Airport to Hikka
After around ten hours in the air, we touched down in Sri Lanka, a day after leaving the UK. The journey had been thankfully uneventful—just the way I prefer it. Travel is now so often more of a necessary process - airport, flight, transfer, hotel - rather than an enjoyable part of the experience. That said, this time, we had a great direct flight with TUI. I’m not sure if they still offer it, but it made the trip much smoother.
A map of Sri Lanka and our route
January on the south coast of Sri Lanka meant 29°C - and that’s not a temperature we are used to in the UK in winter. Even better, we were flying out in time for my birthday. And a birthday on the beach is always epic, no matter the temperature.
My wife (Liz) and I prearranged a taxi from Columbo airport through our first hotel. Despite this being much more expensive than picking a local option on arrival, we wanted the ease and convenience after the long journey. We paid $65 for the 2.5 hour journey down the superhighway to Hikkaduwa. The car and journey were comfortable and one of only two pleasant journeys by taxi we enjoyed.
We generally avoided taxis on this trip. Partly because of the aggressive driving style and partly because there were other more interesting ways to travel. Some will tell you Tuk Tuks are dangerous. But they were an amazing way to get around the country along with the stunning train journeys. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
View from a Tuk Tuk
The landing and initial trip down the coast made us realise Sri Lanka is a beautiful country. And to find that climate in January - warm, sunny and tropical - is rare.
We settled into the ride and enjoyed the tropical scenery, the superhighway and the beach views as we made our way south. On towards Hikkaduwa, our first stop.
Hikka
Hikkaduwa is a lively place - an ex hippy enclave apparently - but we avoided the hustle and bustle and based ourselves about a mile east along Narigama beach in a lovely little hotel called Sapphire Seas. We were welcomed with a smile, a welcome drink, an upgraded room overlooking the sea and the offer that any meals taken at the hotel could be had overlooking the beach. Basically on the beach. Beautiful.
Hikkaduwa beach
That beach, wow! Big waves and a rip tide. It was just safe enough to swim in but it's always worth checking depending on conditions and how confident a swimmer you are in those conditions.
Hikkaduwa beach itself was north of us and it sits on a coral reef that is bleached but still full of fish. At the point between the two beaches there is a hotel called Hikka Trans by Cinnamon and we visited the beach directly in front of the hotel to feed turtles with seaweed. They were incredibly chilled animals and we spent a fair bit of time in the water around them just letting them be. Liz even tripped over one that snuck up behind her! Apparently the turtles appear most days and have become very used to humans. There is no charge for feeding the turtles because it is a public beach and most people behaved themselves around the two enormous turtles - perhaps 500kg loggerheads?
Sea turtle
Whilst in with the turtles we got approached by a few boat owners trying to take us out to the snorkelling site about 150m off the coast. A bit far to swim so we took them up on the reasonably priced offer. I took the second oar to help get the very small catamaran out to the reef. There was no discount for helping to row.
Once out on to the coral the number of fish was perhaps the largest number we have ever seen on a bleached reef, certainly more than we saw in the Seychelles and closer in number to my experiences in parts of the Red Sea. We saw a fantastic octopus as well as angel fish, several very large parrot fish and a dozen other species we were unable to recognise. We spent about an hour out snorkelling and paddling before returning back to the beach and dragging the boat ashore.
This type of boat is traditional to Sri Lanka and they are still used daily for fishing and getting about. The larger ones have sails.
Traditional oruwa fishing catamaran
We didn’t have a huge choice of restaurants where we were based at Hikka. Only Cafe Ceylon really stood out to us. It's owned/run by a German lady who has managed to blend Sri Lankan cooking with European and has come up with a fantastic menu. Everything we had there from the tuna, rice and curry, and deserts was lovely. As were the staff. A strong recommend. It was also where I had my 40th birthday meal. Excellent.
The choice of wine and beer was a little limited in the places we visited across the whole south west of Sri Lanka, not just Hikka. Local beer, Lion, is everywhere. It seems they also brew a Carlsberg on the island and both tasted like average holiday lager. Cold, wet and refreshing in the heat. If I was lucky my Lion was served in a cold glass, but I have to say it always hit the spot.
The Sapphire Seas hotel managed to turn out excellent noodles, a great crab curry, and some amazing homemade spring rolls.
