Hikkaduwa (Sri Lanka) > Reviews > Hikkaduwa: A great lively, friendly town

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money	Excellent
Shopping	Excellent
Nightlife	Average
Ease of getting around	Good
Family Friendly	Average

Advantages:	Everyone is incredibly friendly
Disadvantages:	Has been hit badly by tsunami and the war

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I visited Hikkaduwa twice while I was in Sri Lanka. It's a great place and when I manage to save up enough money to go back to Sri Lanka again Im going to make sure I visit again. Anyone who is going to visit this town must bare in mind that it was hit badly by the 2004 boxing day tsunami. Many of the guesthouses and restaurants on the seafront were destroyed and many of the residents have not got the money to start again. The tourist industries, which use to be booming on this stretch of the coast, were hit hard by it and the area is suffering. They are now suffering a double blow due to the war in the north and many people been too scared to visit the country. I was in the country for 2 and a half months and never saw any signs of violence.

The first time I went was in September 2006, with four other girls for a weekend. We arrived of the train from Colombo with nowhere to stay but ready to start bartering for a great price. What we were not ready for was the number of touts waiting to pounce on the tourists that get of the train trying to get you to stay at a certain guesthouse so that they get some commission of the guesthouse owner. Been fairly new to the country at this point we did not realize what you are meant to say is "I already have somewhere booked, thank you" and then walk away. Instead we stood about trying to work out where to go, where the guest houses were and in the end got so annoyed with touts saying all sorts at us we gave in and went to see where they recommended. One of the silliest things I did whilst traveling! Hikkaduwa train station is based in a very local area of the town and about ten minutes walk from the more tourist-based spots. We got in a tuk tuk with the tout who drove is straight through the tourist area in to a little village just outside of the town that was deserted. We tried to get tuk tuks to take us back to the town and they pretended not to understand so we ended up having to walk 30 minutes back in the other direction!
In the end we stayed one night in a hotel called Sunils hotel, which we paid 5000Rupees (£41) for two rooms, breakfast and use of the pool, quite expensive for what you can get in the area. The next night we moved to a place called Moon Beam Hotel for 1000Rupees each (£8.30) with breakfast included. I would highly recommend this place. It was very clean, with large bright rooms. The breakfast was fantastic. You got toast, a choice of egg, a choice of juice and tea. The restaurant is set right on the beach so it's a great view too. The meals they do throughout the day are also highly recommended.

The second time we visited was in December, with myself and two other girls. By this time we were much wiser to how the country worked! Again we arrived by train and walked straight past the touts and they left us alone immediately. We then walked to the diving center, where one of my friends was doing a diving course. We stayed here for a few days for only 600rupees a night (£5) each including breakfast (which is massive with a fruit platter, 3 slices of toast, 2 eggs, and tea). Again this place was great, but its only on the edge of the tourist area so only really convenient if you are diving. The beach is not really suitable for tourists as its very much a Sri Lankan beach near here and you will be given some funny looks if you start strutting around in your costume. However all the staff are great at the diving center, we even got invited to one of their birthday parties, and I was very sad to leave them all when we left 10 days later.

Myself and another girl also spent a couple of nights at Buddes Beach, which was a bit run down but great if your running short on money, which is why we moved! Its only 350 rupees a night (£2.90) but does not include breakfast.

We did not do much sightseeing whilst staying here as we had already visited a lot of the country and this was meant for chilling out a bit before returning home for Christmas. But we did see a lot of companies organizing sightseeing trips on the main street, which looked to be offering good deals. The train station is also on the main line between Matala and Colombo, which is much cheaper travel. There are also buses running through the town often, which have fairly good connections but can be quite challenging! There is also the turtle sanctuary about one hours drive north of the town.

The people in this town are all lovely. Whilst walking down the high street many of the restaurant owners where we had eaten at would remember us and wave. The women who own the little bag shops all along the front are amazing. They will hand make you anything (cushions, bags, purses, clothes) in less than 24 hours out of any material you want for a very reasonable price. Places to eat at I would recommend is Tiny's place (great for traditional sri lankan curry and manager is a great man) and another lovely restaurant is blue shadow. Both restaurants are on the main street. We also went to a little local pub/restaurant on both occasions we were in the town. There are tables all set out on the beach and the food in very cheap as its in the local area of the town not the tourist area. The second time we visited the owner remembered us from our visit and was very happy to see us again, again I recommend visiting this place if you want to get away from the tourist part of the town.

If you go to the far end of the town (opposite side to the train station) you will find there are a few lively bars down here playing music late in to the night with late night BBQ nights. Then there is a club open till around 6am on the opposite side. I cannot remember what this is called but you can ask any young local and they will be happy to tell you all about it. If your a female you will also end up with a few local men tagging on to you as on some nights they don't have to pay if they enter with a female and for the girls its free anyway. The music was not to my taste but worth a visit for the experience of clubbing sri lankan style!

Overall I would recommend anyone to visit this town and help boost their tourist industry back up again. The beachs there are fantastic and there are some great surfing spots too. There is also plenty of opportunity for a great nightlife with some clubs and late night bars.