If you’re a budget traveler or backpacker traveling to Mombasa, there’s a good chance that the Tulia hostels will come up in your research. Tulia Backpackers has the two most popular hostels in Mombasa. The original location is in Old Town Mombasa, a historic neighborhood nestled in the central island of Mombasa. Their newer location is in Nyali, a beach-adjacent neighborhood of Mombasa popular with tourists. I stayed in Tulia Old Town twice on two different stopovers in the city in 2024. During my stays, I fell in love with the hostel for its rustic charm and fantastic neighborhood.
>>Check out my favorite things to do, see, and eat in Old Town Mombasa in my weekend guide!
I can’t recommend the Old Town neighborhood enough for any solo travelers exploring Mombasa. In part, Old Town is great because Tulia Old Town makes the perfect budget base. However, if you’re like me, you want more than a two-line review on Hostelworld before you book. Read on for all of the details (both good and not-so-good) on pricing, location, vibes, rooms, and more.
Pricing & Booking for Tulia Old Town
I paid ~$10/night during each of my stays in 2024. Airbnb occasionally has some good deals in Mombasa, so it’s worth checking. However, if you’re looking for an established, well-reviewed place to stay in Mombasa, you’re not going to get much better than $10/night. Do note that Tulia Old Town offers both online and in-person pricing. If you’re looking to shave a dollar or two off your per-night price, it’s worth messaging them directly to book!
The Tulia website has information on each of the hostels, but doesn’t offer direct online booking as of April 2024. If you want to book online, note that the listings on Booking and Hostelworld are actually for two different hostels. Booking.com lets you book Tulia Old Town, and Hostelworld is the listing for Nyali! If you want to book Tulia Old Town, your best bet is to either book through booking.com or message Tulia Old Town them directly on Instagram or Whatsapp (+254 711 955 955).
Tulia Old Town Location
Tulia Old Town is smack in the middle of Old Town and right on the edge of the river. Being directly in Old Town gives it a very rich, walkable location which is great as a solo traveler. The riverside location means that the hostel balcony offers swoon-worthy water vistas. I’m talking breakfast with a VIEW every morning.
The Old Town neighborhood is full of narrow winding streets, and can present as a bit of a maze. If you’re coming straight from the airport or train station, your driver may not be familiar enough with the neighborhood to know of Tulia.
If in doubt, direct your driver to Fort Jesus, a well-known Old Town landmark. Fort Jesus can be easily accessed while avoiding the maze of tiny Old Town streets. Once you’ve made it to Fort Jesus, Tulia Old Town is a straight shot less than 5 minutes down Ndia Kuu Road. Keep an eye out for the signs which will point you down a tiny alley to the hostel. The alley is accessible by foot/boda/tuk-tuk only, so if you’re traveling by car you’ll need to get out here! If in doubt, don’t hesitate to ask folks where “Tulia House”, as it’s known locally, is. Most know it well, and can point you in the right direction!
Hostel Vibe & Staff
Tulia Old Town is a beautiful hostel, with soft, curved lines built from earthen terracotta dominating the architecture. Common spaces are limited but thoughtful. In addition to the small cafe at the entrance, Tulia House has a larger table in the interior courtyard, as well as seating on the stunning, plant-filled balcony which overlooks the water. There are also a few tables outside to chill at.
I stayed at Tulia during the off-season (love me some off-season travel) so it wasn’t entirely full, but there were a few other travelers. The vibes were friendly, but it’s definitely not a party hostel – no organized bar crawls or group activities. However, a few friendly locals were hanging around while I was there. They were happy to help organize tours, boat rides, transportation, and more at request, so if you arrive at Tulia with no idea what’s going on, you definitely won’t be on your own.
The Tulia staff are helpful and friendly, particularly once you get to know them. If you’re used to hostels where most of the staff are enthusiastically friendly volunteers working for accommodation, this will feel a bit different. However, once you take the chance to get to know them, they are fantastic folks who have a wealth of local knowledge of the neighborhood and surrounding areas! During both of my stays, the staff were extremely helpful in booking me transportation, both via car and tuk-tuk.
Rooms & Beds
Tulia Old Town has both dorm-style and private rooms. If you’re solo backpacking and have ended up at Tulia, you’re probably there for the dorm. Tulia Old Town has one dorm, which is a 10-bed, mixed-gender room. It’s a beautiful space built from the same terracotta as the rest of the building. Tulia Old Town, like most budget hotels in Kenya, does not have air conditioning. Mombasa was sweltering in April when I was there, and while the many fans in the dorm were much appreciated, the heat was still intense.
It is worth noting that the room doesn’t have any lockers for personal belongings, and the door to the dorm doesn’t have any access keys/cards. I didn’t have any issues with my belongings while staying at Tulia Old Town. However, if you are traveling with lots of valuables, this may be a challenge for you.
The 5 double-decker bunks have mosquito nets, but not all of the nets fully cover the beds. Make sure you have some bug repellent on hand if the mosquitos are bad. Alternatively, Tulia provides floor fans for each bottom bunk, which are great at deterring mosquitos. It may be worth trying for a bottom bunk and blasting the fan if mosquitos are a concern. Each bed has electrical sockets which are already fitted with international adapters. This is a truly useful model that more hostels should follow!
Bathrooms
The dorm room has one shared bathroom with a toilet and shower. Dorm guests also have access to the communal bathroom spaces in the interior courtyard: one toilet, one shower, and one bathroom with a toilet and shower.
The staff didn’t immediately give me a towel when I arrived, but when I asked, they loaned me one for no extra charge. While I was there, the water pressure was very low – think a light rain shower at best. As far as I know, there was no hot water. With the sweltering climate, though, no one was looking for hot water, so this wasn’t an issue.
Amenities & Bonus Points at Tulia Old Town
Wifi & Remote Workability
During my stay at Tulia Old Town, I ended up needing to work remotely for a couple of days. Luckily, the hostel has scattered but functional wifi. Every room seemingly has its own network and password, but once you’ve got the right pairing, it works well. I spent a few remote work days rotating between the courtyard table, the balcony, and the cafe tables, and other than the heat, Tulia Old Town made for a very pleasant and functional remote work location.
Laundry
If you need to do laundry while at Tulia, just ask! They will happily take your dirty clothes and send them next door for washing. While this is of course a paid service, nothing beats the convenience of in-house laundry.
In-House Cafe
Tulia Old Town has its own cafe which serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, along with various snacks. While the prices are a bit higher than you’d find at a hyper-local spot, they’re still quite reasonable. I ate several meals at the Tulia Old Town Cafe, including both breakfast and dinner. All of my food was fresh and tasty – a great convenience right at the hostel! Plus, their waterside balcony is a lush and fantastic place to enjoy any meal!
However, the kitchen space is accessible to hostel staff only – there is no communal guest kitchen. This means that if you’re looking to save money by cooking your own food while at Tulia, your options will be quite limited.
Tulia also sells cold bottled water at all hours which is extremely convenient given that the tap water isn’t potable. However, as usual, you’ll pay for the convenience and refrigeration. if you’re staying for a bit and want to get the best deal, you’ll want to stop in at one of the neighborhood stalls to pick up a few bottles of significantly cheaper water.
Overall, Tulia is a fantastic place to stay if you’re looking for a beautiful and budget-conscious stay for a solo traveler. As with much of the budget accommodation in Kenya, you’ll need to be prepared for the more rustic aspects (no Air Conditioning, questionable water pressure, etc.), but in my mind, the value of Tulia Old Town Backpackers is well worth it!
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