Day Trip
Mida Creek & Gede Ruins Day Trip
A half-day on your doorstep — mangrove boardwalk, dhow sunset and a lost Swahili town.
- Starts
- Watamu
- Ends
- Watamu
- Itinerary
- 1 days
Overview
About this safari
You do not have to leave Watamu to see something remarkable. This trip pairs the Gede Ruins — a 12th-century Swahili town swallowed by the forest and only rediscovered in the 1920s — with Mida Creek, a mangrove system that fills and empties with the tide.
At Gede you walk among coral-rag walls, a mosque and a palace under enormous baobab and tamarind trees. At Mida you cross the boardwalk out over the mangroves and, if the tide is right, take a dhow out for sunset.
It is an easy afternoon and works well on an arrival or departure day.
Highlights
What makes this trip
- 12th-century Gede Ruins
- Mida Creek mangrove boardwalk
- Sunset dhow ride (tide permitting)
- Excellent birdwatching
- Back in time for dinner
Day by day
Itinerary
- 1
Day 1
Gede Ruins and Mida Creek at Sunset
Afternoon pick-up from your accommodation. We start at the Gede Ruins, walking the site with a guide for about ninety minutes — the mosque, the palace and the pillar tombs, under some of the largest baobabs on the coast. From there it is a short drive to Mida Creek for the mangrove boardwalk, and if the tide allows, a dhow out onto the water for sunset before the drive home.
- Guided walk at the Gede Ruins
- Mida Creek mangrove boardwalk
- Sunset dhow ride (tide permitting)
- Birdwatching at the creek
- Accommodation
- n/a — day trip
- Meals
- Bottled water included
What's included
- Transport from your accommodation
- Guide
- Gede Ruins entry fee
- Mida Creek boardwalk fee
- Bottled water
What's excluded
- Dhow hire if the tide does not allow
- Drinks and snacks
- Tips
Optional extras
- Private guide
- Seafood platter at the creek
- Extended birdwatching start
Important information
Departure time shifts with the tide, so we confirm your pick-up the day before. Wear shoes you can walk in — the ruins are uneven underfoot.