with aquarium fish Awesome experience
Written June 17, 2018
What's the entry charge for visitors and Kenyans
Written April 23, 2015
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