Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka is a beach resort located about 100 kilometers from the city of Colombo to the south of the island. Hikkaduwa is one of the best beach resorts in Sri Lanka. Here you can swim to your heart's content, because the bottom is sandy, the water is clean, and huge turtles swim very close to the shore, yes, yes, huge ones! There is also a reef not far from the shore, which makes for great snorkeling! You can rent a mask here on the beach; we rented it for 300 rupees for an hour and a half. And when the waves come one after another, surfers appear here :) Hikkaduwa beach is so diverse - it will please everyone! Perhaps only those traveling with children will find it not very comfortable to swim here due to the choppy ocean. But even for them there is a small place with virtually no waves - on the left side of the beach there is a small reef that blocks Hikkaduwa beach from the waves, and this is where you can comfortably swim with small children.

1. By bus

If you are traveling to Hikkaduwa Beach from the airport, you will first need to get to the bus station in Colombo. The bus you need should go to Galle, Matara or Tangalle. These points are located even further south of Hikkaduwa beach and all buses in this direction go through Hikkaduwa. There are air-conditioned buses and they travel along the highway; they reach Hikkaduwa in about an hour and a half. If you take a regular bus, you will spend about 3 hours on the road, since the bus goes along the coast and stops often.

2. By train

One interesting way to get to Hikkaduwa is by train. Tell me, how often do you travel by train in other countries, especially on the islands? That's what I'm talking about. Of all the methods, I like this one the most. It was by train that we got to Unawatuna, which is located a little further south of Hikkaduwa. You need to buy a ticket from the Colombo railway station to Hikkaduwa. They sell only 2nd and 3rd class carriages and be prepared to travel while standing. Since the train arrives in Colombo already full. We weren’t really prepared for this, but we had to actually ride while standing, although I sat on my suitcase most of the way. The air flows well, the doors are all open, the windows too, and most importantly, the whole road goes along the ocean! This is why you can be patient :) The journey by train from Colombo to Hikkaduwa takes only 2 hours. The train schedule can be viewed.

3. By taxi

Taxi is the simplest and most convenient solution. A taxi from Colombo-Hikkaduwa airport costs approximately $80-90 per car. You can also order a taxi in advance.

Flights to Sri Lanka

We arrived at Hikkaduwa Beach on our own by bike from Unawatuna from our hotel Kumara Guest House. The very first time we arrived here in the evening, around 4 pm, first we swam in approximately the place that you see in the photo above, I really liked the choppy ocean, I really love waves! The water is clean, the waves are not big, although 2 locals taught two girls how to surf! In my opinion, on that day it was absolutely pointless, since the waves were ragged and not at all suitable for surfing. But I saw in photos on the Internet that this Hikkaduwa beach has excellent waves for surfing. Perhaps this is because we vacationed here in April, and as you know, on the southern coast of Sri Lanka, the surfing season is from November-April.

Hikkaduwa and swimming with big turtles

But we purposefully went to this beach for something completely different - there is snorkeling not far from the shore, and even, as it turned out, there are a lot of colored fish swimming right off the shore! And one more thing - in Hikkaduwa you can swim with large turtles absolutely free. Often, turtles swim to the shore themselves; you can stand knee-deep in the water and feed them algae and, of course, take photos. In our case, the turtles did not want to swim to the shore, we swam around and near the shore with a mask for 2 hours in the hope of seeing them, but they were not there. But there is a small reef near the shore and a lot of colorful fish swim there, mostly with yellow stripes, but sometimes you can see more interesting fish in the rocks. I swam there for about an hour, saw enough fish, but didn’t see a turtle. Then a local Sri Lankan swam up to me and said that there are turtles further ahead, we need to swim deeper! I, with an action camera in one hand, with a mask and snorkel, into which water was constantly flowing, since there were small waves in the ocean, decided to swim after him. It was necessary to swim 20-30 meters in total and then the reef began. Everything would be fine, but I couldn’t swim quickly after the Sri Lankan, as I was constantly being carried back to the shore by the wave, I started to run out of steam, put away the snorkel and just swam in the mask after him, I still had an action camera in one hand. I have already regretted many times that I took her with me, since it was inconvenient to swim, but I didn’t want to go back to the shore and then swim here again.

