KenyaLamu ArchipelagoIsland

Lamu Island

57.0 km² of land in the Indian Ocean.

When to go

Ephymbaya · CC BY-SA 4.0

In numbers

57.0km²

Area

18m

Highest point

29°C

Warmest sea

April

5km

To the mainland

When to go to Lamu Island

Best for the beach from January to February and from August to October.

The sea is warmest in April (29 °C) and coolest in August (25 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).

27°31°25°

Jan3

27°31°25°

Feb2

28°32°26°

Mar8

29°31°27°

Apr22

28°29°26°

May24

27°28°25°

Jun17

26°27°24°

Jul12

25°27°24°

Aug9

26°28°24°

Sep8

26°29°25°

Oct12

28°30°25°

Nov19

28°31°25°

Dec13

Sea temperature (the water level) Air: night low to afternoon high Wet days Best months

Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.

Island of Kenya

Lamu Island is an island in Kenya. It belongs to Lamu Archipelago. It covers 57.0 km². Its highest point rises to 18 m. The nearest mainland is 5 km away.

Getting there

Manda Airport (LAU)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 6 km in a straight lineCar hire in MalindiDiscover Cars · Affiliate link
5 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
From January to February and from August to Octoberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)

Plan the trip

Ferries, stays and things to do

Car hire in MalindiDiscover CarsSee

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The shape of the land.

On average the island stands 7 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.

100 %0–50 m

Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).

Month by month

The weather on the island.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Afternoon high (°C)	31	31	32	31	29	28	27	27	28	29	30	31
Night low (°C)	25	25	26	27	26	25	24	24	24	25	25	25
Sea (°C)	27	27	28	29	28	27	26	25	26	26	28	28
Rain (mm)	12	4	28	118	230	99	51	33	36	88	98	56
Wet days	3	2	8	22	24	17	12	9	8	12	19	13
Sun h/day	8.4	8.7	8.8	8.2	7.1	7.3	7.6	8.3	8.8	8.8	8.6	8.7
Wind (km/h)	20	19	16	18	24	27	28	27	25	20	15	17

Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.

Recent years

Warmer and cooler years at sea.

Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2020	+1.3	+1.3	+1.5	+0.8	+0.4	+0.3	+0.3	+0.2	±0.0	+0.6	+0.5	+0.3
2021	−0.4	+0.4	−0.8	−0.2	−0.6	−0.2	±0.0	−0.2	±0.0	−0.1	+0.4	+1.0
2022	+0.7	±0.0	−0.6	+0.4	+0.1	+0.3	−0.3	−0.1	−0.1	−0.3	−0.3	+0.3
2023	+0.4	−0.4	−0.5	+0.5	+0.5	+0.4	+0.5	+0.6	+0.9	+1.0	+1.3	+1.3
2024	+1.4	+2.1	+2.2	+0.9	+0.4	+0.6	+0.9	+0.9	+0.9	+0.8	+1.0	+0.6
2025	+0.3	+0.2	+0.4	+0.7	+0.4	+0.6	+0.2	±0.0	+0.4	+0.3	+0.1	+0.6

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Photos

Seen by visitors.

Anchored boat in Shela Village, Lamu Island, Kenya — Adebola Falade · CC BY-SA 4.0

Lamu, Lamu Island, Kenya — Erik (HASH) Hersman from Orlando · CC BY 2.0

Lamu rooftop point of view — Ahmedshayo14 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Nearby

More islands nearby.

Pate Island

Kenya80 km²18 m29 km away

Juula

Somalia5.0 km²27 m193 km away Mombasa Island

Kenya14 km²31 m237 km away

Koyama

Somalia5.7 km²42 m245 km away

About these numbers

Names, area, population	Wikidata (Q783117) · CC0
Outline	Natural Earth · public domain
Sea temperature	NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020
Climate	NASA POWER · 1991–2020
Relief, 3D model	Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails	© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Towns	GeoNames · CC BY 4.0
Images	EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons