HIKKADUWA HOLIDAYS AMIDST CORAL REEFS OF SRI LANKA
SOUTH COAST
Hotels in Hikkaduwa line both sides of Galle Road passing through
this small vibrant town, 100 kms South of Colombo, 20 kms north of
Galle. Hikkaduwa, famous for its beach and coral reefs,
originally gave Sri Lanka its reputation as a cheap backpackers
holiday destination. Consequently Hikkaduwa has
its down market reputation for offering cheap hotel
accommodation to younger tourists and back packers who savour its vibrant
noisy nightlife.
Hikkaduwa is
therefore different from the more up market resorts
of Bentota, Beruwela or the luxury boutique hotels further
down the South Coast. Amidst relatively cheaper
hotels and family run guest houses, a few chain owned more up
market hotels stand out as tranquil oasis of comfort; 3 star
Coral
Gardens Hotel and
Amaya Reef.
Although often
crowded with tourists and locals alike, Hikkaduwa still offers a
great tropical beach with options to surf, snorkel and enjoy the sun. Hikkaduwa is popular with surfers. Hikkaduwa
houses one of the two marine national parks in Sri Lanka containing
a fringing coral reef of high degree of
biodiversity
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The area was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1979, and then in
1988, upgraded to a nature reserve with extended land area.
The growth of the number of visitors in the next 20 years degradated the coral reef.
There is no lack of choice of glass bottom boats to take you out
to see the marine life on the coral reef, but you may be
disappointed by the level of impact of excessive tourism.
There is still much to do in Hikkaduwa. A popular activity
amongst tourists is walking along the corals fronting the beach at
low tide, when the corals are exposed
Your choice
of accommodation, however, will influence how enjoyable your Hikkaduwa holiday is.
Both hotels featured on this Hikkaduwa Holidays website have been
personally visited, stayed at and inspected by the UK directors of our
UK HQ in accordance with our “Know the property before recommending”
policy.
These are
Amaya Reef – 3 star – owned by the Connaissance de Ceylan (Amaya) Group and
Coral Gardens
owned by Keells Hotels. Amaya Reef was
visited in March 2009 and
Coral Gardens in December 2009 – hence you
will see Santa keeping a careful watch over the diving classes held in
the swimming pool.
The Coral Gardens Hotel
offers a higher standard of accommodation, especially in its 3 Superior
Corner Rooms and better views because of its elevation but has the
drawback in that the rooms do not have balconies. The views from the
superior rooms over the beach and corals are superb. We were actually
booked to stay in the only suite at the hotel but this, unfortunately,
turned out to be occupied on our arrival on Saturday 19 December. Meals
are served in an air-conditioned restaurant at The Coral Gardens with
the option of a semi covered open air terrace whereas meals are in a
semi covered area at The Reef right on the beach.
Hikkaduwa town is arranged around the famous but narrow Galle road which runs over 100 kms all the way from Colombo to Galle. The
Galle Road is extremely well trafficked. The tank like Indian built Ashok Leyland buses racing each other, horns blaring, down the narrow Galle Road in their bid to grab the fare of the next waiting passenger before their competitor behind have scant regard for man or beast and none at all for Pedestrian crossings!
Tourists are advised to exercise caution when crossing.
See
our detailed reviews of these 2 hotels;
Coral Gardens Hotel and
Amaya Reef
For hotel rates complete the form above.
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