the most pleasant vacation in relaxation mode!
Induruwa Beach Resort
We rested in this hotel from March 15 to March 26.2015. We remember this vacation as one of the most successful and enjoyable.
Flight.
We flew by AirArabia from Moscow to Colombo with a transfer in Sharjah. Everything is fast, clear and there was a little time to visit duty free in Sharjah). In time, the transfer was within an hour and a half, the luggage was marked as transit and went by itself, we did not pick up anything in Sharjah.
We liked the transplant also because you can warm up, visit the san. knot at the airport rather than sitting in a static posture for a long time.
In terms of time - the Moscow-Sharjah flight is around 5 and a half hours. Sharjah-Colombo - 4 hours. 15 minutes.
Further on, we got to the fishing village of Induruva by a transfer bus, it takes about 3 hours (although we looked at the map, there are 70 kilometers, but, apparently, the road is not as straight as it seems).
At the airport, you can exchange for local rupees (the exchange rate, oddly enough, is more profitable there).
Check the course before your flight.
But do not change all the money, because the payment for excursions is mainly in dollars. And if you ask in rupees, they can apply not the airport rate, but the local one, which is less profitable.
You will need the Rupee size for settlements at local stores.
They also accept plastic cards.
At the airport, you can also get a free SIM card, the minimum amount to the account is 1000 rupees.
This will be enough for you for long conversations, we have not said even half of the whole trip.
Hotel and beach.
The hotel itself is small, cozy, right on the ocean. One body, step - and water. Chipmunks run along the palm trees in front of the building.
The photos we looked on the internet before the trip showed a continuous line between the line of sun loungers and the sand. Upon arrival, we discovered that the hotel was building a fortifying wall between the beach line of sand and the hotel area (where there is a pool, sun loungers . . ).
They explained that they were ordered to do so in some important department (to tell the truth, it is really necessary there, apparently the wave washes away the coast: so that the buildings and territory do not collapse). In the final, they promised to cover the wall with sand so that everything would be organic. But until this bright moment, we did not stay there. Caught the height of work.
But! It absolutely did not prevent us from relaxing, which is paradoxical. At first they were upset, but it turned out that it was not because of what it was. There, in front of the hotel, it's still impossible to swim, the wave beats . . wow! Still the ocean. Therefore, we walked a little to the right along the coast, behind the stones: there, due to these artificially organized breakwaters, the wave is softer, you can swim and hang out on the waves. From more remotely located hotels, people also came there.
The beach line as a whole is generally long and endless. Everyone is walking along the beach back and forth, swimming . .
On the advice of a guide, we also went to the lagoon by tuk-tuk.
Turtles swim there, you can catch them too. And how people dig up their eggs to transfer them to specially fenced sand incubators. Curious.
I took protective slippers with me, I thought there would be some stones, sea urchins, so as not to get hurt. In fact, they didn't come in handy. They, of course, are there (in the lagoon), but in the distance. And yes, there is sand everywhere.
In the hotel we had a standard 2-bed room, pleasant, clean, with air conditioning (there are rooms with central air conditioning, there are with a remote control, we got the last option).
The humidity in Sri Lanka is high, so air conditioning is important. There is also a fan above the bed, buttons on the headboard control the light and the fan (including the power of the latter). Conveniently.
In the bathroom there is a shower (glass cube), from the accessories - 2 towels per person (changed every day), 1 for the feet after leaving the shower.
Small bar of soap, shampoo, hair conditioner, shower cap. There is no hair dryer.
Three sockets, not euro. So you need an adapter (you can ask at the reception). And you can also insert a plastic handle into the upper hole, it unlocks the socket and you can insert a regular plug (the hotel staff taught).
The room has a refrigerator with a mini-bar for an extra charge. fee.
Safe - downstairs near the reception. Free, you just need to issue a key and use it.
We didn't have any theft (other vacationers didn't complain either).
There is free wi-fi in the hotel lobby, quite a stable connection.
The hotel administration responded very quickly to any requests.
There are people at the reception who speak Russian. But if you know English at the level of everyday conversation, it will be easier for you, because not everyone speaks Russian.
By the way! I forgot to mention an important plus! We arrived at the hotel early in the morning.
We were settled almost immediately, without waiting for 14h (for which a HUGE human thanks to the hotel staff! ).
They sent us to have breakfast while they were preparing everything, and they themselves prepared and settled everything.
On the day of departure, no one kicked us out of the room at 12 either, we flew out after 8 pm, in the evening. We rested calmly all day, ate * we had everything), half an hour before departure, our suitcases were rolled out.
When it's time to leave, don't look for your tour booth. operator.
There, upon departure, informing takes place as follows: a note from your guide will be brought to your room a day before (as a rule, he calls the hotel and leaves information), it will indicate the time of departure and when you will be picked up from the hotel
Food.
You can choose different types of meals: all-inclusive (which includes alcohol), breakfasts, breakfast + dinner. Choose based on what your plans on the island are.
Water (to our surprise) is not included, even in the all inclusive.
But it is not expensive, we bought a 5 liter bottle in the store and poured it into a small bottle, took it to the beach.
