The season opens and Watamu, thanks also to the confirmation of charters by the Neos company and the resumption of operations by many Italian agencies, is ready to take the lion's share of the Kenyan coast. We have compiled an elementary alphabet for those preparing to come to this wonderful holiday resort in Kenya.

ARABUKO SOKOKE FOREST: Watamu has the good fortune, not just tourist, of having one of the oldest rainforests in East Africa within walking distance. This provides the tourist destination with a particularly cosy microclimate. The forest can be visited and within it, in addition to monkeys and rare bird species, families of elephants also live.

BEACH BOYS: Cross and delight of a holiday in Watamu, the ‘beach operators’ can be friendly guides during sea excursions but also persistent invaders of privacy. Be wary, however, of those without ID cards or who are not known to the community. It is not enough, in short, for someone to apostrophe you in Italian in order to be trusted. And convince them that showing you starfish by pulling them out of the water is not a tourist service, but manslaughter.

CRAB SHACK: A place to visit within the mangrove ecosystem in Dabaso. The place, run by a cooperative that safeguards the environment and breeds crabs, is also a fine but simple local restaurant, built on stilts, where one can taste not only the crab itself but also other seafood specialities and enjoy the spectacle of the sunset over the Midas inlet.

DOLPHINS: The Indian Ocean part of Watamu is known to be a passage line for many species of fish depending on the season. For example, enthusiasts from all over the world come here to watch the migration of whales. Dolphins are a big attraction that can appear at any time of the year during an excursion between Watamu and Malindi Marine Park and the mouth of Mida Creek.

ELECTRICITY: Even paradise has its thorns. Electricity is one of the problems that has always plagued Watamu. Light comes and goes and by now almost all establishments of a certain standard have set up generators and inverters to ensure adequate services for their customers.

FISHING: Watamu is one of the African destinations on the Indian Ocean renowned for deep-sea fishing. Suffice it to say that in the last century, enthusiasts such as Ernest Hemingway loved to fish in Watamu's crystal-clear sea, when the resort still had no roads or tourist facilities. Today, it is very easy to organise a day of deep-sea fishing and many Watamu establishments offer it as part of their ‘experience’.

GARODA: One of Watamu's best-known beaches, known for its white sandbanks that emerge at low tide, painting Maldivian scenery and allowing tourists to walk with the water at their knees and alternate between diving into the water and relaxing lying on the islets.

HOTEL: Over the years Watamu has equipped itself with beautiful and comfortable hotels, increasing the level of its services. Hospitality is always the sector that makes the resort come alive and on which it continues to focus to attract tourists from all over the world. The legendary (and our long-time supporters), are Jacaranda, Crystal Bay and 7 Islands, but Italians can also boast of the renovated Barracuda, Lily Palm, Garoda Resort and others.

KITE SURF: Watamu has now also become a destination for kitesurfers. Thanks to its bays that suddenly open up onto the open sea and the wind that blows hard both in the Safina Beach area and in front of Garoda Beach.

JACARANDA BAY: A few kilometres north of the centre of Watamu, the bay named after the historic Italian resort on the most celebrated beach is renowned for the beauty and virginity of its seascape. At low tide one can walk right up to the reef and along the shoreline there are more hotels and places to enjoy excellent grilled fish.

ITALIANS: At one time, the Italian community was mainly concentrated in nearby Malindi. Since the end of the 1990s, many compatriots have been betting on Watamu's beaches and sea, so that today many live and work in Watamu. The difference with Malindi is that many compatriots are well established in the resort's international verve. This is why, apart from certain ‘small town’ dynamics typical of the provincialism of many Italians, Watamu does not lack our excellence: from pizza to ice cream, to a certain attention to service and hospitality.

LICHT HOUSE: Watamu's trendy place to enjoy happy hour especially, with the sun setting over the sea, at the mouth of the Mida inlet. In the Temple Point resort, Licht House is a ‘raft’ on the sea, between the rocks and the mangroves, furnished in an eco-friendly, young and trendy way. It attracts a lot of young people (and not only): it's worth booking well in advance!