Me surfing, first time
The day after my birthday I took my first ever surf lesson up nearer Hikka and it was tough. Later in the holiday we met a good surfer who was surprised that I had tried to learn at Hikka, owing to the fierce breaks there. I just know it was bloody hard work but I managed to get up at least six times and made it all the way in to the beach four times. Not as epic as it sounds if you see the size of the waves but I was still pleased with myself. And there is video evidence too - just ask Liz.
We both decided that there are many other nice places to visit in Sri Lanka so we wouldn't hurry back to that same resort. Having said that, if we did venture back we would definitely stay on Narigama beach again as Hikka itself had a bit too much hustle and bustle. At least for us.
Galle
Galle - pronounced Gaul - is a Dutch fort town just 15 minutes down the coast from Hikka. Although we made a mistake and visited from Mirissa when it would have made more sense to have taken a Tuk Tuk from Hikka.
As an aside, we booked the whole trip just three weeks before departing yet we made very few mistakes with our itinerary. Lots of research and a little bit of luck.
It seems that it's a 50/50 as to whether you will enjoy Galle. This was simply based on the experiences of various people we met on our journey. We thought that was a bit unfair on the old town because it's really nice for a half-day trip. Or maybe somewhere you stop at when travelling through.
Galle cricket ground
The northern most point of the fort is topped by the international cricket stadium and then the fort walls reach down both sides and form the rest of the peninsular. Our Tuk Tuk driver dropped us off at the very south and we walked the wall all the way round before hitting up the little touristy shops, cafes and restaurants that crisscross the interior of the fort. Seeing inside the old colonial buildings was fascinating and several of the cafes and hotels such as the Amagalla luxury hotel are worth a quick walk around, if not an extended stop and a meal.
Decorated elephant
Some very expensive places by Sri Lankan standards but we really liked:
– ‘A Minute by Tuk Tuk’ is a great restaurant with excellent reviews overlooking the water on the east side of the fort.
– ‘Stick no Bills’ is a great poster shop featuring famous artwork used for Sri Lankan marketing. Beautiful printing quality and a great saving compared to buying in Europe.
– ‘The Heritage Cafe & Bistro’ was lovely and the ginger lemonade was very refreshing.
Stick no bills
So many restaurants and cafes there have good reviews and you can see why. Perhaps useful to mention that nothing is cheap in Galle.
Galle by Tuk Tuk was ideal and it allowed us to get natural air conditioning and take lots of pictures along the route. Such a good way to travel the shorter distances. It made me wonder why we don’t have more Tuk Tuks in coastal towns like Brighton in the UK.
We also stopped off at the stick fishermen in Koggola for a few photos.
Stick fishing at Koggola
Mirissa
Mirissa is an interesting bay and one like nothing else Liz and I have ever seen on our travels.
Imagine a small bay of about a kilometre in length that has a 60 metre wide beach and each and every restaurant, cafe and nightclub (the nightclub’s called Salt) has enough room to spread tables out onto the beach so there is no excuse not to eat and drink with your toes in the sand.
The quality of the restaurants varies enormously but Zephyr really stood out. A great location, staff that care and excellent food right on the beach. We overheard a couple saying they had been there every day so far - five and counting! Honestly some of the best food we had in the country.
Mirissa beach
There is also a new place opened by a young English couple just three weeks before we arrived and it looks stunning. Almost the perfect beach restaurant. It's simply a shame that the food was between average and extremely poor, the prices high and the service below average. Poorly trained staff just couldn't resolve issues and we were told the ice cream had melted because it's hot in Sri Lanka. They later admitted it was because the freezer was broken but they still served ice cream that could have made us ill and lied about it. I’m sure the place can turn themselves around but it needs some serious work. The owners didn't seem to be receptive to feedback so we left having not really resolved the crap meal. No point mentioning the name. I like to think they will either have sorted all the issues now, or have given up moved on.
The only downside to the overall Mirissa experience is the volume of the music pumping out of the bars and nightclubs from 2200 through to the early hours of the morning. Bloody annoying if you aren't in town to party but we were forewarned and stayed up on a hill just to the west of the bay. We did wonder if the sound travelled more to where we were staying but there are lots of reports of it being difficult to sleep if you are staying just off the beach.
