Budget Proposal Lamu
Affordable Tours
Kenya Road Safaris
Amu House Or similar, BB.
Affordable Romantic Getaways in Kenya
If you are reading this, you are the one planning it, and you are probably weighing two things at once. You want the moment to be worth the story you will both tell for the next forty years. You also do not want to spend money you were saving for a ring on making that happen. A budget proposal in Lamu resolves that better than almost anywhere else in Kenya, because the setting costs nothing. Shela Beach at dawn is twelve kilometres of open sand with dunes behind it and the Indian Ocean in front, and at first light there is essentially nobody on it.
Lamu also solves the harder problem, which is getting your partner somewhere extraordinary without them working out why. The island is a completely reasonable place for a couple to spend four days for no reason at all. There are no cars, no roads, no schedule. You fly in from Nairobi in under two hours, cross to Lamu Town by boat, and stay inside the Old Town in a restored sixteenth century Swahili house. For two days it looks exactly like a holiday, because it is one.
Then on the third morning you take a boat down to Shela before sunrise, ostensibly to see the light. Our team has already been out ahead of you and prepared the spot on the dunes. A photographer is in position at distance with a long lens, briefed on your signal. You walk up with nothing in your hands and nothing to explain, and the rest is yours.
That evening there is a private dinner set for two on the rooftop of the guesthouse, arranged in advance, so that once the day has happened neither of you has to organise anything else. Return flights, all boat transfers and a private sunset dhow sail the evening before are included. We agree the location, the timing and the cover story with you on a call before you fly, and nothing about it is ever discussed in front of your partner.
Details
Summary information about this package
Amu House Or similar, BB.
Lamu
Couples
Available
Flying
For Adults only (18+)
Bed and breakfast
Included
All year round
Costs
Kenyan Citizen
Ksh. 47500 per person sharing
Non-resident
$ 500 per person sharing
Transport
Options: Flying
Duration and Timing
No
More than >3 Days+
About Package
More information about this package
A private setup on the Shela dunes at first light. Our team goes out ahead of you by boat and prepares the spot before sunrise, so you walk up to it with nothing in your hands and nothing to explain.
A photographer who stays out of sight until you nod. Positioned at distance with a long lens before you arrive, briefed on your signal, and only visible once you have both stopped shaking.
Twelve kilometres of beach with almost nobody on it. Shela at dawn is one of the few genuinely private stretches of coast left in Kenya. No hawkers, no beach boys, no other couples doing the same thing forty metres away.
A private celebration dinner that evening. Set for two on the rooftop terrace of the guesthouse, arranged in advance so there is nothing left to organise once the day has already happened.
One quiet planning call before you fly. We agree the location, the timing, the signal and the cover story with you directly, and everything on the island is handled without your partner being addressed about it.
Flights, boats and the sunset dhow included. Return Nairobi to Manda Airport, private boat transfers throughout, and a two hour private dhow sail the evening before.
Package Itinerary
The package itinerary is as follows
4-Day Budget Proposal Itinerary to Lamu with Baecation Adventures from Nairobi
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Day 1 — Arrive, and say nothing
Morning: Out of Nairobi. We collect you at 7:30 am for the drive to the airport, and a little under two hours later the archipelago opens up below, mangrove green split by shallow turquoise channels.
Afternoon: Onto the island. Your Baecation host meets you at Manda airstrip and walks you both to a private boat for the crossing to Lamu Town. Bags travel the last stretch by donkey. Check into the guesthouse, take a shower, take the afternoon slowly. At some point when you are alone, your host will confirm the plan with you in three sentences and then never mention it again.
Evening: The waterfront. Walk the seafront as the dhows come in, eat in the lanes, and go to bed early without making a point of it.
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Day 2 — Town, beach, dhow
Morning: Six hundred years, on foot. Breakfast at the guesthouse, then out with a local guide through Lamu Old Town. Lamu Fort, the Lamu Museum, the carved doors, the donkey sanctuary, the market when the fish arrives.
Afternoon: An ordinary day at Shela. A short boat south to the beach. Swim, walk, lie down. This is also, quietly, your chance to see the stretch of sand you will be standing on tomorrow, which is worth more than you would think.
Evening: Under sail. Your private dhow is waiting at the jetty for a two hour sunset sail, sail up and engine off, the sun going down behind the Old Town skyline. It is a genuinely beautiful evening, and it is a useful decoy, because if your partner is expecting anything at all they will be expecting it here.
