Reopening our Beach Hotel -

How stressful the last few years have been – for us all!

Yet, we again start to get ready to welcome people for a Beach Holiday in Hikkaduwa – Sri Lanka 🌴☀️ And yes, you CAN TRAVEL to Sri Lanka now. This is what you have to know about the situation right now, October 2022.

But first, about our Hotel Reopening:

The past two years our hotel has been more closed than open 😟 Covid-19, political chaos, lack of electricity & diesel are some of the main reasons. Even without these extreme situations, because of the tropical climate and our location directly on the beach – there are a lots of maintenance needed!

Normally, all walls and ceilings – inside and outside – need a paint job at lease once a year. In addition, all metal like door handles, and all electric devices need to be replaced every year because of corrosion. This year it was also time for a complete make over on all floors. And then, when a storm broke parts of the sun deck (AGAIN😢 ) in July, there were so much work to do.

Therefore, Dinesh and the team of local handymen in Hikkaduwa have been super busy the past months, to get everything ready for the High Season.

I uploaded this short YouTube video today: 9 days left until we reopen.

But actually – we are done with most of the work, and almost there.

We are so much looking forward to welcoming tourists from all over the world – to our small 10 rooms hotel here in Hikkaduwa 🙏💙

How is it in Hikkaduwa now?

We do not expect the numbers of visitors to be like “pre – Covid” – but we do hope that at least some tourists want to come back to amazing Sri Lanka!

Even though the country are still amidst a financial crisis, tourists can still come, relax and enjoy here. And they will feel more welcome than ever!

The situation now is that most countries removed the travel warnings against Sri Lanka – and you are welcome to travel here. As a bonus there is not crowded at all (yet), and you can travel in peace, without being surrounded by hordes of tourists at every sight.

The rules to enter Sri Lanka is back to almost “pre – Covid”. All that is needed is that you are vaccinated OR tested.

In Sri Lanka you will feel that the situation is slowly returning to normal. However many people are really struggling these days, as prices keep rising for essential items like gas, electricity and food.

You will notice that there are fewer imported goods, like foreign food, chocolate and cheese. Luckily the Sri Lankan fresh fruit and vegetables are more than enough to make super tasty dishes. No one is travelling to Sri Lanka to eat pizza, right?

3 factors affect tourists the most:

There is still a shortage of electricity, resulting in daily power cuts ⚡ in Hikkaduwa at the moment this is 3 hours. Make sure you are staying at a hotel with a generator! – like us.

2) Fuel is rationed. Only tour operators that are registered can provide diesel for their transport vehicles. It is recommended that you arrange your transport well in advance. Avoid self-driving!

3) Prices are going up-up-up. Because of the inflation, the local currency, LKR/Rupee is down almost 70%.

If you compare prices from 2019 to 2022 i LKR – the difference is extreme. However if you compare prices in USD from 2019 to 2022 – the difference is not that big.

Still prices will continue to rise as all food items, electricity and oil-products will rise.

👉 Read this post for 10 safety measures.

I hope this information was helpful.

As mentioned, there are still some issues in Sri Lanka that you should be aware of. However as a tourists entering with foreign currency and a positive attitude – you will have THE HOLIDAY OF YOUR LIFE!