Travel & Hotspots

TRAVEL GUIDE SRI LANKA

In December, I went to Sri Lanka and documented my trip there in detail on Instagram. As a result, there were dozens of responses with questions about what how, where and why, so therefore herewith just the whole story, so you know exactly what, how, where and why. If you are still looking for a new destination, start looking for tickets to Sri Lanka. I have been to quite a few places by now, but not often did a country touch me so much. This is firstly because of the ridiculously kind, warm loving people, and then because of the amazingly beautiful landscape. Anyway, Sri Lanka, then. Here we go.

The itinerary I wanted to do was much longer than the one I ended up doing. Every place I visited was so special and nice that I stayed much longer and so didn't get to do even a quarter of my original wish list. But, Sri Lanka will stay for a while, and now I only have more reasons to go back again. In the end, I visited Colombo, Kandy, Sigiriya, Kandy, Ella, Tangalle, Mirrisa and Negombo.

Before you blindly adopt that itinerary; the climate in Sri Lanka is hugely localised and where it was about 30 degrees in Colombo, a few hours deeper into the country it can suddenly be a cool 20 degrees. And at the time I was there, the east coast was deep in the rainy season, so I didn't go there. In short, check a weather map for the period you plan to go.

General

- If you go to Sri Lanka, you are going to hear from many people that it is a good idea to hire a private driver. He will then drive you everywhere for $50 a day and can travel with you for a few days. If you're going for a fortnight and want to see a lot in a short time, it's an idea, but I actually think it's a waste of money. The train network is great, there are dozens of buses going every hour and if you don't feel like all that, there's always a tuktuk somewhere that will tear you around for a few hours without grumbling - for much less than that $50. Besides; a bit of adventure has never made anyone worse off.

- So the trains, which are great. You have first-, second- and third-class tickets and you can choose between a regular ticket or a ‘reserved seat.’ I always bought third-class tickets, but with a reserved seat at the window. That way you pay about 50 cents for a three-hour trip and sit staring out the window endlessly between the classrooms. Those reserved seats tend to sell out, though, so it's a good idea to buy them a few days in advance (you can do so at the larger train stations). If you have a regular ticket, it's: first come, first served. As in: enórme queues form and then it is hard pushing and shoving to get a (standing) place. I did this once for fun and it was hugely sensational, but I prefer to sit and look out the window.

- Be a bit respectful in terms of what you put on. On the tourist beaches, you can just walk around in a bikini, but otherwise it is a country where you have to dress a bit covered up. No India scenes, but certainly no Thailand either. Be civilised and polite.

Colombo

Not very exciting; a big, slightly dirty city. It has a large train station, which is ideal because travelling by train is the way to go. I slept in a hostel right on the beach, a few stops south by train. Mount Lavinia is the name of that place and my hostel was called Lavinia Beach Hostel. On that beach there are a few beach bars and I found La Voile Blanche very fine.

Kandy

From Colombo, you can take the train to Kandy, which is a wonderful journey of about four hours. The scenery you thunder through is truly breathtaking (take a look) and is interspersed with small bustling villages. Kandy is big and quite crowded. I liked it there, but I have also heard many stories of people who found it terrible because of those aforementioned crowds. Anyway, I slept in Backpack Lanka Kandy hostel, the only one with a swimming pool - and I had a huge appetite for that. There are plenty of cafés and restaurants in Kandy (I've been to several in Slightly Chilled sat, best known among locals as Bamboo Garden, it has a beautiful roof terrace with great views and everything on the menu is ridiculously delicious) and overall the atmosphere is a lot more convivial than in big Colombo. There is a big lake that is lovely to walk around, there is a nice market, and the cultural highlight of the whole country is the Temple of the Tooth, where Buddha's tooth is said to lie. Do with it what you will. From Kandy, I took a tuktuk to Sigiriya, but buses also go there.

Sigiriya Rock

Archaeological highlight and really worth it. You pay quite a lot to get in (converted around 40 USD and that really is a huge amount in Sri Lanka terms), but I loved it. There are also other rocks you can climb on and then you have a view of the Sigirya Rock, but I really wanted to be on the real thing. And the view is priceless, see here. You can stay overnight in Sigirya, but I did it in one day, I so went back at the end of the day.

Kandy - Ella

After that, I the world-famous train journey from Kandy to Ella taken. You really need to buy tickets for this far in advance, as it invariably sells out. You spend seven hours travelling across the country and if you are in third class, you can hang out in the open doors and experience it all even more intensely. Tip: also really book that third class with a reserved seat. I later spoke to some backpackers who had travelled second class and it was rámmend full of tourists, while in third class I was sitting comfortably on my seat, hung out of the window or was in the door: thus. Bring plenty of food and drink, as the trip will take some time.

Ella

Ella is a stunningly beautiful mountain village. Needless to say, it is a lot cooler here, so make sure you have something warm with you too. I slept in a guesthouse called Ella River Front and that was a really beautiful and nice room with great views (this view) and run by very lovely people. Someone I spent a day with there slept in the slightly more expensive Mountains Heaven, but that is really bizarrely beautiful. Ideal if you are travelling as a couple. In Ella, climb some mountains (Little Adams Peak is very doable and with breathtaking view at the summit), go out for delicious food and take many walks. I found it a lovely little quiet village and stayed there for five nights.

Tangalle

From Ella, catch the bus (or a taxi, but that's so boring) to Tangalle, where the white beaches await you. Those buses are an enormous spectacle. They have loud music playing, you are crammed in cramped together and the most wonderful figures pass by. But really, you cannot have been in Sri Lanka without having ‘done’ the bus. I slept right on the beach, in the Reggae Zone Beach Resort. It sounds very chic and the photos on the site look very slick, but it was pretty crappy, but oh well, fine. Also in Tangalle, be sure to visit the resort Amanwella, the most beautiful and expensive in all of Sri Lanka. A glass of wine costs about as much as a night in a guesthouse, but it's a wonderful experience. And then you have this view.

Mirissa

I am sure there is a lot of great stuff to do in Mirissa, but I got into the boozy backpacker life here. I slept in Hangover Hostel and that is a very apt name. Mirissa beach has huge parties every night and it's all pretty vulgar, but I have made great friends, went all-out for four days and spent non-stop either drunk or broke walked around. If you don't feel like that, it's better to skip Mirissa, as it's otherwise not that exciting and there are much nicer places.

Negombo

You fly to and from Colombo, but secretly the airport is in Negombo, an hour above Colombo. There is not much to do in Negombo, but it is a nice place to spend the first or last night because of its short distance from the airport. I was in dire need of rest after those four days in Mirissa and treated myself to two nights in Jetwing Lagoon, which is nothing but luxury and glory laundry. And, the bathrooms are out in the open. With palm trees in them. Really ridiculously cool. A perfect end to a perfect journey.