Travel advice from E&G: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is classifiable as a wonder of the world in our book. It is jam packed with must see historical sites and beaches, one of a kind adventures and activities, delicious food, friendly faces, outrageous nightlife, and more!

Colombo is the capital and where you will likely fly in. This city is bustling with Hollywood-esque clubs and rooftop bars. It has quaint Buddhist and Hindu temples, and a candy cane colored Muslim mosque. Although there is much to see and do here, we’d say this is a stop over city because there is SO much to see and do in this unique country. Moreover, we were traveling on a tight schedule – with fight travel we essentially had 10 days to get to know this Island, and in our opinion, no amount of time would be enough. We stayed in Colombo one night because we were exhausted and needed some time to regain our footing after what felt like endless hours in the air from Los Angeles. We did a tuk tuk city tour via our hostel (Bunkyard Hostel) and this allowed us to see the highlights of the city in an hour or so. There is supposedly a lot of nightlife here and Hollywood-ish clubs. We were way too jet lag to care to check this out but we went to dinner at a rooftop bar/restaurant called Elevate. Here you can enjoy a birds eye view of the city while sipping on cocktails and eating cuttlefish – yum!

Bunkyard Hostel is a great option for young travelers looking for a place that has great food, security, helpful staff, private room options, and is tidy.

Dambulla is famous for its Dambulla Cave Temple. If you want to see massive golden buddhas in a monkey covered jungle temple, this place is calling you!

Sigiriya is a must! This city is home to two renowned gluet burning hikes the lead you to some indescribable views. The hikes are both fairly short, but for those a bit out of shape like us, the hundreds of stairs are no joke! This should not deter you however, we shared the trail with many elderly tourists, who gave us their best smug smile as they took the lead to the top. Pidurangala seats you atop a boulder like mountain that faces the main rock Sigiriya AKA lion rock, and it’s marvelous. Sigiriya populates online as the eighth wonder of the world. This rock fortress is underrated, but slowly building the credit it is due. Both hikes should not be missed!

Fresco Lion Hostel is a such a fun place to stay! It is pretty rugged and was only about $12/night for a three bed room. It is tucked away in the forest with cute hammocks and a makeshift volleyball court. Monkeys visit throughout the morning, jumping from the treetops to your very own rooftop. The owner’s name is Roy and he is lovely, helpful, and accommodating. All of the dinners are family style at the same time each night. Be sure to stay up for the game nights and beers after supper, they are a blast. He had mentioned that he was opening a new place called Roys, which from the looks of it also would be a wonderful place to stay!

For the honeymooning couples, or those with a fancier taste, please see some other hotels that we explored online that also looked incredible! Village, Sigiriya, & Alya Resort.

Polonnaruwa is about a two hour tuk tuk ride from Sigiriya. Here you will see historical ruins of the kingdom that runs miles long. We tuk tuk’d throughout the ruins but most people either traveled by foot or bike. Keep your eyes peeled for monkeys and street dogs scattered throughout the ancient city.

Pro tip: be wary of where you park your bike…

Kandy has some of the coolest hotels if you are looking for a place to be bougie. We stayed at the Golden Crown, mainly relaxing and balling out! Kandy is known for its famous Tooth Temple and of course, the train ride from Kandy to Ella. We only stayed here a night and didn’t explore much, but we had a wonderful time resting our legs after the two stair-loaded hikes in Sigiriya. Sipping coffee with a view and soaking up the hotel amenities was just what the doctor ordered.

Pro tip: during peak season (if not all year round) the train is PACKED in all classes except 1st, and I mean PACKED! If you’re not in 1st class you will be lucky to find a seat, let alone a place to stand with a view on this 6 hour ride to Ella. The views are breathtaking, but only if you have the chance to see them – BOOK YOUR TICKETS IN ADVANCE! Don’t let this be you…

Ella is super touristy and filled with amazing restaurants and adorable cafes. We lived at Cafe Chill! The food is vibrant and the vibe is even more so. No matter the time of day, Cafe Chill is the spot to be. The ambiance really is chill by nature no matter the time of day – although by dinner time you want to arrive early to snag the beanbag chair tables upstairs for the full chill effect. We enjoyed just exploring the various shops, restaurants and bars that neighbored Cafe Chill. Cafe One Love has a cool hippie setup, again sprinkled with beanbag chairs, among other stylish seating options such as swings, large couches, and a loft for two. Highlights here are: hiking Little Adams Peak – don’t be fooled by the word “little,” it’s a short hike but your good friends the stairs are waiting for you there. Visiting a tea plantation for a quick hour lesson about how your tea is made, with testers along the way is a nice afternoon pick me up. Ravana waterfall, nine arch bridge, Ella Rock, and Adam’s Peak, are also great places to checkout. There is another waterfall Diyaluma falls that is supposedly amazing. We stayed at a decent hotel, nothing to write home about but was a good location slightly away from the main strip. We suggest staying near Cafe Chill so you can walk everywhere but may be louder in that area at night.

Unawatuna is an endearing little beach town with quaint cafes, gorgeous beaches and fabulous nightlife! We stayed at Unawatuna Hideaway Hostel one night, which was a blast. The owners are a sweet couple who are super hospitable, and fun to party with! We made some great friends here. We moved to Gloria Grand Hotel for our last two nights for some last minute R and R. This hotel is a steal and in a prime location. Unawatuna beach is lovely – kick back and relax on the sand or in one of the many beachfront cafes’ cabanas and take a taste of Sri Lanka’s Lion beer. Some restaurants we enjoyed were Pink Elephant (almost every night for dinner), Skinny Tom’s Deli (great for breakfast), and The Society (for the cute swinging daybeds and yummy fruit smoothie bowls). Each night a different bar will be the designated party stop – Happy Banana and Kingfisher hosted two epic nights when we were in town (check out some other clubs and bars here).

Dalawella Beach is just a short 5 minute tuk tuk ride away from Unawatuna. This beach has the famous beach swing and between certain hours you can swim with sea turtles. The brick oven pizza at Wijaya Beach is worth a try. Other attractions nearby both beaches are the stilt fisherman and Galle. Stilt fishing is an acquired skill – take a lesson from a professional or just give balancing on these stick stilts a go – it’s not as easy as it looks! Galle is home to a Dutch-made fort atop the sea. It’s picturesque! The town is full of Dutch architecture, artwork, shopping, and more.

Lastly, the sea turtle conservation… we tried doing a deep dive to see the reviews about how humane this conservation was but haven’t found much. All we can do is speak from experience and say that it seemed like they were doing right by these precious little sea turtles (but who are we to really say). What we can say however is that in our many years of traveling we had yet to partake in something as magical as a baby sea turtle release. It was surreal to feel a party to this circle of life experience. We can’t quite put our fingers on why it moved us to tears as we watched our new little friends join the rest of the ocean life – begging and pleading that they survived, lived long and happy lives, went off to college, married their soulmates, and of course never forgot us – but we both sobbed.

Other beach towns that we did not have the chance to visit but heard are amazing are: Hikkaduwa, Mirissa, Trincomalee, Negombo, Bentota, Arugam Bay (known for surfing), Kogalala (where the turtle conservation is – very close to unawatuna).