Kilifi Beach

Kilifi Beach is the name used for the northern end of the long sand strip that begins at the creek mouth and runs up past Bofa. It is the same beach, the same white sand and the same reef sitting offshore. What changes is the density. Up here the houses thin out, the access tracks get sandier, and the beach empties out almost entirely.

This end runs along the top of Bofa Road toward Kashero and Tezo, past Kilifi Bay. If Bofa already feels quiet to you, this is that same beach with even fewer footprints on it.

What it is like

Wide white sand, a reef far enough out to flatten the swell, and almost nobody. At low tide the sea drops back over a firm sand flat that you can walk for as long as your legs hold out. At high tide the beach narrows and the swimming is better. There is no shade beyond what the casuarinas throw at the top of the beach, and no lifeguard anywhere on this coast, so treat it as the wild beach it is.

Because so few people come up here, it is also the best of the Kilifi beaches for beachcombing. Shells, driftwood and the occasional float wash up and stay put.

Kilifi Beach or Bofa Beach?

They are the same shoreline, which confuses a lot of visitors. Bofa is the busier and better serviced middle section, with the kite schools, the beach bar and most of the rental houses. Kilifi Beach is the quiet northern end with nothing on it. If you want a kite lesson and a cold drink afterwards, go to Bofa. If you want to see nobody at all, keep driving north.

Getting there

Follow Bofa Road north out of Kilifi town and keep going past the turn offs for Salty's and Kilifi Bay. Access to the sand is by short sandy tracks running down between the plots. A tuk-tuk will manage it in dry weather, though the sand is soft in places and a boda boda is the more reliable option. Allow fifteen to twenty minutes from town, or about an hour and a quarter from Mombasa.

📍 Open Kilifi Beach in Google Maps

For the wider picture of the town, the creek and where to stay, read our complete guide to Kilifi.