Mombasa can be dangerous to walk around after hours, but when the sun rises we recommend eating a breakfast of maharagwe (beans cooked with coconut) and chapatti bread. The ubiquitous foodstuff on the Kenyan coast is a synthesis of local and foreign ingredients.

The adventure of the Kenyan coast is unfortunately matched by the ugliest sort of overdevelopment in the form of full-service Swahili-chic resorts. But smart, sustainable tourism projects exist as well, even in places chok-a-block with large hotels like popular Diani Beach.

Further south of Diani, Kaya Kinondo is the protected kaya, or sacred forest, of the local Digo Mijikenda tribe. The forest once housed the Digo, and has been maintained in a virgin state as a centre of their religious and communal ceremonies.

The undisputed gem of the Kenyan coast is Lamu and her sister islands in the Lamu archipelago. Lamu town is a perfect example of a historical Swahili city. It is a warren of rounded houses, airy courtyards shaded by palm streets, cafes serving steaming chapattis and cups of milky tea, inhabited by women in rustling black full-length robes and men riding donkeys, all overlaid with an omnipresent smell of spice.

Even the geographic nomenclature of the town is supremely romantic. It is divided into two halves, Zena (Beauteous) and Suudi (Fortunate) and its 28 mitaa, or districts, bear such distinctive names as Makadara (Eternal Destiny) and Kivudoni (Smelly Place). Lamu is hard not to love..

Back on the mainland, south of Watamu, make sure to spend at least a night at the Mida Creek Ecocamp. This huddle of lovely, simple traditional huts (and a more luxurious traditional Swahili house) is situated in a tangle of serenely gorgeous mangrove forest and estuarine mudflats. By day, pick fresh oysters out of the water or wander nature trails; by night, watch the stars fall over roaring bonfires, secure that the money you spend goes towards the local villagers who manage the ecocamp.

One of the most romantic ways to travel the Kenyan coast is by spice boat. Go to the old harbour of Mombasa and ask for the spice ships, and you may be able to book passage to a boat bound for Zanzibar.