My husband was waiting for me in the water near the shore, since we only had 1 mask. As a result, the Sri Lankan took my hand and dragged me deeper, he also had fins, so we swam faster. I periodically, wearing a mask, looked at what was under the water - it was already quite deep, about 4 meters, along the way sometimes there were such large stones under the water, you could stand on tiptoe on them for a few seconds to catch your breath a little. To be honest, I was a little scared; I don’t really like snorkeling at such a depth, and even with waves. And then the Sri Lankan shows me under the water and says - turtle, turtle! I dive after him and see a very large turtle! It was the first time in my life that I had seen such a big turtle; it was as tall as me! I wasn’t at all scared, although I read reviews from other guys that the first time they saw a turtle under water, they were scared, after all, it’s not small. But I purposefully swam to see them and was prepared for the fact that it would turn out to be really big! I surface, take in more air and dive back in! My tube was just hanging loose, I didn’t have time to reattach it to the mask, and water often got into it. I felt more comfortable holding my breath on my own. I emerge again, breathe again, at this time the Sri Lankan dives and lifts another, equally large turtle from the bottom by its shell and shows me under the water so that I can hug it by the shell too! Of course, I do just that, my delight knows no bounds, the turtles are so cute, big and move so slowly in the water. At the same time, I tried to photograph them with my underwater camera, it turns out that it was not in vain that I dragged it in my hand here, to the depths.

I’m happy, I also saw a third turtle, it was a little smaller than those two. A couple more times I hugged the turtle by the shell and decided to swim to the shore, a lot of energy was spent, I swallowed a little salt water and I just wanted to breathe normally and calmly. Just so you understand, here we were rocked by the waves all the time, not weakly. But we had to spend energy on them. I shouted a big thank you to the Sri Lankan and swam to the shore. He tried to persuade me to stay here for another 10 minutes, saying that now large turtles would swim here. But I decided to swim to the shore myself because I was tired. It’s much easier to swim to the shore, the waves help :) I went ashore and painted to my husband what big turtles I saw! After that, we rested for half an hour on the shore, met the Belarusian guys and they lent us a second mask, and my husband and I swam to the depths again to look at the turtles. I remember perfectly the place where I saw them. Of course, we found them, but the waves became stronger and the water became muddier. We saw turtles several times, and then swam to the reef, climbed out onto it and rested. You need to be very careful there, as the reef is very sharp, I hurt my leg a little while I was climbing on it and my butt while I was sitting on it :) Dear readers, if you are in Sri Lanka, be sure to go to Hikkaduwa beach and swim with turtles ! These are simply indescribable emotions of childhood happiness!

There are even entire turtle farms in Hikkaduwa, but you already have to pay an entrance fee. Here, on Hikkaduwa beach, you can see and swim with turtles absolutely free.

There are many different cafes near the shore where you can eat delicious seafood. And in the evening, watch a wonderful sunset. Hikkaduwa is great for a beach holiday!

Helpful information

1. On the shore of Hikkaduwa beach there is a rental of snorkeling masks. The cost is 300 rupees for an hour and a half.
2. You can see turtles if you swim deep into the water so that in front of you there is a booth where you can rent swimming masks. There is also a rock there, on which many people climb out and stand looking at other people swimming.

Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka: map, photo, weather, how to get there

The city of Hikkaduwa is located on the west coast, 128 km from Colombo International Airport (CMB). Belongs to the administrative district of Galle in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka. The territory of the city of Hikkaduwa is located on the ocean coast, on a peninsula formed by the bend of the river flowing into the lake of the same name (Hikkaduwa Lake).

For lovers of a quiet and uncrowded holiday, it is worth noting that the number of permanent residents in Hikkaduwa is several times less than the number of visiting tourists. It is here that package tourism from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus is widely developed, with all the ensuing consequences of a popular resort, such as the presence of beach vendors and a certain amount of garbage on the beach.