Any other drinks are included in all (juices, tea, coffee, milk. . )
The cost at the hotel is moderate, you can also buy dishes from the menu. The portions are huge (! ). So it is quite possible to choose just a second course (fish, shrimp, crabs, chicken) with a side dish (vegetables, pasta, rice…).
A portion of the second course, for example, from 600 to 950 local rupees (for the most expensive with large shrimp).
Of course, you can eat outside the hotel. But specify the price and currency of settlements before ordering. So that there are no troubles (the girls from our hotel ate like that somewhere, giving 5000 rupees in the restaurant, it's sooooo expensive).
Since we chose All-inclusive for ourselves (which we were fully satisfied with), I can’t tell you the prices of other food outlets.
When we went to the mountains, we ate there in the hotels where the guide brought us (everything is organized there for guests on the principle of a buffet) - the price is 8-10 dollars, not including alcohol.
Induruwa is a fishing village (let me remind you! ), there is no city and streets when you leave the hotel, not like in Thailand, for example, where you go and choose where to eat. There is something nearby, of course, hotel guests ate somewhere, sometimes they brought something from the market and organized cooking (the same shrimp or fish).
In general, decide on the basis of excursion plans and time spent at the hotel.
Excursions.
We were very lucky with the guide, I'll start with the main thing.
His name is Kasun, a local young man (lives nearby: home, his family is right there), available almost 24 hours a day.
Speaks Russian tolerably well and English. His relative studied at RUDN University in Moscow, and he learned Russian from him.
The first trip (an evening walk to the Buddha temple, to a large statue, not far from the hotel) was announced to us as a free trial to see if it suits us. We were satisfied (of course, they gave him money, 500 rupees, but he resisted taking money for a very long time, we had to insist, because the man was wasting time on us, answering our questions in the temple).
Kasun arranged for us everything we wanted, according to the highest class. We went to the mountains for a two-day excursion (to Kandy and Sigiriya): to a waterfall, tea plantations (those who love tea, get ready that it will take up half of your luggage J), ride elephants, visit the Temple of the Tooth Relic, were in the Royal Botanical Garden , at a national show, at a tortoise farm. . . Where necessary, we stopped (I was interested in local silk and batik).
He drives a car well and calmly - we drove a comfortable sedan with air conditioning (we drove on toll roads, chose for us the best options for a hotel in the mountains, road . . ).
We also went on a river safari with him. We were alone in the boat, a lot of impressions (lizards, crocodiles, kingfishers . . ). Full delight! With a small crocodile, you can take a photo together.
There is a big beautiful river (there are 64 islands on it) along which we were taken for a ride, brought to a shop on one of the islands where cinnamon is made, to a temple on one of the islands, and also to the fish for a foot massage (optional, if you don’t want - you are leaving). But all the living creatures are interesting in the shallow river, which we also asked him to visit, this is on the way. You swim quieter there, you can see everything, we had a good boatman, big-eyed. I saw all the living creatures from afar.
Prepare change rupees 100-500 for tips (because they are desirable, or rather necessary) everywhere: for boatmen, for temples visited, as a donation, for a foot massage with fish, for small purchases, for a photo with someone (such as with women picking tea: they are on a plantation in a workshop where we were given a tour of the manufacturing technology; they are all colorful, for a photo). .
One more moment. Most likely, fate will lead you to the garden of spices. You will be shown how everything grows, what they do there for Ayurvedic treatment and spreading on everything that is possible. They will even give you a neck and head massage (if you want). So. Our guide said that they don't actually make these ointments and powders there. And they buy it in a pharmacy in a large container and pack it in small jars.
So Kasun will be able to take you to the pharmacy, where everything is the same, but much cheaper.
Because he is local, he knows everything there, where, what and how. It helps a lot.
He always acted in our interests and for the benefit of us, for which we thank him.
By the way, sometimes he refuses to take money for short trips and walks. Or says give how much it is not a pity.
We went with him in the evening as a walk before dinner on his tuk-tuk to nearby Buddhist temples. He can bring you something from the market or take you to eat. In general, any whim.
As he says to himself: “I'm not cheap, I'm not expensive. I'm normal". Explaining that cheapness consists of a not very good car, not a very good hotel, etc. And this is true, they were convinced by their own example.
By the way, while visiting him, we read reviews on him in his personal guest book (they came across there since 2010), people write the same opinion that we came to as a result of communication: become his friend, and he will become your friend.
By the way, at first, on the first day, we met another guide (some are actively looking for clients on the beach), but he was not very pleasant. My name is Tusito. Here I don't recommend it. In the evening he actively drinks at his brother's place (opposite the hotel), and in the morning he drives, takes tourists by tuk-tuk to the lagoon, to the shops. As a result, almost all the tourists fled from him (having understood what was happening). He lures first with a free coconut, and then makes claims to people that they did not choose him for travel. Demands money for a coconut. I personally heard. Bad type.
In general, rest in Induruwa is a rest in relaxation mode, which we needed after a long winter and hard working days. There are few people on the beach, the beach strip is long, you can walk everywhere, there is a feeling of solitude. Pleasant country and locals, walking - smiling. We were very satisfied!
Who needs the contacts of our guide - write, I will answer, share
