Most East Africans planning a beach holiday at the Kenyan Coast usually think of Malindi to the north and Diani on the South Coast, with others choosing Mombasa.

Watamu near Malindi is often by-passed for the more famous resorts of Malindi and Lamu. However, it turns out to be the best kept secret of Kenya’s North Coast.

Watamu is becoming a favourite with dolphin and whale watchers as the mammals can be seen close to the shore.

In Watamu, life is perfect on a boat in the Mida Creek or in the open ocean, either swimming, fishing or whale watching.

Over the years, Hemingways Watamu has built a reputation for deep sea fishing with many luxury ocean vessels moored just off the beachline. The hotel foyer, with an expansive view of the blue ocean, is also a gallery for pictures of the big fish caught over the years — the marlins and the sailfish.

“It is called Hemingways after American author Ernest Hemingway,” said Melinda Rees the general manager. “From the descriptions, it seems Hemingway used to set up camp in this area,” she added. Hemingway is famous for his novel The Old Man and the Sea, a story of a battle between an old, experienced fisherman, Santiago, and a large marlin. Santiago spends 84 days alone at sea without catching a fish, and on the 85th day, he hooks a marlin.

If you are not into fishing, there is snorkelling along the reef straddling Turtle Rock and Whale Rock.

Later in the evening, you can board the Hemingways’ luxury dhow for a sundowner sail in Mida Creek through a maze of mangrove-lined water channels. Mida Creek is 32 square kilometres of waterways.

Up the beach from Hemingways is the Medina Palms. The luxurious residential property is the latest posh address in Watamu. Designed to the plan of the ancient walled city of Gede, which was once a thriving sultanate but was mysteriously abandoned in the 17th century, Medina Palms is grand in its architecture.

“It’s got a real Swahili feel to it,” remarked Eric Ochieng of Medina Palms as we wandered around the spacious villas and apartments surrounded by an infinity pool that seems to flow into the ocean.

And just like in the days of the sultanate, the Sakina Spa offers lavish massages. “There’s no limit to wellness. Wellness is not only about beauty, it’s also about how you feel inside,” said Roberto Enan, the spa manager. Sakina is Arabic for peace and serenity.

The evenings are best spent in a dugout canoe, again in the Mida Creek. It’s surreal floating down the calm waterways with feet in the water and as the sun goes down, walking on Dabasso Creek Mangrove Boardwalk escorted by torchlight to Crabshack for dinner.

Crabshack was suggested by our boatman for the day, Kahindi Charo. Born in Kirepwe village in Mida Creek, Kahindi is a conservationist with the Watamu Marine Association. The restaurant floats on stilts above the water and the entire menu is based on seafood — the speciality being crabs that are fattened in cages in the creek. We ate crab samosas, fresh oysters, calamari and prawns.

On the return trip to the hotel, we go overland in a tuk-tuk through the serene villages.

An absolute must do while in Watamu is the two-kilometre walk to the creek through the local homesteads lined with cashewnut, palm and mango trees.

At the creek, the kayaks are ready. In a few seconds we’re kayaking through the narrow lanes of the creek, in a world of birds and sea creatures. As the tide ebbs, a sandbar appears and we take a break.

Overlooking the creek on a belt of beach called Garoda (Portuguese for a woman’s curves) is the Kobe Suite Resort. “When the Portuguese first sailed into Watamu after many months at sea, they described this shoreline as being like a woman’s curve’s,” said Guido Bertoni of the Malindi Watamu Tourism Association. It’s no surprise that CNN voted Watamu the second most beautiful beach in Africa.

Kobe — Swahili for turtle — has a few rooms looking out to the sea and the garden, with swinging beds hanging from the beams in the verandah. The décor is minimalist.

In between my short working holiday in Watamu, I drop in at the Watamu Marine Association waste recycling office. At the entrance is a huge bottlenose dolphin sculpture made of a thousand wine bottles, that could have ended up as garbage in the ocean. Steve Trott, a marine biologist who runs the recycling centre, said the goal is to make Watamu 100 per cent garbage-free. Which is good for the whales and dolphins.

It will take more than just seven days to see Watamu, and for visitors from Kigali, Kampala, Addis Ababa and even Nairobi, it is just an airport away from Nairobi.

Watamu has something for everyone from high-end to budget travellers.