Traditional painted ceilings
We stayed up in the Palace Marissa which, whilst being rustic and in need of a bit of TLC - had amazing ceiling paintings, lovely grounds with peacocks and peahens, - was a perfect balance of being able to stay in Marissa without being in Marissa.
I say that because the foot and drink scene in Marissa was exciting and yet the Palace Marisa hotel buffet food was so bad that we only ate there once in the evening and ventured out for better food the other two days. One nice surprise was that we could use the facilities at the sister hotel right on the beach. A brilliant result.
The view from the Palace overlooking the ocean from the heights was stunningly beautiful, the sea spanning forever, however we didn't spot any of the famous whales.
A view from the hotel
The sea was fun. Huge waves to play in but we had to be careful. There are lots of surfers to both sides of the bay and rocks and reefs in awkward places. Very cool but not a great place for a quiet swim!
At the end of the bay was a rocky outcrop we climbed up to get a great view of the surfers and it allows you to look back at the bay.
Surfing
Tangalle
Aside from the challenge of finding the Mangrove Beach Cabana, the location was absolutely incredible. The difficulty stemmed from outdated Google Maps information and the business’s hacked website - fun times. Each cabana sits right on the beach, offering direct access to the sand. Stepping out each morning from our deluxe cabana, complete with a cozy daybed and an amazing outdoor shower and bathroom, felt truly magical. I don’t think I’ve ever stayed anywhere quite like it.
Our Mangrove Beach Cabana
As soon as we arrived, we headed a mile down the beach to a restaurant called The Lounge. This workded out well as our room wasn't ready and we had heard such good things about The Lounge. A Tuk Tuk would have been easier but it was fun to walk the dunes and what is one of the widest beaches I have ever walked. It was hard going in the midday sun….
Mangrove beach
The Lounge was worth it and the owner was a nice guy who seem to do everything from welcome guests, cook, fish, manage the bills and everything between. His staff worked as hard as he did and it was a superb outdoor charcoal cooked meal. It was so good that we went back the next night to take in the lively evening atmosphere. And enjoy a few of those cocktails. RS.300 for the return by Tuk Tuk - perfect for the evening.
The Lounge
The Mangrove Beach Cabana was really just a room on a beach - an amazing place if you can’t quite make it out to your private island this month! But the sea was scary - you couldn't swim or even play around because of the rip tides. Even the tides in the natural swimming areas (barriered by coral and rocks) was fierce. You wouldn't want to muck around in there and there were very few people venturing anywhere near the sea.
Tea on the beach
The beach was clean and enormous. Taking afternoon tea was stunning.
We had planned to see if there were any turtles laying eggs on the beach and decided that we would just have a walk along the beach towards turtle point ourselves without a guide. So there we were having a quick dinner at 1930 to head off. What we didn't know (nor anyone else) was there was a turtle laying her eggs about 100 metres from where we were sitting at that very moment. But in the pitch black of the beach we didn't find this out until after dinner. Unfortunately we didn't find another turtle or any evidence of one on our walk up the beach.
Sea turtle tracks
Word of warning, we got stopped and told we should only be using red lamps in our torch to avoid frightening the turtles. So next time we will be better prepared. Also, apparently more turtles appear during full moons and the moon was a long way from full when we were there. Oh well, next time.
Mangrove Beach Cabana is in front of Rekawa lagoon a few miles down from Tangalle itself so yet again we have no ability to say how busy, clean, tourist friendly the main town of Tangelle is but where we were was great. If you like the quiet.
Another word of warning. Mangrove was the only hotel we stayed at that didn't take credit cards. Except they hadn't told us this and it was an expensive hotel. They were meant to have contacted us before we arrived to arrange a bank transfer or let us know about the cash situation but they didn't. It all ended well with me going on an impromptu trip on the back of a scooter to pay by credit card at the sister hotel! There were lots of little moments like this that made Sri Lanka that little bit more charming than your average holiday destination. A real holiday, a real culture to throw yourself into. It felt like travelling should and somehow diminished so many other holidays I have been on. It certainly left us both wanting to return.
