Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tourist Office
BANK
( 091-393 2157; 8.30am-4.30pm Mon-Fri)
Outside the Bentota Beach Hotel.
Getting There & Around
Beruwela and Bentota are both on the main Colombo-Matara railway line, but Aluthgama,
the town sandwiched between them, is the station to go to as many trains don't make stops
at these smaller stations. Aluthgama has five or six express trains daily to Colombo (2nd/
3rd class Rs 110/51, 1½ to two hours), and a similar number to Hikkaduwa (2nd/3rd class
Rs 70/35, one hour).
When you get off the train at the unusual middle-platform station, you'll hear the usual
tales from the touts and fixers that the hotel of your choice is closed, vanished or has 'ma-
gically turned into the Statue of Liberty'. Just ignore them.
Aluthgama is also the best place to pick up a bus, although there is no trouble getting
off
any bus anywhere along the Galle Rd. There is frequent service to Colombo (regular/air-
con Rs 85/160, two to three hours depending on traffic). Buses to Hikkaduwa (regular/air-
con Rs 57/120, one hour) are just as regular.
Hikkaduwa & Around
091
Hikkaduwa has been a firm fixture on the Sri Lankan tourist map since the 1970s. This
long exposure to international tourism has left it a little worse for wear. Uncontrolled and
unplanned development has meant that the swaying palms of yesteryear have given way to
an almost unbroken strip of cheap guesthouses and restaurants that vie among themselves
to be the closest to the lapping waves. This in turn has led to terrible beach erosion, and in
parts the once-famous sand has now been almost completely replaced with sand bags
fighting a vain battle to retain what little beach remains (although in recent years sand does
seem to be beginning to return to large parts of the beach - a trend we can only hope con-
tinues). To make matters worse, the appalling Colombo-Galle road, with its asphyxiating
smog and crazy bus drivers, runs right through the middle of it all, which can make step-
ping outside of your guesthouse as deadly as a game of Russian roulette!
