Manda Bay is a small private lodge on Manda Island in Northern Kenya’s Lamu / Kiwayu archipelago.

Sixteen spacious cottages line the beach overlooking the calm waters of Manda Bay. Formerly the Blue Safari Club, it has been renovated and reopened under new management. Manda Bay is on a secluded peninsular of the island where guests enjoy total privacy and tranquility. The neighbouring island of Lamu is a twenty minute boat-drive and it's ancient town, now a world heritage site, is a popular place to visit.

Surrounded by magnificent coral gardens, empty beaches and indigenous woodland, Manda Bay is a glorious destination for both active and leisurely holiday makers. Its own airstrip allows for guests to arrange private charters into the lodge but there are two daily scheduled flights into Lamu from Nairobi and two from Nairobi via Malindi.

Cuisine

The food at Manda embraces all the rich flavours not only of the sea but also the culture of both Swahili and European tastes. All the sea food is delivered fresh to the door by local fishermen and by our own fishing boats. Guests are able to sample their own catch. Fresh fruit, salads and vegetables are either grown at the lodge or flown in by air. We cater for vegetarians, children and special diets with prior notice.

Breakfast is a casual affair and guests appear in their own time. We serve a buffet of fresh friut, home made cereals, yoghurt, breakfast bread and full English breakfast. Lunch is normally a light meal with a variety of dishes served buffet style either in the dining room, by the pool or on Utamaduni, our 60 foot sailing jahazi. Dinner is a three course set menu served under candlelight either in the dining room but more often outside under the stars.

Fishing

The fishing – both reef and deep sea – in the Lamu / Kiwayu waters is famous worldwide both for its variety and for the quantity of sport fish caught. Striped, Black and Blue Marlin, Sailfish and many other game fish migrate through these waters in abundance. The sailfish season starts in October through to April. The marlin season is February and March. Tuna, Dorada, Wahoo, Giant Trevally and Kingfish are abundant all year round.

Our fishing boat Cheza – Kiswahili for play - is a fibreglass 33 foot British built Lochin sport-fishing boat, built to withstand the North Sea elements. She is the ideal platform for all serious sport fishermen. Cheza is extremely well equipped, with all the latest navigation, communication and safety equipment. Powered by twin 180Hp turbo diesel engines, she has a range of 1,000 miles and can take you to the fishing areas in comfort and safety.

She has an excellent and well-trained three-man crew and a wide variety of fishing tackle to suit all anglers. Her tackle ranges from 130 pound rods to 10 weight fly rods and everything in between. Although we do have two fighting chairs, we favour stand up equipment. Cheza fully supports the tag and release system for all billfish in our waters. We do offer Broadbill fishing which entails an all night session for those real billfish enthusiasts. Broadbill can be fished from August to May.

North Kenya’s fishing season runs from September through to the end of April and is at its best from November to mid March when billfish are most prevalent here. Charters can be arranged for half day, full day, over night trips. All guests are welcome to take a rod and try their luck with some creek fishing. Trevally, King fish and Barracuda are all plentiful in the creek as are Rock Cod, Garfish and Red and White Snapper.