In this holiday week, when the coast is very busy with tourists because foreigners and also Kenyans from Nairobi and other cities in the north of the country converge there, we receive numerous requests for advice from those who are or are arriving these days in Kenya and wish to get around, take even unseen and unorganized excursions or in the usual safari itineraries. The shortage of domestic flights and the skyrocketing prices of the few available seats may suggest moving by car to see coveted tourist destinations.
Such is the case with Lamu, the Arabian archipelago not far from the border with Somalia, which has had an interesting development in recent years, becoming a real attraction for lovers of relaxing vacations with particular emphasis on marine excursions but also "trendy" suggestions such as the yoga festival and the historical-cultural drift of "Islamic Venice."
Flights to Lamu from Nairobi are not few, while from Mombasa and Malindi at this time it is difficult to find a place. In past years, after the Malindi-Lamu road was taboo at the end of the last century because of the presence, along the miles of dirt road, of "shifta," dangerous Somali bandits, the road system was made safer by the paving of much of the 300 kilometers leading to the Mokowe dock, from which the island is then reached by boat. But in recent times, traveling by car from Malindi to Lamu has again become dangerous so WE DO NOT RECOMMEND THE ROAD TRAVEL FROM MALINDI TO LAMU!
After the announcement a few months ago by the interior ministers of Kenya and Somalia to reopen, after a good 12 years, the land borders between the two nations, located in Wajir, Mandera and also Lamu counties, there has been a resurgence of attacks by militants of the jihadist terrorist group Al-shabaab, who have assault techniques targeting precisely the vehicles in transit, including on the coastal road, especially after the town of Witu and beyond that of Mpeketoni.
Not to be forgotten that the last stretch of the road to Lamu, skirts the Boni forest, which has always been considered a huge inextricable maze where terrorists not only manage to transit from Kenya to Somalia and vice versa, but also set up paramilitary training camps within them. 
Yesterday was the latest report of cars being targeted with machine gun fire on that stretch of road, while last winter two Italian girls were rescued by police, who managed to intercept them just before they ended up in the mouths of terrorists who had set up a checkpoint. The two, with their driver who had offered without fail, for a fee, to drive them all the way to Lamu, spent moments of genuine panic, hidden in the bush, while special police and Kenyan army forces engaged in a firefight with Somali organized criminals during which there were four deaths.
The two girls were escorted back to Lamu thanks to the intervention of the Malindi consulate and today they can tell everyone about their dastardly deed. But let's not call it an adventure; adventures are something else, because they assume calculable and calculated risks.
Kenya's tourist areas are currently quiet, although as everywhere else in the world, the word "security" was abolished after September 11, 2001, and efforts are simply being made to curb it, as they cannot guarantee it. Some locations, however, still cannot be connected to each other by land.
This is also the case in Lake Turkana, where clashes are often reported after the town of Maralal and recently police vehicles were also the victims. For safaris, some alternative routes, such as the Suguta Valley, are also at risk, though they are much busier routes for African adventure enthusiasts than the Malindi-Lamu.