Map of Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka

• to the north - Telwatta, Kahawa, Madampagama, Ambalangoda, Balapitiya;
• to the south - Tiranagama, Kumarakanda, Dodanduwa, Rajgama, Bussa, Gintota, Velawatta, Galle.

The resort of Hikkaduwa is a comfortable place to relax, with a relatively developed infrastructure, located two hours drive from the largest city of Sri Lanka, Colombo. Two national highways pass through the village: A2 and E01, which provides the opportunity to quickly get to any point on the island.

How to get to Hikkaduwa from Colombo airport

Getting from Sri Lanka International Airport, located in Negombo, to Hikkaduwa on the southern coast of the island is not at all difficult. To do this, you can use the official taxi service; the Colombo Airport prepaid taxi counter with fixed prices is located at the exit from the arrivals hall.

The taxi counter is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and on holidays. The cost of an official taxi from Sri Lanka Airport to Hikkaduwa in a car with AC is about 8,500 rupees. There is no need to book an airport taxi transfer in advance; the journey will take about 1.5-2 hours if you drive along the highway.

You can also use public transport services, for example, bus number 187, in order to first get to Colombo, and then transfer to a local bus or train to Hikkaduwa. Bus number 187 between the airport and Colombo railway station. Bus No. 187, depending on the type, arrives at the Central Bus Station or Pettah Bus Station. Colombo Fort Station and Pettah Bus Station are located within a 10-minute walk from each other.

Travel time from Colombo by train is about 2 hours, by bus - about 4 hours, as there are usually traffic jams at the exit from Colombo. And also because commuter buses towards Matara go along the coast along Galle Street, and not along the highway, which significantly increases travel time.

Buses connecting Matara and Colombo run 24 hours a day, with an interval of about 20 minutes during the day and about 1 hour at night. The total cost of a trip by public transport to Hikkaduwa will be about 200-400 rupees.

Hikkaduwa beaches: Narigama and Hikkaduwa

Hikkaduwa is remarkable for its lake of the same name, surrounded by magnificent tropical nature and the wonderful Narigama Beach. The majority of visiting tourists rarely visit the city to explore ancient cultural monuments and local attractions, preferring beach and sports activities to these destinations. There are two beaches in the city - Hikkaduwa beach(Hikkaduwa Beach) and Narigama(Narigama beach).

Hikkaduwa Beach is a narrow strip of sandy beach, densely built up with hotels, bars and shops. The bottom of the beach in most of the territory is rocky, which is why the waves rolling onto the shore contain almost no sand and have a crystal-transparent blue color. The area near the Hikka Trans hotel is used for swimming; there are almost no waves there.

Hikkaduwa Narigama Beach is a wide sandy beach, the entrance to the water is quite flat, there is no immediate transition to depth. There are waves, since Hikkaduwa is not located in a closed bay, but due to the presence of coral reefs, the waves are not very strong. The beach infrastructure is very developed.

Hikkaduwa Photos

Water sports in Hikkaduwa

A beach holiday gives you the opportunity not only to relax in the warm Indian Ocean under the tropical sun, but also to start practicing various water sports: diving, snorkeling, surfing in all its varieties and many other forms of active recreation on the coast.

There are several surf schools on the beach in Hikkaduwa, providing surfing lessons for children and adults. A lesson with a local instructor costs about 2000 rupees.

There you can easily find several diving centers providing the services of dive instructors. All water sports centers operate during the dry season - from October to April.

Feeding turtles on Hikkaduwa beach

In Hikkaduwa, huge turtles swim to the beach in the lagoon located opposite the Red Lobster restaurant, not far from the Hikka Trans hotel. Moreover, they do this on a daily basis, which attracts many tourists there. You can observe sea turtles in the lagoon from early morning until 3-4 pm.

Tourists have the opportunity not only to photograph huge turtles, but also to carefully feed them, sometimes even pet them. The key word here is "careful" - sea turtles have teeth and use them. The approach to the lagoon, photos with turtles and feeding of the turtles are FREE, even if there are local businessmen who claim otherwise. Enterprising Sri Lankans even manage to make a living by selling turtle food - algae - to white tourists.

