Sri Lanka/Ceylon/Serendib?

[lidja]

Hi All,

My daughter and I will be traveling to Sri Lanka at the end of this month. We'll be there for a short week. We're planning on renting motorcycles to travel around the island, so we'll be traveling light, but temps will be in the 80s, so that'll work.

I'm wondering if anyone has had experience diving Sri Lanka? We're planning a stop in Kalpitiya, where we've heard there are schools of dolphins and migrating whales, as well as some beautiful shallow reefs (great for snorkeling, too shallow for good diving).

Does anyone here have suggestions for Sri Lanka?

TIA!

Lidja

 

[Nishan]

Yes Kalpitiya has a great shallow reef system that is good for snorkelling. And also good chances to spot large pods of dolphins. They even have orca sightings there. About 5 spotted last week. There are some good deeper sites for diving but not many operators. There was a new place starting up called Epic Encounter Kalpitiya. Try contacting them to check about diving. December is usually quite windy there especially in the afternoons so expect some rough boat rides out to the reef. Mornings tend to be better.

It is now season for diving on the west and south coast so you can dive at a number of places including Negombo, Colombo, Bentota, Hikkaduwa and Unawatuna. The reefs south of Kalpitiya are not that special but still provide some interesting dives. There is some excellent wreck diving off Colombo and a few good wrecks in the south as well off Hikkaduwa and Unawatuna. The east has nice coral but its rough season there now.

 

[Nishan]

As an update we are having some unseasonal weather with lots of rain and wind. Hopefully it clears up soon but the last week has been quite bad!

 

[lidja]

Sorry to hear about the nasty weather. We will be there Dec 30 - Jan 5. We've decided to get there before we make a lot of plans, since so much of what we want to do and see depends on the weather. Thanks for the update! We're getting very excited about this trip!


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[lidja]

Nishan, we have been seeing and hearing about much of the weather-related destruction Sri Lanka has endured these past few weeks. At least 1 million people displaced! Landslides that have disrupted travel routes and demolished property. This is much worse than just "lots of rain and wind" for the inhabitants here. We hope you are safe and unharmed by the state of emergency. Best wishes for a better new year!


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[Nishan]

Thanks for the message and concern. We were ok other than having had a lot of diving cancellations. It was much worse in other parts of the country. But its getting back to normal, and people are slowly but surely getting back although for some it will take a long time. After a war and a tsunami you become quite resilient as a country. We are back diving as usual now!