Kilifi, despite being a small coastal town, is packed with events, celebrations and a multitude of different activities. Serene coastal landscapes, an eclectic food scene and a thriving community has made Kilifi a must-visit destination in Kenya. We are bringing this guide to all the newcomers to give you a better overview on what you can do when you’re here. And for the Kilifi locals - to help you keep track of the busy New Year’s schedule!
Festivities at Salty’s - Line Up & Artists
As every year we have some awesome music events lining up. We invited East Africa’s best DJs and performers to take over the Salty’s deck, delivering amazing tunes and vibes for the New Year’s celebrations.
Starting on Boxing Day with a performance from the talented Kilifi resident Ann Jangle, followed by the amazing MAWINGU, coming from on the 28th, along with the biggest talents in the electronic scene with the likes of Lemmy, Cameron Jack and Suraj - who will turn Salty’s into a beach party paradise. This event will be a cool warm up to the New Year Bash - be sure to get your tickets in early for this one!
Whether you’re celebrating the past year or the fact that it’s over, we want to make sure that you never run out of good tunes. For the Salty New Year Bash we’ll throw some dope sets at you from the awesome Rathod and Pijama. On the first Salty Social of 2023, Daudidubs & United Freedom Collective will keep you on the dancefloor until the early hours and on the 2nd Jan for our Last Festive Bash, we have Ghedi, Shi and Lasta who will be joining Salty’s right after they wrap up with Beneath the Baobabs!
See the full line up below:
Decemeber 25th
Salty Christmas Spread
December 26th
Live music with Ann Jangle
December 28th
Mawingu (Get tickets here!)
December 31st
Salty New Year Bash
January 1st
Salty Social
January 2nd
Last Festive Bash
Kitesurfing lessons
End of December marks the beginning of Kenya’s kitesurfing season. The north Kaskazi wind brings excellent conditions for learning and practicing this exciting sport. Stable and reliable wind is essential if you want to progress fast and have fun while learning. Our Salty’s team consists of experienced instructors who will get you riding in no time. A kitesurfing course is also the best idea for an exceptional Christmas gift for an adventurous friend or loved one who would like to try out something completely new. The season lasts until the end of March giving you a lot of time to learn to ride. Make sure to book some lessons as soon as possible!
Beneath the Baobas Festival
Although we’re making sure we won’t run out of great beats and good vibes during our beach events, party goers will for sure have heard of Beneath the Baobabs Festival. Formerly known as Kilifi New Year’s, the festival became a huge success in recent years gathering the best artists from the electronic music scene in East Africa. They will perform in an amazing set up in a baobab forest, adorned with impressive art installations. Surely one of the coolest music venues in Kenya!
The festival exploded in popularity and outgrew its original location on the Kilifi Creek. The team, vision and dreams also expanded and a new home was found in an ancient Baobab forest plateau at the source of the Takaungu Creek. Beneath the Baobabs was born – a destination event space run by seasoned dreamers, artists and producers and also the newfound home for Beneath the Baobabs Festival (formerly known as Kilifi New Year).
(Source https://beneaththebaobabs.com/our-story/#story)
Photo courtesy: Beneath the Baobabs
Diving
Kilifi might not be top on the list of ‘must see’ diving sites, but it doesn’t make it any less worth visiting. Indian Ocean waters are abundant in thousands of different species, among them are magnificent sea turtles, giant manta rays and graceful whale sharks. Kilifi offers a selection of dive sites to suit all a divers’ preferences from wrecks and muck dives, to beautiful coral reefs. In addition to some really good diving they provide a range of courses from Discover Scuba Diving, through to PADI Divemaster certification. Contact 3 Degrees South at Mnarani Club for more info.
Photo courtesy: 3 Degrees South
Kite Safari
Just a week after welcoming in the New Year, we set sails for the Lamu Kite Safari on the north Kenyan coast where we will spend a week on an exclusive fully-staffed catamaran with an onboard chef. We’ll fill up the deck with kite gear and explore the most scenic kiting locations in Kenya! The wind in Lamu is strong, steady and consistent blowing side on-shore at 15-25kn. The beaches are absolutely stunning - completely untouched and pristine!
We’ll explore multiple spots, kite until our bodies ache and end our days with a magical bonfire underneath a starry sky. We literally can’t think of a better way to kick-start 2023! Watch our video from the last trip to see 2022’s Kite Safari looked like and read more about our kitesurfing adventure in Lamu here.
Lamu Kite Safari 2022
video by Iain Olivier