Our home away from home, the most welcoming country we have come across.
We have visited Sri lanka 4 times together and Phil went on an extra trip with his dad to watch England cricket….and we still want to go back for more!
When people ask us what draws us back we find it hard to verbalize, is it the people? the food? the beaches? the sunsets? the hill country?
It is simply a perfect mixture of everything. Sri Lanka, in our eyes, has it all.
We have travelled around a lot of the country, particularly down the West and South Coasts. Our first trip coincided with an England Cricket Tour so it was great fun to see the country as a touring fan too.
We still have lots to see (namely Sigiriya, Yalla National Park and the East Coast) but we would happily go back in a heartbeat and are hoping to revisit within the next year or so. Living in Dubai it is only a 5 hour flight so it is easily accessible for us.
We have listed some of our highlights here:
Mirissa
The South Coast, about 2.5 hours from Colombo airport. This is our favourite part of Sri Lanka. It is still relatively unspoilt with no high rise buildings and coconut trees line the beach. Local men clamber up coconut trees in the mornings and sell them to you for 20p, understated beach shacks are dotted along the sand selling the most wonderful catch of the day and you can stop for an iced cold Lion Beer in a frozen glass anytime of the day.
On our 2nd trip (the year we lost a digital camera full of pictures on the journey home!) we did a Whale Watching tour. We were there in January, the weather and sea was perfect and we saw tens of blue whales jumping out of the water with their ‘tails up’ as well as a whole school of dolphins jumping aside the boat. There are numerous tour boats heading out and your hotel will be able to arrange everything for you.
It is the ideal place to simply relax, read a book or 2 and while the days away. Get up early for sunrise, you won’t regret it and be prepared for the beautiful sunsets over the ocean to complete your day in paradise.
Unfortunately we haven’t found a hotel here we are willing to recommend so will be looking out for reviews for the next trip back.
Unawatuna
A charming little beach town full of roti shacks, beach restaurants and jewellery stalls. It has a long stretch of sand lined with restaurants and sun beds with generally no charge just demanding some custom throughout the day. Do watch out for the beach vendors, they can be a bit intrusive and demanding but we have also bought many lovely sarongs, beach dresses and beach shorts over the years so don’t be afraid to have a look. Pretending to be asleep is often the best trick to keep them away!
We have stayed 3 times at the Nor Lanka guest house, it has become increasingly popular due to their Lonely Planet mention but it is a well placed, clean, affordable guest house. They have comfy beds, a balcony for spotting monkeys, fridge, a/c and a lovely Sri Lankan breakfast all within steps of the beach. What more do you need?
Galle
Galle Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage site, it has a European feel about the place since it was first conquered by the Portuguese in the 16th century before being overtaken by the Dutch in the 17th century. Expect narrow lanes, cobbled streets and colonial buildings occupied by boutique shops, art galleries, tea shops and unique restaurants.
It is very quiet during the day so don’t try and go before early evening, we made that mistake our first visit and were completely underwhelmed. However when we returned during the dusk the streets had become alive and we fell in love. Head down to the Galle Fort walls to watch the sunset.
It is an easy tuk tuk from Unawatuna or Hikkaduwa or you can stay within the city walls but we have never done this, always opting to be by the sea.
Bentota
Bentota is home to many of the 4 and 5* hotels offering infinity pools and all inclusive food options, not really our cup of tea. However, the beach is glorious and the sand stretches as far as the eye can see with simply wonderful sunsets so of course being the beach and sunset lovers we are, we have visited many times. It is also only about 1 hour drive from the airport so makes a popular stop for those with limited time in the country.
We stayed in the Sri Lancashire guest house on our 2nd visit (when we lost our pictures!), a stunning boutique hotel overlooking the river. We had a balcony with sun loungers, a fabulous 4 poster bed and the room was beautiful. We spent a whole day just lounging on the balcony reading and being peaceful, an ideal spot for that.
There are many turtle sanctuaries around Sri Lanka that claim to help injured turtles and rehabilitate turtles back into the wild. There can be some doubt around them as tourist traps, but we were advised to visit one in Bentota that seemed to be reputable and Dylan especially loved getting up close to them.
We have also stayed a villa which we loved, we were taken to the market at 6am to buy fresh fish in the morning and the housekeeper cooked up a BBQ, one of the best meals we have had during our stays and the market visit a whole experience in itself.
The villa was close to Amal Hotel and Hotel Wunderbar, both of which we visited for drinks and to watch the sunset as they were really close to the villa, we would return and stay in either of these places.
