9 Best Things to do in Unawatuna and Galle Dutch Fort

18.02.2019 | Sri-Lanka, Travel

9 Best Things to do in Unawatuna and Galle Dutch Fort

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Unawatuna is pretty similar to Uluwatu in Southern Bali. It is very touristic, but there is this chilled beach vibe going on. There is one main road with all the good restaurants, bars, cafés and shops that leads to the beach. Our hotel Bedspace Beach is located on this road, 1 minute away from the beach and very famous for its restaurant. Perfect, isn´t it?

Unawatuna is only a 1,5-hour ride from Colombo airport and a 1-hour ride from Colombo city. Therefore it is very popular amongst tourists. We stayed 3 nights in Unawatuna, 1 night in the jungle and two nights near the beach.

1. Bedspace Beach – Hotel and Restaurant

We stayed two nights in this wonderful hotel. Actually, it is a chilled café, but they offer a few rooms on the second level. This place felt very comfy and modern! You will have a little balcony and some books in a bookshelf. The food is very yummy and they had many vegan options! Bedspace Beach is located directly at the beach, only 1 minute by food. You can even see the ocean from your balcony. Don´t mix it up with Bedspace Hotel – it is different hotel!

2. Unawatuna Beach and the main street

Unawatuna Beach is located directly in front of Bedspace Beach Restaurant. The long sand beach is a popular spot for tourists. It is great for swimming or chilling at the beach. There are a lot of cute dogs running around. Also, there is a little pagoda statue on the hill (look at the horizon in the pictures). Take the walk up there for sunset. If you are looking for an empty beach, we would recommend Wijaya Beach!

Bedspace Beach and Unawatuna Beach is located directly at the main restaurant street. Just walk along the street and decide between many different cafés, restaurants and beautiful shops! It is a great place to chill in the evening and you can go everywhere by foot.T

3. Wijaya Beach – Dream Cabana Swing

From Unawatuna Beach we took a tuk-tuk to get to Wijaya Beach. Wijaya Beach is a beautiful empty white sand beach with lots of little swings and if you are lucky you will spot a turtle gasping for breath. You should try to snorkel in this area because there are many corals in the water. Surrounded by palm trees it is the perfect place to relax without tourist crowds.

The neighbouring bay is called Dalawella Beach, there you will find the little restaurant Dream Cabana and the most famous swing in Sri Lanka. There are a lot of swings along the South Coast but this one is the highest and the most spectacular one. Unfortunately they take 500 LKR for 3 swings, it would be nicer if you have to pay for a drink, but the guys are very nice.

4. Koggala Beach

You can find this place in Koggala near Unawatuna. But did you know there aren‘t any real stilt fishermen anymore? In the past it was a common way for fishing in Sri Lanka but today there isn‘t enough fish near the beach.

There are a lot of men offering a picture for 1000 Sri Lankan Rupie for the tourists. We don‘t know if it is a good thing or not. On the one hand the tradition doesn‘t disappear and the men can earn some income, on the other hand the „fishermen“ use the tourists to get a lot of money without explaining anything.

5. Sri Yoga Shala

Do you feel like doing some yoga practise? There is a wonderful yoga shala “Sri Yoga Shala” in the middle of the jungle. It is only a 10-minutes tuk-tuk drive from Unawatuna city to the most beautiful yoga place. They offer different courses and famous yogis teach here.

6. Jungle Beach

Jungle Beach is a 10-minute tuk-tuk drive from Unawatuna main beach. In the evening it can get crowded, therefore you should come as early as possible. It is a popular spot amongst locals. From the parking spot you have to walk down some stairs until you reach the bay. Unfortunately we saw a lot of rubbish and plastic there.

7. Galle Dutch Fort

We highly recommend doing a day trip or half-day trip to Galle Dutch Fort or even to stay there for one more night. It is a European town with Sri Lankan life and offers a beautiful lighthouse and clocktower as well as lovely shops and good restaurants! We ate two very tasty bowls at the restaurant Calorie Counter!

From Unawatuna, you can take a tuk-tuk to Galle Dutch Fort. Furthermore, you can easily take a Pick Me from Unawatuna or Galle back to the airport without going to Colombo the night before leaving, it is only a 1,5-hour taxi drive.

8. Stay at Goodvibes Villas in the jungle

If you feel more like relaxing in nature we highly recommend staying at Goodvibes Villas. It is only 20 minutes away from the main street and surrounded by nature and the jungle. We stayed there for one night and we really enjoyed relaxing in the pool of the beautiful villa! The food was very tasty and we got a big, bright and modern room with a huge balcony.

If you would like to stay there we have this 15% discount code (Janamariedoe-GVV) for you. Just mention our blog and book directly with them.