Ella via Udawalawa Safari
Now, we had a choice at this point because our next destination was Ella via a Safari Park called Udawalawa. The choice, Tuk Tuk or taxi. About 65 kilometres to Udawalawa and then a further 90 km up to Ella.
We chose the Tuk Tuk for the experience because we had suffered at the hands of some seriously crap taxi drivers. But although we couldn't honestly recommend this mode of transport to others I wouldn't change what we did. The Tuk Tuk took a a little longer and without a doubt you need a sensible, safe driver and luck that the other road users behave themselves but if that all works out it's a fun way to travel large distances. Just not as safe or as air conditioned as a taxi! But cheaper at only RS.8000 - £35 approx. As I mentioned earlier, the opportunity to hang out the door and take photos is also a real plus. We travel with those North Face water resistant duffel bags that also turn into backpacks. They stuff into small spaces on a sailing boat, squash under seats, make for a comfy bench if your transport is delayed and keep most of the contents dry. I really wouldn’t recommend a long Tuk Tuk or train journey with ‘normal’ suitcases. That Tuk Tuk would have been seriously cramped.
Another Tuk Tuk ride
We started off at 05.00 and our driver arranged our safari on route. Once at the Udawalawa safari we jumped in a beat up old jeep. We had heard that there was a 1.5 hour queue to get in but the small convoy of jeeps disappeared as we arrived and we went straight in via a short stop for tickets. I think this is another benefit of taking the more ‘locals’ route.
We had also heard that this park was one of the best in Sri Lanka because the jeep drivers were well behaved, more regulated and generally there was no unkindness towards the elephants. We saw nothing to disprove these facts and had an amazing introduction to safaris. Our guide/driver pointed out everything he saw including kingfishers, monkeys, elephants (quite a few), an eagle, water buffaloes, a crocodile and dogs! Yep strays are everywhere in Sri Lanka.
A loaded Jeep
An elephant
Peacock
Water Buffalo
Elephant
Bee Eater
Then it was onward to Ella and up a few hills that we were pretty sure the Tuk Tuk wouldn't get up. But it did, and we didn’t have to get out or push!
We were a bit fed up with the Tuk Tuk by the end but looking back, I wouldn't change a thing.
Ravana falls, Ella
Ella
Ella was lively. Unexpectedly so.
The hotel, Zion View, was nice enough, a stunning view over the mountain ranges, and with our own hammock it seemed like flying over the peaks.
Ella
An additional bonus was its location - central to the town, but just far enough up a side road that the noise didn’t carry. A shame we were only there for a night, a shame the pool was a bit crap and a shame we had to leave at 0600 the next morning. No breakfast buffet for us. We would definitely have stayed an extra night in Ella if we had the opportunity to re-plan our itinerary - our only slight miscalculation.
The view, at the Zion View Hotel
The night out in Ella was a drink in Chill bar and a fantastic curry in a tiny little road-side place. The main strip in Ella was quite touristy and some of the bars and restaurants were trying to be very western. The place we picked was the opposite of that and we hoped was a local as possible. It really was a fantastic curry and we wish we had had another day in Ella for a cooking class and to hike up one of the Adams peaks. Next time. The larger of the peaks is a Buddhist pilgrimage route comprising 5000+ stairs but the view is meant to be spectacular if you can cope with starting at 0200 in the morning to arrive for sunset. Our schedule didn't allow us to attempt this.
The hotel had been pretty cool in getting us two tickets for the train to Kandy. Basically, in the past anyone could buy any number of reserved seating train tickets and then resell them at hugely inflated prices. Recently, the government stepped in to ensure each ticket is attached to a passport number and so now availability and price have improved. Our two tickets in 2nd class reserved cost about £5.
Ella station
The train journey
The train journey was something I particularly wanted to experience and had read it was one of the greatest train journeys in the world. Top 5 train journey of the world kind of a deal. A trip through the very greenest of Sri Lankan tea fields and hills, over bridges and through towns.
It was so much better than we expected. Truly special.
6+ hours of hanging out of a train window, dangling legs from an open train door, watching the world go by and flying through the countryside is the best way to travel. Guys come round all the way through with food and so much of it was nice, and it was cheap.
2nd class reserved gets you big comfy seats, a table and drink holder and an opening window. No one stood in our carriage - 3rd class is for standing - so we were free to walk up and down and stand in the open doors as we moved along.
