Sri Lanka

Hi,

We%26#39;re hoping to go to Sri Lanka for the first time in September and were thinking of basing ourselves in the South. Would this be a good time of year? Also, I%26#39;ve read somewhere that the South has never fully receoved from the Tsunami. Is this correct?

Thanks

Sri Lanka

Hi,

This is in the monsoon season, but until mid September mornings are bright an sunny with clouds building up in the afternoon and many days have a hefty late afternoon/evening shower. Second half of September has more unsettled weather with more frequent showers.

It will take many years before the scars from the tsunami are totally gone, but most places have have recovered 90+ %. The beach in northern Hikkaduwa has even improved from the tsunami rehabilitation.

Hans

Sri Lanka

Hi there,

Yes it%26#39;s a good time. Already in the southwest (Colombo-Galle) and even more so in the south. The eastern half of it, Tangalle-Tissa, even has the dryest period of the year then.

All tourist infrastructure in the south has fully recovered from the tsunami; insofar the owners found it profitable to reopen again that is, some smaller businesses chose not to do so. The locals might not all have recovered fully but the few makeshift housing projects left are hundreds of meters behind the coast, so not at all nuisances to the tourists.

Have a nice Southern time,

%26lt;Erik%26gt; %26amp; [Sandya]

Is Hikkaduwa a recommended to stay for two weeks??

Hi again,

Depending on what you%26#39;re looking for: yes. Has a nice (and now improving again) coral reef and hence some shielded swimming, and lots of restaurants and bars for freedom in eating during the evenings. Accomodation is %26#39;limited%26#39;: the hotels reach up to about 2-3 stars at most, except for a few luxury boutique places with corresponding prices. As a base for outings most places on the southwest coast have similar qualities; workable for a few one-day outings but the real inland (e.g. Kandy) requires a multi-day trip.

At your service,

%26lt;Erik%26gt; %26amp; [Sandya]

Thanks for that. We%26#39;re going for 1st two weeks of September and keep going round in circles on where to stay. We%26#39;ve gone from Unawatuna to Hikkaduwa??

Yep, not an easy choice. U%26#39;tuna is on a fully reef-shielded bay so better swimming (but less fish life on the reef). And the beach itself a lot worse than H%26#39;duwa, esp. the southern part of that - quite a few pictures on the web of the U%26#39;tuna beach are pre-2004 and don%26#39;t reveal the permanent reduction effect the tsunami had on it.

I%26#39;d recommend booking for an initial few nights over the Internet in one of the two places, and then making a day trip to the other (about 1 hour by tuktuk or bus). After that you can decide on the place to stay and accomodation for the remainder...

Have fun,

%26lt;Erik%26gt; %26amp; [Sandya]

Why book all your accommodation in advance - there will be no problem getting a bed anywhere. Go to Hikkaduwa, which is great and then shoot further south or vice versa. Beach at Unawatune isn%26#39;t so great as it%26#39;s pretty narrow whereas Hikkaduwa is wide. Of all beaches my favourite by far is Mirissa which is absolutely beautiful - about 30 mins further on from Unawatuna.

Thanks for that. Does Mirissa have good restaurants, bars etc?? I think we%26#39;ve decided to go for a 6 day tour from the West coast, then head South for a chilled second week. Now I just need to find a good value tour operator. There is so much to see out there so want to make sure we see it all - and enjoy the beach!! Thanks again and will definately look into Mirissa.

Hi again,

Yes Mirissa (and Tangalle) have the most bars/restaurants of the real south coast resorts. It%26#39;s clearly below the volume in Unawatuna and Hikkaduwa but it should be enough variety and quality for at least a few days stay!

All the best,

%26lt;Erik%26gt; %26amp; [Sandya]

Mirissa has 3 or 4 bars/restaurants on the beach not including the hotels/guesthouses that serve food.

We loved the Suda Weli restaurant, Great food, beer for 160rs and a fantastic atmosphere with brilliant service.

There are plenty of places to stay in Mirissa, we really liked the Paradise Beach Inn (it%26#39;s got paradise in it%26#39;s name anyway!!) It%26#39;s got a pool too but I only used it to wash the sand from my body after swimming in the sea.

If you need a good driver, let me know as our driver was very safe, had a great knowledge of the island and he was a top chap. We came back a week ago and we had a fantastic time. We did a 7 day inland tour which I planned, then kicked back on beaches for the last 9 days. If you like I can email you our itinerary for you to have a look at.