Hikkaduwa Beach: Southern Sri Lanka
Hikkaduwa is really a slice of paradise in Sri Lanka. To be honest I had never heard about it until I started talking to a gentleman in Kandy earlier in the week. He raved on and on about how beautiful the southern beaches of Sri Lanka were and how amazingly beautiful Hikkaduwa was specifically.
He couldn't have been more right! After a very long transit from Kandy to Hikkaduwa we arrived very late at night and found a hotel for one night. The next morning we were up and searching for a more suitable budget hotel.
We left our bags and started walking down one of the most fantastic beaches you have ever seen. Kilometers and kilometers of beach, few people, and palm trees everywhere.
After going to about 10 different guest houses and hotels we managed to find this beautiful beach bungalow for 1000 Sri Lanka rupees a night ($10 USD), originally he wanted 1500/night but we negotiated a price for 5 nights a bit of a better bargain.
I have to say that it was true paradise here in Hikkaduwa, it was quiet during the day if you wanted to relax and parties raged most evenings at a few different bars right along the beach.
There is a distinct surfer presence along the beaches in Hikkaduwa, mainly on account of the very large waves. Which unfortunately makes swimming rather dangerous. I had read a few warnings on the Internet about high currents and bad rip tides along most of the Sri Lankan beaches and Hikkaduwa was not different. There are a few places where you can go about waist deep, but with the large waves you really need to be careful and children should not be left to go in the water.
If you are not a good swimmer who is used to large waves or have a boogie board or surf board I strongly advise you to stick to wading in the water and not going too deep.
Hikkaduwa is a town build along one main road which connects Colombo to Galle. The town of Hikkaduwa is at the northern most area of the beach with high end resorts and hotels nearest to the town with cheaper budget accommodations further south. Sadly the average price I found to be a little bit high and most hotels wanted 1500-3000 ($15-30) Sri Lankan rupees per night for the back ones away from the beach. There are a few surfer haunts and exceptions to the rule, but for the most part that is the price range you will be expecting to see.
Hikkaduwa, despite the fact the price is slowly killing off the budget tourists makes a really fabulous destination that would be great for surfers, couples, or people who prefer to lay on the beach and tan as opposed to swim around and play in the ocean. There is lots of decent priced food, especially the rice and curries and one of the best hamburger places in South Asia.
Happy Travels!
He couldn't have been more right! After a very long transit from Kandy to Hikkaduwa we arrived very late at night and found a hotel for one night. The next morning we were up and searching for a more suitable budget hotel.
We left our bags and started walking down one of the most fantastic beaches you have ever seen. Kilometers and kilometers of beach, few people, and palm trees everywhere.
After going to about 10 different guest houses and hotels we managed to find this beautiful beach bungalow for 1000 Sri Lanka rupees a night ($10 USD), originally he wanted 1500/night but we negotiated a price for 5 nights a bit of a better bargain.
I have to say that it was true paradise here in Hikkaduwa, it was quiet during the day if you wanted to relax and parties raged most evenings at a few different bars right along the beach.
There is a distinct surfer presence along the beaches in Hikkaduwa, mainly on account of the very large waves. Which unfortunately makes swimming rather dangerous. I had read a few warnings on the Internet about high currents and bad rip tides along most of the Sri Lankan beaches and Hikkaduwa was not different. There are a few places where you can go about waist deep, but with the large waves you really need to be careful and children should not be left to go in the water.
If you are not a good swimmer who is used to large waves or have a boogie board or surf board I strongly advise you to stick to wading in the water and not going too deep.
Hikkaduwa is a town build along one main road which connects Colombo to Galle. The town of Hikkaduwa is at the northern most area of the beach with high end resorts and hotels nearest to the town with cheaper budget accommodations further south. Sadly the average price I found to be a little bit high and most hotels wanted 1500-3000 ($15-30) Sri Lankan rupees per night for the back ones away from the beach. There are a few surfer haunts and exceptions to the rule, but for the most part that is the price range you will be expecting to see.
Hikkaduwa, despite the fact the price is slowly killing off the budget tourists makes a really fabulous destination that would be great for surfers, couples, or people who prefer to lay on the beach and tan as opposed to swim around and play in the ocean. There is lots of decent priced food, especially the rice and curries and one of the best hamburger places in South Asia.
Happy Travels!
