Beach holidays in Sri Lanka

We are looking to book a nice, relaxing beach holiday this year and are considering Sri Lanka.

Important points for us would be:

-beach
-luxury resort type accommodation
-scuba diving
-interesting day-trips

When would be the best time to go? I'd prefer late October, early November but am flexible as I've read that November is the beginning of monsoon season.

Any recommendations, experiences and advice would be appreciated.

Last time friends of mine visited Sri Lanka they came back married ...

Are you not concerned about these Tamil Tiger wallahs?

Consider "Colombo" and "Kandy" in Sri Lanka and do some research on that. There are lot of other places which I havent listed.

If you are lookin' out for any other places (apart from Sri Lanka), check "Maldives", etc islands around there.

Thanks for clarifying.

I just posted 2 main places there (esp. of touristic importance) and most of the other places like beaches, wild life sanctuaries, etc things are around these cities (Also, for the fact that 'South' is safer than 'North'). So, if you go spend sometime in/around these cities, you will cover most of the touristic things there. You dont have to thank me in a sarcastic way, by quoting that.

I went to Sri Lanka in March last year, found it truly amazing. It is an island that offers everything and more. I was travelling on my own and felt safe apart from in Colombo. The day I got there the Tamil Tigers did there first attack from aircraft and the military presence in the city was immense. A lot of the island you just don’t go to, and unfortunately this includes some of the best dive sites and beaches. But all is not lost as there is a lot of beauties…….

I then got a train (very cheap and scenic) to Hikkaduwa. You can also get a taxi which is also cheap, I think about 30 pounds for a 4 hour drive. I stayed at Mambos, http://www.mambo.nu/, which is a surf place, run by some really great guys. It was the most luxurious back packers place I have ever stayed in. Very cheap and the guys will help you with anything you want. The best room is a massive double bed, shower etc. with sea views so you can see the sunset. They even put joysticks outside your rooms in the morning. Even this room is really cheap!!! You could of course, get much nicer accommodation, but I am not sure where. I seem to remember a lot of eco friendly lodges advertised.

The water was 28 degrees, turtles everywhere, beaches v v clean and stunning!! Diving is good (http://www.divesrilanka.com/), and as I say you can find everything here, beaches, culture, history, brilliant locals, shopping etc. Kandy is also a nice town.

Day trips - Galle, the town nearby Hikkaduwa
Hikkaduwa turtle nesting or sanctuary (but a little basic and run down)
elephant orphanage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBKe9-9smB0&feature=related)

Also have a look at the government website, which has lots of interesting things!! Let me know if you need any more help!

Hi ER,

I went to India last year and the best time to go there is mid-Oct - Feb. I guess it is much the same for Sri Lanka.

Actually, just googled and found this http://www.tourism-srilanka.com/best-time.html November is the start of the dry season and therefore a good time to go, not the monsoons, which are in our summer.

Hope that helps,
sc

That is great information, thank you!

We have friends over in Sri lanka at the moment, there staying in Sri Lanka for 5 weeks, from mid Jan till mid Feb then go to India Goa till mid March, they do this every year at this time. Can ask them for some info on hotels, villas. They mostly hire villas near or on the beach which is just as cheap as staying in a resort hotel. Will email him and post some info for you.

according to this, Colombo will be pretty wet when we want to go...

Hi there,

October's not the best time for going to Sri Lanka as it might be quite rainy!!! Make sure that you don't go during the rain season!

There are some great resorts about 100km before Hikaduwa beach, and some really marvelous hotels on the hills of Kandy (but no beach).
Hikaduwa beach was severly hit by Tsunami in 2004. It looked very sad when we went there in 2006. The sunsets on the beach were great though I've got a couple of fotos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alegria275/se...57594383089849/
(scroll down for the beach fotos)

As for the day trips, you'll find a plenty of opportunities when you go there - locals are pretty organized in that respect

Cheers,
Ana

I would suggest doing a multiday Rundreise that hits the major tourist sites (see L'Tur for one). Luxury hotels you may want to consider are Saman Villas in Bentonta and Galle Fort Hotel

http://www.samanvilla.com/location.htm
http://www.galleforthotel.com/

Might want to do some Ayurveda wellness while you are there.

Sri Lanka. Snakes. Very dangerous. You go first.