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Day 3 — The dunes at dawn
Morning: Before the island wakes. A boat carries you down to Shela in the dark. You walk up onto the dunes as the light comes, and everything is already in place. The photographer is at distance and stays there until you signal. What happens next takes about ninety seconds and you will remember all of it. Afterwards there is coffee, the beach to yourselves, and the first phone calls home.
Afternoon: Nothing at all. Back to the guesthouse. Sleep, swim, sit on the roof, be useless. Nobody has ever complained about this afternoon.
Evening: The table on the roof. Dinner is set for two on the rooftop terrace with the mangrove channel below and the Old Town going quiet around you. It was booked weeks ago. Neither of you has to do anything except sit down.
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Day 4 — Telling everyone
Morning: The last rooftop breakfast. Coffee and spiced chai on the terrace, then a walk through the market for cardamom, halwa or a kikoi. Your photographs are shared with you before you leave the island.
Afternoon: Home, engaged. A private boat across to Manda, your host sees you through the airstrip, and you fly to Nairobi. Transfer to your Nairobi address is included.
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Romantic Touches
Room and bed decoration for the night of the proposal — From KES 3,000 ($30) per setup
Champagne or wine greeting on arrival — From KES 4,000 ($40) per couple
Champagne brought to the dunes for the moment itself — From KES 4,000 ($40) per couple
Couple's massage — From KES 3,000 ($30) per session per person
Upgrade the celebration dinner from the rooftop to a private beach dinner at Shela — From KES 5,000 ($50) per couple
Celebration cake — From KES 3,500 ($35) per cake
Photography and Film
Extended photography session, additional hour after the proposal — From KES 4,000 ($40) per session
Second photography session at another location — From KES 4,000 ($40) per session
Video coverage of the proposal moment — flagged for confirmation, not currently listed on the Addons page
Lamu Experiences
Manda Island and Takwa Ruins day trip — From KES 10,000 ($100) per person
Extra half day dhow sail with lunch — From KES 8,000 ($80) per couple
Matondoni dhow building village boat trip — From KES 5,000 ($50) per couple
Snorkelling gear hire — From KES 1,000 ($10) per person per day
Private guide, additional day — From KES 3,000 ($30) per group
Transfers and Comfort
Additional private boat transfer — From KES 8,000 ($80) per couple per transfer
Packed lunch for a beach or dhow day — From KES 2,000 ($20) per meal
Accommodation upgrade — From KES 8,000 ($80) per person sharing per night
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+ Inclusions
Return economy flights, Nairobi to Manda Airport (Lamu)
Return road transfers between your Nairobi address and the departure airport
Private boat transfer, Manda Airport to Lamu Town on arrival and back on departure
3 nights at Amu House or similar, Lamu Old Town, on bed and breakfast
Pre departure planning call to agree location, timing, signal and cover story
Private proposal setup on the Shela dunes, prepared before first light
Early morning private boat transfer to Shela for the proposal
Photographer for the proposal moment, with images shared before you leave the island
Private celebration dinner for two on the rooftop terrace
Guided Lamu Old Town walking tour with a licensed local guide
Lamu Fort and Lamu Museum entry fees for two
Return boat transfer to Shela Beach on Day 2
Private two hour sunset dhow sail for two, with crew
All government taxes and levies
Baecation Adventures airstrip meet and greet
- Exclusions
Lunches and all other dinners
Drinks, including bottled water outside breakfast and the celebration dinner
Travel insurance
Tips and gratuities for guides, crew, photographer and guesthouse staff
Personal shopping at the market and galleries
Ring transport, insurance or storage. Please carry it on your person
Manda Island and Takwa Ruins day trip
Video, extended photography sessions and all other add-ons listed below
Excess baggage charges on the flight
Anything not listed under Inclusions
What To Carry
Loose cotton clothing covering shoulders and knees for town. Lamu is a conservative Muslim community and modest dress is good manners
One set of clothes for both of you that you would be happy to see in photographs for the rest of your life. Light colours photograph well against sand at dawn
Something smarter for the rooftop celebration dinner, though nothing formal
A kikoi, which works as a beach wrap, a shoulder cover and a towel
Sandals or flip flops, and something you do not mind walking through soft sand in before sunrise
A small torch for the walk up the dunes in the dark
Reef safe sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses
Insect repellent for evenings on the roof
Cash in Kenyan shillings drawn before you fly. Island ATMs are few and often empty, though M-Pesa is widely accepted
A power bank, since Day 3 involves a lot of phone calls
Motion sickness tablets if either of you is unsure on water
ID or passport for the domestic flight
The ring, in your hand luggage and on your person, never in a checked bag
Book This Package
Reach out:
For enquiries or bookings, write to [email protected]. We’ll revert within 20 minutes during business hours.