A restaurant worth checking out is Diya Sisila, it’s a very small place, a tuk tuk ride away with views over the lake, they have beautiful fresh seafood at great prices. We went twice and loved it each time.
Kandy
Kandy is a quiet, sacred city set around a large lake in the hill country with mountains and tea plantations surrounding.
The Temple of the Sacred Tooth is the most popular Buddhist shrine there, which unfortunately we haven’t visited. The first trip to Kandy it was closed for a religious holiday and the second time we turned up with 2 over tired and kids (2 under 2!) and inappropriate clothes so couldn’t go in and didn’t have the time or energy to change and come back.
We took a day trip to Nuwara Eliya which was a highly recommended day trip away. We stopped at waterfalls and tea plantations on the way and spent a couple of hours exploring the rather strange English colonial city, which feels more like being in the Cotswolds in England. We were glad to be visiting just for the day as there wasn’t really much there aside from a lake and a few restaurants but the drive itself through the mountainous, lush, green hillside made the day out worth it.
On the drive back back to the West Coast we stopped at Pinnawala elephant orphanage. It is government owned and a very popular day trip in the area. The first time we visited back in 2012 we fell completely in love with the place, it was quiet, the elephants were roaming freely and it had a really great feel to the place.
However, on our return in 2016 we saw a completely different place. There were more tourists and elephants, barriers had been put up and one or two elephants were chained. Men working with the elephants were demanding payouts to get close to them. I guess it was purely due to the increase in tourism but it had lost it’s charm and it put us off, sadly I don’t think we would return.
Slightly Chilled Lounge Bar has a great rooftop overlooking the city and lake, we would suggest checking it out.
We would also recommend catching the train from Colombo to Kandy (2 hours) to take in the scenery and insight into real Sri Lankan life.
Ella
We caught the train from Kandy to Ella, a remarkable 7 hours trundling through breathtaking scenery of mountains, tea plantations and local villages. Even during the long journey we didn’t tire of looking out the window.
We arrived at night and were escorted to our hotel, Mountain Heavens, in a tuk tuk up a steep, narrow dirt track to arrive at our guest house and had no awareness of where we were. We always remember opening the curtains the next day and both lying in bed in awe, we couldn’t believe the green, the fresh air, the mountains, the monkeys screeching and birds twittering – especially as we were living in Qatar, a beige, nondescript city in the Middle East.
We climbed little Adam’s Peak which is an easy 2-3 hour climb passing tea picking ladies and small shacks where people live. When we did this hike back in 2012 we only saw 2/3 people along the way. We have heard it is now a much more popular route so expect to see other tourists. The views from the top are astounding, a whole 360degree view of lush, green mountains and tea plantations. It really is worth the walk.
Colombo
The bustling, beeping capital city can in our opinion easily be missed out of a trip to Sri Lanka. England were playing cricket in a stadium here and we opted to stay in Mount Lavinia, 15minutes away on the coast. However, we chose a cheap hotel right next to the train line so were woken up numerous times to the train racing along.
Mount Lavinia is also easily missable, a strange town built around the railway track which everyone precariously wanders up and down to reach different destinations. We have fond memories of being lured into a restaurant and drinking beer out of a teapot on a ‘dry day’ due to a religious festival in the country, although knowing the locals this could have happened anywhere in the country!
If you are in Colombo visit the Galle Face Hotel for a cocktail and sunset and the Cricket Cafe (if you have an interest in cricket) for a drink/dinner. Other than than we tried to find restaurants and other points of interest but went round in circles in the tuk tuk and gave up.
Negombo
Negombo is a strangely popular beach resort about 10minutes from the airport. It has numerous expensive hotels lining the dirty looking beach and aside from the convenience of the airport it isn’t really a place we would recommend. If you have an early flight, relax the previous day and take away the travelling time, the main strip has some decent restaurants and bars and is perfectly fine for a night.
However, please don’t choose this place for your main experience in Sri Lanka, there are far more incredible places that will give you a true taste of Sri Lankan life. We wanted to mention this as we have spoken to people who have been to Sri Lanka and based themselves here and done day trips to Galle, Kandy and Colombo and left wondering what the fuss was about Sri Lanka – please explore. Trains and drivers are easy to organise, there are plenty of cheap guest houses and the people will help you out in any way they can.
Please get in touch with any questions you have, we truly love this country and will happy to help however we can.
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Wow! It looks amazing. I would really love to visit Sri Lanka some day.
Thanks! You wouldn’t regret it 🙂
Looks great! We flew thru on the way to the Maldives, but didn’t get to leave the airport. It’s high on the list. Hopefully some day soon!
It is well worth it, hope you make it there soon!