I’ve noticed that Watamu has a surprisingly large Italian community compared to many other beach destinations in East Africa. From Italian-owned hotels and restaurants to expats who’ve lived there for years, the connection seems really strong.
What made Italians fall in love with Watamu in the first place? Is it mainly the beaches and weather, the fishing culture, tourism history, investment opportunities, or something else entirely?
Would love to hear from locals, travelers, expats, or anyone who has spent time in Watamu and experienced the Italian influence firsthand.
5/19/2026
1 answers
Kenya
Katundia Arap.3 Contributions .1 RepliesThe Italian connection to Watamu is deep, layered, and genuinely fascinating — it goes far beyond just nice beaches.
The origin story is surprisingly specific. The first groups of Italians who settled in Malindi and the neighbouring town of Watamu were there to establish an international space station — the Luigi Broglio Space Centre (named after a famous Italian aerospace engineer). Around 120 Italians came to work there, brought their families along, and many of them simply never left.
The history of Italians in Malindi and Watamu dates back to the 1960s. That's over 60 years of roots — enough time to build a second and third generation of Italian-Kenyans.
Once those first families arrived, word spread fast back home. Those Italian workers fell in love with Malindi and Watamu and brought their families, friends, and relatives. Some have even intermarried with local residents.
The Italian community that has called Watamu home for over 60 years has built a restaurant scene that is impressive for a village of its size — widely considered the best food on the entire Kenyan coast.
The love affair turned into serious economic roots. Italians own more than 50 hotels in the resort town and have employed more than 15,000 workers. Malindi has over 1,500 private villas and cottages providing 5,000–7,000 accommodation units, and around 30,000 tourists visit annually — with a record 80,000 Italians visiting in 2007 alone.
It's hard to overstate just how beautiful and rare the setting is:
Beyond the beaches, there's stunning Mida Creek, a world-class marine park for snorkelling and diving, a rich Swahili history, the Arabuko Sokoke Forest where you can watch elephants at sunset just 30 minutes from the beach, and easy access to Tsavo East National Park — a coast-and-safari combination that very few destinations in the world can match.
Watamu is a fun-filled town blessed by the hot African sun and white sand. It's very relaxing and laid-back with a rich culture and history — and close proximity to Tsavo National Park makes it more than just a beach destination.
Once the Italian community reached a critical mass, it became self-sustaining. Italian became effectively the unofficial language, and finding delicious pizza and pasta became easy — eating anything else, on the other hand, a difficult task.
For Italian visitors and prospective expats, arriving in Watamu feels less like arriving in a foreign country and more like arriving in a very sunny, exotic extension of home.
Watamu is quieter than Diani, with a loyal following of long-term visitors, especially Italians. It's the kind of place where you can settle into a routine and feel like a local after a few weeks.
Why stay long-term:
The Italian love affair with Watamu isn't one thing — it's a perfect storm: an accidental founding community of scientists who fell in love with the place, stunning and genuinely rare natural beauty, warm local people, decades of investment, and the snowball effect of a tight-knit community that kept pulling more Italians in.
There is a vibe in Watamu that is almost impossible to explain in words — easygoing, relaxed, genuinely unhurried. By day three, most visitors have stopped checking their phones and started checking the tides instead.
For Italians, who already deeply value la dolce vita, that kind of place is simply irresistible.