MIDA CREEK: One of the particularities of Watamu is that of having, at the southern end of the resort, an inlet immersed in mangrove vegetation which has remained largely unspoilt. You can visit Mida Creek by boat, preferably in a traditional dhow, the Swahili boat. But you can also explore it by going overland through the mangroves, along wooden walkways, landing in sea clearings that are natural oases rich in benefits for the soul.

NIGHTLIFE: If Watamu during the day is to be experienced between beach and sea, in the evening it is no less welcoming, with the many streetfood and handicraft stalls in the central street, the meeting points from sunset onwards and the discopubs for dancing and having fun (except for the ones that are a little too noisy and do not serve the destination well). In season, the not-to-be-missed event is the Paparemo beach party.

OCEAN SPORTS: One of Watamu's iconic clubs, a historic haunt of fishermen of English origin, a meeting place for young and old who want to have fun or just have a drink in the atmosphere of a terrace overlooking the ocean, in front of the classic rock islets of Hemingway Bay.

PAPAREMO BEACH: The unique, inimitable, all-day venue in the most fascinating bay of Watamu, where the ‘pearl of the Indian Ocean’ offers one of its enchanting scenarios, that of the so-called ‘islands of love’, which at low tide can be visited on foot and circumnavigated by standing in front of the coral reef, while at high tide one can go by boat and enjoy absolute peace and primordial intimacy. Paparemo is the ideal hub where one can relax, eat well for lunch and dinner and prepare for the ‘cult’ date, that of the Saturday night beach party.

QUALITY: Over the years, Watamu's tourism sector has grown in terms of services and quality of facilities. Today there are many resorts that have been able to renew their hospitality offerings and others are trying to adapt. At the same time, bed & breakfasts and private villas for rent also combine the beauty of the locations with better attention to those details that make the difference. Today, a holiday in Watamu can be compared with those in seaside resorts in other popular international destinations.

ROVINE OF GEDE: One of the classic excursions in Watamu, for those who want to learn about the history of the Swahili coast. Gede was an Arab citadel until around 1400 when it was destroyed. Entering the museum you can go back to the age of flourishing sea trade and slavery, wandering among what remains of the architectural structures of that time, among huge baobabs, African ficus and monkeys used to interact with humans.

SHORT BEACH: Watamu's most remote beach, at the mouth of Mida Creek and opposite the Matsangoni peninsula. A tiny sandy cove among the rocks, often sheltered from the wind, where one can enjoy the peace that during the high season is more difficult to find on other, more crowded beaches. And by intercepting an anchored or passing boat, you can cross the creek and discover other wonders!

TIMBONI: From being a small village on the outskirts of Watamu, in a few years Timboni has become the commercial part of the town, where one can find less touristy but often useful items, as well as home and work materials and artisans' workshops, in addition to the fruit and vegetable market and local restaurants and pubs.

UNIQUE: No tourist destination in the world can compare with Watamu: what place can boast white beaches and crystal clear sea and at the same time be just over an hour from the savannah, in a national park full of wild animals? The beaches invite for walks, Watamu's tidal ‘pools’ are special places where green nature and salt water meet and at sunset time paint the landscape with romance.

VACANZA (HOLIDAY): Many people choose Watamu thinking that it is the classic holiday destination where they can spend a week in their chosen resort, enjoying the sea and going no further than their nose. Instead, one only has to go out and let oneself be carried away by curiosity to realise how fascinating the African atmospheres of the Kenyan coast are and how different, in their contrasts and paradoxes, from those of so many other holiday destinations.

WATAMU BAY: The beach in the town closest to the old fishing village, where people still go out in the morning on catamarans and pull in their nets. It is the most frequented by the locals, and recently, clubs have also sprung up overlooking the bay.

ZANZARE (MOSQUITOES): Unlike other places on the Kenyan coast, in Watamu, thanks to the ever-present breeze and iodine, mosquitoes are less invasive. But it is always recommended to take precautions. Mosquito nets in the bed and a good mosquito repellent if you go out in the evening