Sights of Hikkaduwa

Lake Hikkaduwa
(Hikkaduwa Lake)

The second most popular place in the city after the beach is Lake Hikkaduwa, which attracts many tourists with walks along the calm surface of the water, as well as the opportunity to observe the leisurely Sri Lankan life.

On numerous islands located throughout the lake, locals grow coconut, cinnamon, ginger, bananas, etc.

Nets are installed in the dams on the channels of the lake; river shrimp grow in them. On one of the islands of Lake Hikkaduwa there is a museum that displays exhibits of the art of the local population to tourists. The lake itself is a bird sanctuary.

Coral reef in Hikkaduwa
(Coral reef)

There is a large coral reef along the coast of the city. This place is historically called the “Coral Gardens” because previously, not far from the shore, there were countless corals surrounded by bright tropical fish, starfish, urchins and other oceanic life.

Previously, the Hikkaduwa reef could easily compete with the beauty of the Red Sea with its natural resources. Unfortunately, all this splendor could not survive the notorious tsunami of 2004, and what can now be seen are only remnants of its former splendor, mercilessly exploited by tourist businessmen.

Sinigama Muhudu Viharaya Temple
(Seenigama Muhudu Viharaya)

At the entrance to Hikkaduwa, in the village of Sinigama, there is a temple, the Sinigama Temple (Seenigama Muhudu Viharaya or Seenigama Devol Devalaya), in honor of the deity Devol Deviyo. Sinigama - translated from Sinhala as “sugar village” (“sini” - sugar, “gama” - village).

The temple attracts not only tourists but also local residents; it is believed that Devol Deviyo, or god Deviyo, is the protector of the southwestern province and all fishermen and drivers. Every month, the offering site on Galle Road at the entrance of the temple collects about 50 kg of coins, and a puja, a worship ceremony, is also held at the temple every month.

According to local beliefs, the Shinigama Temple is a place where an unjustly injured person can ask for retribution for their offenders, and they will certainly be punished. Some people use this place to cast curses. In order to ask Devol Deviyo for retribution for the offenders, you need to reach the island on foot and turn to the deity there. It is believed that in this way, the territory in which the act of cursing is performed is outside the Buddhist world, without denigrating it. After the petition, it is necessary to carry out a certain ritual, which consists of grinding chili pepper on a special stone.

Honganji Vihara Tsunami Monument
(Honganji Vihara)

Not far from the Shinigama Temple is the Tsunami Honganji Vihara memorial complex, which was erected after the tsunami in December 2004, when about 35,000 people died in Sri Lanka.

The location of the monument was chosen in connection with the tragedy that occurred a few meters from it on December 26, 2004. At this point, a train was washed away from the railway tracks by a tsunami wave; there were 1,700 passengers in the carriages, including tourists from around the world.

The statue of Buddha, 18.5 meters high, looking into the ocean, was donated to Sri Lanka by Japan. In the neighboring village of Tellwatta there is a Tsunami Museum with a voluminous photographic exhibition. This museum is not recommended for visiting by impressionable people, as the photographs of the museum evoke strong emotions.

Nightlife in Hikkaduwa

Due to the developed package tourism, nightlife, by Sri Lankan standards, is present at the resort. However, when going to Hikkaduwa, lovers of nightlife must remember that you should not expect the scale of Pattaya there. The city has several nightclubs with different reputations: “Mambo”s”, “Blue Moon”, “Funky de Bar”, “The Vibration Music Bar”, open until one in the morning.

We strongly advise young travelers not to fall into a tourist trance and periodically subject the surrounding reality to critical reflection - just as if the scene were an unfamiliar nightclub in their hometown, since conflict situations with the local population in such establishments are not at all uncommon.

Weather in Hikkaduwa

The climate in Hikkaduwa is very humid, but warm: the average annual temperature practically does not change its values ​​throughout the year and fluctuates in the range of +28C - +31C. The water temperature in the ocean also changes slightly throughout the year, within the range of +27C - +29C.

