I had never seen an elephant up close before. He looked straight into my eyes from two meters away. Wow, what an experience. And it didn't stop there. On the beach of Hikkaduwa, we saw huge turtles and in our resort we saw a snake of almost three meters long. Okay, I didn't have to see that haha😅
Hikkaduwa
Highlights⚡️
- Nature; wow, Sri Lanka is beautifully green. You must enjoy hiking though. Adventurous people can climb the Ella rock or the St. Adams peak. In Nuwara Eliya you can visit tea plantations and spot wild animals everywhere, such as lizards and monkeys 🌿
- The local bus; I know what you are thinking; the bus?! But believe me, taking the bus in Sri Lanka is like entering a disco. Music, lights, decorations - just like a party 🚌
- Udawalawe National Park; we went on safari in this park and it was fantastic. We mainly saw elephants, but it was very special 🐘
- Yoga retreat; Sri Lanka is known for a good place to do some surfing and yoga. The surfboard and I are definitely not a match, so we went to a yoga retreat. We did this on a patio by the sea. There was a little breeze and that made it perfect. I would recommend it to everyone. For the surfers among us, Arugam Bay on the east coast seems to be the place for a surfing holiday! 🧘🏽♀️
Udawalawe National Park
Lowlights 😵💫
- We visited Sri Lanka in December and had non-stop rain. And I can tell you, hiking or climbing mountains is a lot less pleasant in the rain. The least rain falls from February to April.
- The famous train journey from Ella to Kandy; this train takes you through nature to your next stop. You can take beautiful pictures, BUT; it is not the romantic ride that you will read about in the blogs. If you don't get in quickly, you will end up in third class, where people are packed into a compartment like sardines in a can. This journey takes no less than seven hours! And if I'm completely honest, I saw enough after an hour. It's beautiful, but do you know the term 'temple tired'? That's what I get when I stare at trees for seven hours. Also, get in with an empty bladder, because the toilet is a hole in the floor. As a lady you must be able to keep your balance on a moving train. And bring toilet paper 😉
View from Little Adam's peak
Udawalawe National Park
Route and transportation 🚗
Route round trip 12 days
Day 1; Colombo
Your arrivel is in Colombo. We booked one night here in an Airbnb. If you want to see all the highlights in one day, it is best to book a tour by tuk tuk!
Day 2; Hikkaduwa
From Colombo we arranged a taxi to Hikkaduwa. We paid about €60 for this. We chose Hikkaduwa because it is known as a beach destination and we thought a beach would be a great start of our holiday. The beaches in Sri Lanka are coloured yellow and you will see many surfers. My favorite thing about Hikkaduwa was spotting turtles on the beach!
Day 3; Galle
From Hikkaduwa we took the bus to Galle, to visit the Galle Fort. In addition to visiting this monument, there are souvenir shops and restaurants. You can easily spend a day here.
Day 4&5; Ahangama
We really wanted to go to a yoga retreat and ended up at Soul&Surf, where we took yoga lessons for two days. Very nice experience!
Day 6; Mirissa
After two days of yoga it was time for the beach again and we chose Mirissa. You can take beautiful pictures at Parrot Rock and Coconut Hill Tree, but we couldn't because of the rain 😭.
Day 7&8; Udawalawe
On safari in the Udawalawe National Park! This is definitely the highlight of your trip. We booked an overnight stay at a safari resort close to the park and were able to arrange tickets and transport there for the next morning. We were picked up early and explored the park with a guide. We saw different types of birds and monkeys, but mainly elephants. It was really beautiful to admire it up close.
Day 9; Ella
We wanted to do the famous train ride from Ella to Kandy, so this cute village was our next stop. You can also climb the Ella Rock here. This is a climb of about three hours, so I skipped it. I did climb Little Adam's peak, which is very easy to do (even for people who don't work out).
Day 10; Nuwara Eliya
The train ride from Ella to Kandy takes about seven hours, and that is just too long for me. That's why we made a stopover in Nuwara Eliya, with a hotel among the tea plantations 🙂.
Day 11; Kandy
The remainder of the train ride ends in Kandy, where we visited the botanical garden and a temple by tuk tuk.
Day 12; Colombo
Back to Colombo, time for another destination!
Transportation
- Bus 🚍
Arranging transport is quite easy in Sri Lanka. You can always take a bus from the bus station to the big cities (and it is really cheap!). Buses run regularly and are not uncomfortable at all, I must say.
- Taxi 🚕
You can arrange a taxi from your accommodation at a 'fixed price'. The owner will always know someone who can take you to your next stop. A taxi is nice, but some drivers also drive fast which made me really sick. They also stop at 'statues' of gods to pray for a moment. I found that very touching to see though.
- Train 🚂
We did not buy our train tickets in advance, because if you want to sit in first or second class, you have to buy them months in advance (we booked this trip last minute). But if you do your trip in a few months, book your trip from Ella to Kandy in advance so you have a seat and ALWAYS book first class.
- Tuktuk 🛺
We also met two girls who were traveling by tuk tuk. They drove all the distances themselves. I thought it was very brave! Sri Lanka is generally safe, but what happens if your tuk tuk will break down in the middle of nowhere?... No, I'm not that adventurous 🫠.
Udawala National Park
When food = life 🍛
Curry, curry and more curry. You either love it, or hate it. As a Hindustani, I am used to curry, but at a certain point my 'Dutch side' thought it was enough 😅. Fortunately, we also found other places where you can eat something different (just for a change once in a while).
Hikkaduwa
Galle
Mirissa
Ella
Nuwara Eliya
Breakfast at Salty Swamis
Good to know before you go 🙋🏽♀️
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February to April is the best time to travel, since there will be less rainfall
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Traveling to Sri Lanka, you will need a visa. You can request it here
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If you want to do a trip through the whole country, I would recommend going three weeks. We went for twelve days, which allowed us to see a big part of south Sri Lanka
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The currency is the Sri Lankan rupee. See in this blog which app I find useful for converting the currency
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I thought Sri Lanka would be similar to India, but nothing could be less further from the truth. Firstly I found it very clean compared to India and in my opinion the people are also less pushy
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It is only an one hour flight from Sri Lanka to the Maldives! Nice combination trip if you have the time!
Turtle beach Hikkaduwa
Spotting monkeys!
Galle fort
Sri Lanka is beautiful, but avoid the rainy season. I also think this destination is for backpackers. Not a backpacker? Then I would reconsider whether this is your trip.
We actually planned to travel through Sri Lanka for three weeks, but because of the heavy rain, we booked the cheapest ticket we could find to a destination without rain; Dubai! Read all my Dubai tips here.
Subagaman,
Nathalie
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