About 2 hours drive south of Colombo, Hikkaduwa in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka is a paradise for parents travelling with kids. With it’s miles of sandy, golden beaches, beautiful beach restaurants and bars, friendly locals and plenty of affordable things to to see and do, it’s plain to see why Hikkaduwa is regarded as one of the best beaches in Sri Lanka.
The town is changing fast, which is evident by the fact that it looks very different to the 2015 Google Street View. It’s the perfect place to spend a few days if you’re travelling from Colombo to Mirissa and beyond, but certainly holds up as a worthwhile destination all on it’s own.
Contents
What To Do
Where To Stay
How Long To Stay
Getting Around
How Much Will It Cost
Top Tips
What To Do
Whether you’re into travelling around on day trips and cultural excursions or simply want to lie on your back on the beach for the duration, Hikkaduwa has a wide variety of activities to keep you and the kids busy. These are some of the options that we tried and can recommend.
Turtle Hatchery
About 20 minutes north of Hikkaduwa by tuk tuk, is the Urawatte Sea Turtle Hatchery which is one of the attractions that virtually every local recommended we go and see.
The entrance fee cost 1,000 LKR (£4 / $5) per adult and kids go free! The guide who showed us around was very knowledgeable and was great with the kids, even letting them carefully hold some of the turtles. Handling animals in captivity is sometimes frowned upon, but my view is that this hatchery is clearly a conservation organisation that works to protect sea turtles. An important way that they achieve this is by creating opportunities for the public to connect with nature and ultimately be inspired to protect and care for turtles.
We met a very old turtle called Bob Marley who had eaten so much buoyant plastic in the ocean that he wasn’t able to submerge himself anymore. It was a great worldschooling lesson for the kids on the dangers of plastic and the long term impact we have on the environment.
Breakfast With A View
Admittedly, they didn’t serve the best food. The jaffle was just two slices of warm bread with a slice of cheese. But, if you’re looking for an idyllic spot to grab a decent cup of morning coffee or a cold, fresh lassie with the kids, you can’t beat the views of Sunset Coffee Bar & Restaurant. You won’t find it on Google Maps or Street View, but it’s located here and is across the road from the Red Lobster restaurant. Sit upstairs if you can to get the best views.
The Tsunami Honganji Vihara Statue
This enormous statue of Buddha is a few minutes north of Hikkaduwa and can be seen and photographed from the road whilst en route to the turtle hatchery. It’s an exact replica of the Barmiyan Buddha Statue in Afghanistan which was destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.
Visiting the Tsunami Honganji Vihara statue was a sober moment of reflection. It is erected in memorial of the 30,000 Sri Lankans who lost their lives in the 2004 tsunami. It stands near the scene of the tsunami train wreck, where nearly between 900 and 1,700 passengers (the exact figure has never been determined) were killed as the train was swept away in the tsunami.
Where To Stay
We used Airbnb to find our accommodation in Hikkaduwa, which was very affordable. The villa we stayed in was called Villa Darabuka, which was about 15 minutes walk from the beach or a 2 minute tuk tuk, roughly here.
While some people might prefer to stay in the hotels or bed and breakfasts right on beach road, we found being a bit further back was great as we got more of a local experience whilst not being too far from the tourist centre.
Our hosts lived next door and – like all Sri Lankans we’ve met – were fantastic with our kids. We were even treated to freshly picked coconuts from their garden.
How Long Should You Stay
If you’re just passing through, try spend at least 2 days here. If you’re staying put in one place for the duration of your Sri Lankan holiday, a week to 10 days here would be the perfect amount of time in unwind and relax.
We stayed just under a week and felt like we were able to do most of the main attractions as well as spend a good amount of time wandering around and lounging on the beach. Given the opportunity though, I would have preferred to spend a few extra days in Hikkaduwa and we intend to spend a great deal more time there when we return in a few months.
Getting Around
Hikkaduwa is not a big town. Like many of the coastal towns in the Southern Province, it’s dominated by one main road running parallel to the beach, with a few smaller, residential roads snaking off of it. You could feasibly walk everywhere (which we did for our first day, before we got the hang things), but realistically you’re much better off jumping in a tuk tuk to get anywhere.
Tuk tuks are available everywhere you look, are very affordable and the drivers will usually give you a bit of local knowledge while you’re riding with them.
Most of the tuk tuk drivers will try and give you their mobile phone number so you can arrange transport with them for the rest of your stay. This can be convenient, although we found it quicker just jumping in the closest one we could find.
They’re not only good for short haul trips, but longer excursions as well. The drivers are all locals and will happily take you on day trips around the area, or even offer to drive you on to your next destination.
How Much Will It Cost
We are meticulously tracking every expense using Trail Wallet, so we can answer this question quite accurately. As a family of four (two adults, a four year old and a two year old), we ended up spending about £80 / $100 a day. We definitely could have done this for a bit cheaper, but as Hikkaduwa was the first stop on our trip, we got a bit over excited and spent a bit more than we should have, especially on eating out at the restaurants on Hikkaduwa Beach.
- Accommodation: 7,000 LRK (£30 / $38) per night.
- Tuk Tuk: 250 LKR (£1.00 / $1.40) per trip. We did 2-4 trips per day.
- Meal & drinks for the whole family at a beach restaurant (including tip): 4,500 LKR (£20 / $25).
- Meal & drinks for the family at a beach road roti shop (including tip): 2,200 LKR (£9 / $12).
- Guided tuk tuk tour around local attractions (including entrance to all attractions): 6,000 LKR (£25 / $33)
Flights & Getting To Hikkaduwa
We flew into Bandaranaike International Airport, which is the main international airport in Sri Lanka and is located just north of Colombo. From there, it was a 2 hour taxi ride down the coast to Hikkaduwa. We chose the taxi because, after a 10 hour overnight flight with kids who weren’t in the mood to sleep, it was a worthwhile luxury. It cost £50 / $65 and was far and away our highest transportation expense during our time in Sri Lanka.
If you’re looking for something a bit more adventurous or are on a tighter budget, the trains in Sri Lanka are a real experience and very affordable. When you arrive in at the airport, make your way to Colombo Fort train station where you can take the 95km train journey directly to Hikkaduwa Rail Station. 1st class tickets will set you back 300 LKR (£1.30 / $1.60) and 2nd are only 160 LKR (£0.70 / $0.90) per ticket. Don’t worry if you can’t get a 1st class ticket – 2nd class is fine but try to get a window seat to take in the coastal views on the way down. The journey takes about 2 hours in total and trains leave every few hours.
Top Tips
- Most shops and supermarkets won’t sell beer and wine. In a pinch, you can usually ask any of the bars or restaurants for beers to take home, but it’s much cheaper to go to one of the ‘wine shops’ along the beach road. Our favourite was Indra Wine Shop.
- The tuk tuk drivers are a wealth of local knowledge, but take their restaurant recommendations with a pinch of salt as they can sometimes be biased. Several times it was obvious we were taken to an establishment owned by a friend and relative.
For more on Hikkaduwa, check our our Hikkaduwa travel diary.