The tourist season in Hikkaduwa lasts from November to April - this is the best time to visit the city; during this period the weather is coolest, the average daily temperature drops to +28C, and the amount of precipitation is significantly reduced.

The rainy season in Hikkaduwa lasts from May to October inclusive, during these months there is a large amount of rainfall, mainly in the form of tropical thunderstorms. May and October are the wettest months, precipitation at this time can fall in the afternoon, in the remaining summer months the amount of precipitation is less, rains begin in the afternoon.

Hikkaduwa is definitely one of the best resorts in Sri Lanka. We did not regret at all that we lived in Hikkaduwa for 5 wonderful days. We immediately fell in love with this village and did not want to leave for any other place. The town is stretched along the beach, it is difficult to say where exactly it ends and where it begins, everything is nearby, beautiful and convenient for vacationers.

Hikkaduwa beach photo

Hikkaduwa beach

The beach in Hikkaduwa is huge and beautiful. This is one of the best. It consists of several conventional parts, which can be designated as center and south. You can swim on the beach, but not everywhere, because in the southern part there are always big waves, a joy for surfers, and somewhere there are fishing boats. I will begin to describe the beach in order from the northern part, which is closer to the bus and railway station. In this part of the beach there are practically no sun loungers for tourists; everyone lies either on the sand or on a towel.

Hotels in Hikkaduwa

• Hikka Tranz by Cinnamon

All hotels in Hikkaduwa

Photo at the very beginning of the beach


This part of the beach is mostly visited by locals.

Hikkaduwa beach Sri Lanka


Northern part of the beach

There are practically no tourists in this part of the beach; most vacationers are Sri Lankans. Although, there are a couple of hotels on the first line nearby. All Russian and European tourists go swimming closer to the Hikka Tranz Hikkaduwa hotel. There is the most convenient place for swimming.

• Read also:

Let's go swim in the lagoon at the Hikka Tranz Hotel

Chaaya Tranz Beach is the best place for swimming in Hikkaduwa

Photo of a street in the northern part of the city. In the distance there is a bus station, a bank and a tuk-tuk parking lot

There are several rural supermarkets. The choice of products is not very wide, but you can find everything basic. The largest is Sandagiri Food City, located opposite the Citrus Hotel. There are small stalls along the road, but everything is very scarce there, except water, soda, cookies, and regular food. Those who live with their own kitchen can go to Halle by bus to buy groceries.

Alcohol is sold in separate stores - Wine Stores. There are 3 liquor stores in Hikka. In the north, in the center near the Hikka Trans hotel and opposite the Citrus hotel in the same building as the Sandagiri supermarket. Beer, wine, vodka, arrack and any other alcohol can be bought only in these stores. This is what an alcohol shop looks like:

Cafes and restaurants: you won't go hungry

We liked the restaurants and cafes for tourists in the city, we never got food poisoning, and we enjoyed eating everything we ordered. There are plenty of cafes along the main road. We especially liked the pizza at the Sea View restaurant, which they really know how to cook.

For two of us, the average bill in a cafe was approximately 2,500 rupees ($15 / 950 rubles). The owner of the establishment told us that he worked as a chef in Italy for 3 years. Our friends, who had just recently visited Italy, confirmed that the pizza was prepared purely in Italian style. In the next photo, our restaurant bill for five with alcohol was about 8,000 rupees ($50).

In 2018, we went to this restaurant again, it’s still just as cool, the food is just as fast and delicious. There are 2 modest women working and no one calls you from the street. There is a Russian menu. We recommend. Cafe on the map.

Accommodation in Hikkaduwa - hotels, guesthouses, houses

This is a fairly popular holiday destination in Sri Lanka. There are many 3-5 star hotels on the coast; a little further, behind the road, on the second and third “lines”, there are budget guesthouses.

We have stayed in Hikka twice. Our hotels were booked in advance on Booking.com. The first time we lived in an inexpensive guesthouse. A budget option. We recommend it to anyone planning to stay for a while. Although the guest house is called 1 star, it is worth a good three and the prices are very reasonable. Also with a swimming pool. For 5 days of stay we paid about $100.

