The southwest coast of Sri Lanka, between the cities of Colombo and Galle, is the island's classical beach holiday region, where the first resorts were established. The southwest ist the main monsoon region of Sri Lanka, which is the reason why the scenery is lush green, with an abundance in palm trees. Beachfront rooms offer great sunset views, of course.
The main holiday season in the southwestern beach resort is from December to April, particularly western Christman and Easter holidays, when the weather is usually dry. For beach holidays during the northern hemisphere summer months, travelers prefer the newly established resorts on the east coast, viz. Pasikuda and Nilaveli, where August and September are the driest season of the year, just when the main monsoon reaches the southwest. Nonetheless, southwestern beach holiday destinations are also worth considering a stay, due to off-season price levels. Actually, between mid June and September the monsoon rainfall usually starts in the late afternoon and the morning and midday hours often offer sunshine and a perfectly blue skye. Not many people know, that in the case of Sri Lanka the pre- and post-monsoon months, namely April/May and October, have higher precipitation than the monsoon months themselves. How can that be? The pre-monsoon rains are a form of precipitation which is mainly convective, this means, it's caused by inland humidity rather than ocean humidity. Such pre-monsoon rains are sometimes called "Mango showers" (particular in India's Karnataka state), because they help in the early ripening of mangoes .
The southwest coast of Sri Lanka has a wide range of accommodation. Hikkaduwa near Galle is not the hippie beach like in the 70s any more, but a hub of individual travelers and families with children, due to the safety of the shallow waters protected by the coral reef. Hikkaduwa offers more options of budget accommodation, whereas Bentota has high-end beach resorts and neighbouring Beruwela has the largest hotels. Ahungalla and Balapitiya in between Hikkaduwa and Bentota are the perfect starting points for Madu Ganga boat safaris. Between Bentota and Colombo, there are also numerous medium-range Ayurvedic spas. The large and luxury hotels provide Ayurveda facilities, too.
The main holiday season in the southwestern beach resort is from December to April, particularly western Christman and Easter holidays, when the weather is usually dry. For beach holidays during the northern hemisphere summer months, travelers prefer the newly established resorts on the east coast, viz. Pasikuda and Nilaveli, where August and September are the driest season of the year, just when the main monsoon reaches the southwest. Nonetheless, southwestern beach holiday destinations are also worth considering a stay, due to off-season price levels. Actually, between mid June and September the monsoon rainfall usually starts in the late afternoon and the morning and midday hours often offer sunshine and a perfectly blue skye. Not many people know, that in the case of Sri Lanka the pre- and post-monsoon months, namely April/May and October, have higher precipitation than the monsoon months themselves. How can that be? The pre-monsoon rains are a form of precipitation which is mainly convective, this means, it's caused by inland humidity rather than ocean humidity. Such pre-monsoon rains are sometimes called "Mango showers" (particular in India's Karnataka state), because they help in the early ripening of mangoes .
The southwest coast of Sri Lanka has a wide range of accommodation. Hikkaduwa near Galle is not the hippie beach like in the 70s any more, but a hub of individual travelers and families with children, due to the safety of the shallow waters protected by the coral reef. Hikkaduwa offers more options of budget accommodation, whereas Bentota has high-end beach resorts and neighbouring Beruwela has the largest hotels. Ahungalla and Balapitiya in between Hikkaduwa and Bentota are the perfect starting points for Madu Ganga boat safaris. Between Bentota and Colombo, there are also numerous medium-range Ayurvedic spas. The large and luxury hotels provide Ayurveda facilities, too.
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