Hikkaduwa is full of great value hotels and guest houses at all price points. Hikkaduwa is much bigger these days and there is a reason for that, it’s a lovely spot. Options for staying in Hikkaduwa include resort hotels, budget backpacker places and everything in between. We’ve even rented a small villa here, there is something for budget lovers and luxury travellers. The town backs onto lush rainforest, the beach is great for surfers, has a spot for snorkelling and the southern-most end is still deserted and tranquil. We’ve scuba dived from Hikkaduwa and there is a turtle hatchery just north of town. As with all destinations in Sri Lanka, you will find plenty of travel agents wanting to organise tours for you to the ancient sites and Pinnewala. If you’re up to getting around solo, it’s easy to hop on the bus or train here too.
There are plenty of shops and restaurants, on the beach or on the road and transport connections to the airport are good. Going south the beaches become quieter, but the journey becomes longer and longer. We went further south and loved it, but Hikkaduwa can be far enough, particularly if you only have a couple of weeks.
If you’re searching for a place to stay in Hikkaduwa, we suggest you start here. We tend to arrive at our destination and search on foot for rooms when we are backpacking. That won’t work for most holiday makers, so check out what’s available online. We’ve also stayed in two beach-front, more upmarket hotels in Hikkaduwa, both were excellent.
Where We Stayed in Hikkaduwa
OVC Villa ( Part of Ocean View Cottages Hotel) Hikkaduwa
Cost per Night: $35 to $50 depending on where you book. The accommodation’s own website is cheaper than an online booking agent. We could not negotiate any sort of long-term discount with this owner.
Number of Beds: 2 double beds, in separate rooms! It’s a little house.
What we got for our money: A gorgeous little 2 bedroom house inside its own walled garden. We had a full kitchen, a large living area and lots of books and games. The main hotel is on the other side of the road, on the beach, they have a small pool that Villa guests can use. The promised wi-fi wasn’t installed until our last night in the villa, which was rather annoying, but it worked really well. The wi-fi in the hotel was way too slow to even check my email.
Negatives: Noise! The railway line is behind the villa, the main road is out front. The noise is phenomenal. In odd places, such as the light switches, the villa was disgustingly dirty, I got to work with my wet wipes. Mostly though, it was very clean.
Our Verdict: We really enjoyed staying here, it was such a luxury to have our own little house. Hikkaduwa is great. We managed to sleep through the train and bus noise without too many problems. If you like peace and quiet, don’t even think about staying here!
There are plenty of guest houses with cheaper rooms nearby. We didn’t move because we were settled into our villa and we had flu.
A reader of our Facebook page asked for more shots of the inside of the house. I took some, but this was where my very sick camera went completely haywire. This was the best I could do.
This is a very old post from the early days of our travel blog, for better information on travel in Sri Lanka and where to stay please visit our Sri Lanka Travel home page. I’m in the process of updating this post on staying in Hikkaduwa with more options on where to stay
Maria
Thursday 18th of January 2018
Thanks for sharing your experience in Sri Lanka. Glad you enjoyed your stay.
jashan subhedar
Thursday 14th of May 2015
Hi, Your blog has been really informative. I'm from India and I'm planning on visiting sri lanka in the 1st week of November with my friends. Was thinking of staying at hikkaduwa for 3 nights and go visit mirissa and Galle as 1 day trips. Wanted to ask which beach is better (and cheaper) to stay, Hkkaduwa or Mirissa? We are keen on staying as close to the beach as possible. Your advise is much appreciated :) Regards, Jashan.
alyson@worldtravelfamily
Friday 15th of May 2015
Price would be similar in each Jashan. Mirissa slightly cheaper. Mirissa is a long way, I wouldn't want to do it as a day trip from Hikkaduwa, but Galle is very easy, just hop on the bus. Hikkaduwa is a long sandy beach, some of it fairly unsafe for swimming but ideal or surfing, there are strong rips. Near the town/fishing port there is a very safe area enclosed by an old coral reef. Mirissa beach is more of a small bay, 2 bays really, there is another next door, both OK for swimming and surfing if you are confident in the water. It depends what you are looking for really, but if you're not a strong swimmer, be cautious, the waves off Sri Lanka are big. There are beach-front properties at both.