The second time we stayed at Kai Hikkaduwa Hotel. This is a new hotel, opened in 2018. Located across the street from the Citrus Hotel, a couple of minutes from the ocean. For $65 per night with breakfast we stayed in a modern room. The hotel has a rooftop pool. So, we can also recommend Kai Hotel based on our experience. Other hotels with good reviews:

Good quality hotels in Hikkaduwa

Hikka Tranz by Cinnamon (Chaaya Tranz) One of the best hotels. Ocean view rooms. Located on the first line. booking.com rating 8 out of 10

Another great hotel right next to the sea. Rating 7.9

Hotel with a rooftop pool 5 minutes walk from the ocean. Rating 8.9

Cheap hotels and guesthouses

Decent inexpensive hotel. We stayed there for 5 days. There is a swimming pool! Rating 8.2

Excellent location on the first line, shared balcony overlooking the sea. Rating 7.2

Nippon Villa Beach Resort Inexpensive hotel with a swimming pool right next to the sea. Rating 7.1

All hotels

Monthly rental housing

If you want to stay for a long time, then in Hikkaduwa you can easily rent a house on a monthly basis. There are many accommodation options in the city that are happy to rent out rooms or an entire house to tourists. Prices from $300 per month. You can find a house for rent immediately on the spot or book in advance. Use Airbnb - www.airbnb.ru/c/5ef305 (use this link for a 2,000 ruble discount)

Renting such a house will cost you $350 per month

How to get to Hikkaduwa

• Hikkaduwa is located 115 km from Colombo in the southwest of the island of Sri Lanka. To get from the airport on your own, you will have to take a bus to Colombo and then change to a bus to Hikku. You can also get there by train. More details about all the options in the article:.
• Order a transfer from the airport you can follow this link >

As everyone knows, there are 5 species of sea turtles. These giant animals can be found off the coast of Sri Lanka. We went this morning to look at their habitat in nature. At the Hikkaduwa resort you can see them every morning (from 7am to 10am) near the Citrus Hotel, behind the pier. One man has been feeding these turtles for 8 years. These huge animals, similar to stones, climb ashore to eat algae from the hands of the owner, and in the morning people gather to see, stroke and even feed the turtles.

There are no barriers or nets in the ocean. They really live on their own. And the man earns money on this, so to speak.

I think they were olive turtles. The olive turtle is a preserved species of sea turtle with a shell length in adults of 60-70 cm. Weight up to 45 kg. At the beginning of the day, turtles feed, and during the rest of the day they rest on the surface of the ocean. But to avoid hypothermia, animals gather in large groups. Olive turtles tend to swim away from shore when a predator appears. On land, their enemies are opossums, wild pigs and snakes that destroy masonry. Olive turtles are predatory animals that hunt in shallow water areas with muddy or sandy bottoms on a variety of invertebrates: jellyfish, snails, shrimp and crabs, although in the absence of other food they can switch to feeding on algae.

We were surprised when 3 large turtles swam to the smell of algae. I'm sure no one can resist touching and petting a turtle! Even we couldn't resist :)

But you need to be careful when being around a turtle. When caught by a wave, the turtle is unable to control its movement and may hit your legs. They say the blow is like being hit by a stone, its shell is hard. It’s good that we didn’t try this on ourselves, we were extremely careful. When feeding the turtle, do not expose your fingers, it can easily bite you or break them.

In water these creatures are very nimble. It’s impossible to keep up with them, but on land they are ugly - they move with difficulty and from the outside it looks funny.

A turtle's shell feels like a stone slab, and its flippers, which it does not hide, are like linoleum with different layers - some are soft, some are hard. This turtle doesn’t hide its head either; it has a beak like a parrot’s. Her neck is soft, even a little pleasant.

One of the turtles had an iron tag attached to its flipper. I asked: “What is this?” The male breadwinner replied that this turtle used to be blind and that a doctor came and gave her some injections, and this tag is an identification mark to understand who to give the injection. That's it!