For the view they say sit on the left of the train, which our hotel had managed to get for us. It was fantastic but the view was spectacular from both sides at different points of the journey.
Ella station
Tea plantations Sir Lanka
Tracks outside Ella
Train from Ella
Train journey from Ella
Working on the railway
Man selling snacks
The only bit that went wrong was when a local fell off the train. Yep, really. He was ok and after a 20 minute search they dragged him back on the train and we got on our way. Mad. It really is a different culture.
At the end of the very long journey was the city of Kandy but we had no time booked there. If we did the journey again we would visit the Buddhist temple of the sacred tooth - said to have a tooth of the Buddha though not something you can get a look at. Instead we had a quick lunch at Devon restaurant with the locals. The Devon is a cheap and excellent buffet curry place and I seem to remember we might have been the only tourists in there, though not the only ones with luggage. After we finished we grabbed a cab out to Sigiriya.
The whistle stop tour continued.
Sigirya
Sigiriya Village hotel was nice. The food was average. The rooms were a bit damp and humid. But we were aware of this before we booked.
The highlight were the two families of monkeys that lived nearby and jumped around the roof and pool, many with babies hanging under their bellies. A group of larger monkeys with white fluffy fur around their face also ran through, though they were bigger and a little scarier. We also had cheeky chipmunks scampering about and hundreds of fireflies that came out at night.
A monkey
Everything else about our few days in Sigirya and Dambulla’s cave temple down the road from us was truly excellent.. Lion rock, the Buddhist cave temple, shopping for an elephant (wooden) and all but one of the meals was superb.
On Lion rock, Sri Lanka
A toque macaque
Lion rock is a huge rock that originally had a palace built on top for a playboy prince. Waterways, gardens, pools and an enormous climb to the top. Really impressive. A cool extra were the monks sightseeing and letting people take pictures of them.
Golden statue of Buddha, Dambulla
Dambulla, Buddhist temple
The Buddhist cave temple is made up of five temples built within ages old caves and contain what seems like hundreds of Buddha statues. All of them were impressive and the whole temple made for an amazing first visit to a Buddhist temple. At least 50% of the visitors were Sri Lankan's worshipping. The Golden temple at the very bottom of the mountain was impressive.
We went on our second safari, this time to Eco Park and although it wasn't the quality experience of Udawalawa and although we saw a smaller range of animals we did see an awful lot of elephants.
... including a number of baby elephants.
Two elephants
Baby elephant
Mum and baby elephant
It's was just a shame that the jeep drivers were gits who thought nothing of scaring the elephants and racing one another.
Perhaps because of the number of elephants we saw we spent a bit of time looking for a wooden elephant to take home as a memory of the holiday. It took two trips and four shops to find one we loved but eventually we did.
The shopping experience was interesting in itself and we had a nice Tuk Tuk driver take us to all the places we had scoped out. Each wood shop had a distinct personality but one thing they all had in common was the way you have to haggle. Hard. Otherwise you don't get a fair price. In our experience we had to almost halve the ’sticker’ price.
Ready to buy wooden elephant
Our unfinished wooden elephant
We bought on faith because the piece of wood we found was only the shape of an elephant but without its character - it still had a few weeks before it would be finished and then shipped to the U.K, exciting! But we had seen the quality of their work and had great faith the elephant would be amazing. It also allowed us to point to their other work and say which styles we liked so it because a bit of a custom piece for us.
We thought that elephant would never arrive in the UK. It took so long were we’re convinced we were scammed. It did turn up, it sits on our fireplace hearth looking towards visitor entering the room, and it is a beautiful sculpture and memory.
From here we jumped in a taxi to Negombo.
Negombo
Our final stop of the trip was the five star Jetwing Beachhotel in Negombo. Negombo is just north of the capital, Colombo, and much nearer to the airport for a quick exit.
The idea was two final relaxing days before flying home. We even did half board so we didn’t have to hunt for food and it was excellent. Good food. A lovely pool. Lovely grounds stretching out directly onto the beach and perfect weather.
We saw very little of Negombo but had a great chill-out to finish the holiday before jumping in a taxi and heading home.
Negombo beach
Traditional Oruwa Catamaran
Thanks for reading.
Ken
