Hikkaduwa is full of great value hotels and guest houses across all price points, and this post covers where to stay in Hikkaduwa for all kinds of travellers. The beachside town of Hikkaduwa is much bigger these days, and there is a reason for that, it’s a lovely spot. We first visited over 20 years ago and have been back a few times since, touring the whole of the island extensively. Options for staying in Hikkaduwa include resort hotels, budget backpacker places, and everything in between. We’ve even rented a small private villa here. There is accommodation for budget lovers and luxury travellers.
I’m updating this post today, 2026, to fix some technical issues. This post was written several years ago, when we last stayed in Hikkaduwa. Things may have changed, but we’ve double-checked a few hotel prices for this year, and we mention this in the post. Affiliate links may appear.
Hikkaduwa
The town of Hikkaduwa backed onto lush rainforest and the beach was popular for surfers. It had a spot for snorkelling, and the southernmost end was still deserted and tranquil the last time we visited. I was lucky enough to see a turtle laying her eggs on the beach here.
That surf may make swimming unsafe outside of protected areas, but this is typical for much of Sri Lanka.
We’ve scuba dived from Hikkaduwa, and there was a turtle hatchery just north of town, near the Hikkaduwa Tsunami Memorial Statue.
As with all destinations in Sri Lanka, you will find local travel agents wanting to organise your tours to ancient sites, Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage or Udawalawe National Park.
If you’re keen to travel Sri Lanka independently, it’s easy to hop on the bus or train in Hikkaduwa. The train ride along the west coast is very scenic in parts.
There were plenty of shops and restaurants on the beach at Hikkaduwa or on the road, and transport connections to the airport were good. Further south, the beaches became 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 on the island.
If you’re searching for a place to stay in Hikkaduwa, we suggest you book online. We used to arrive at our destination and search on foot for rooms when we were backpacking. Today we always book a room for a night or two on arrival using online hotel booking platforms. This style of travel won’t work for most holidaymakers or people on vacation in Hikkaduwa, so check out what’s available online and book for your entire stay. If you’re travelling at busy periods like Christmas and New Year, always book in advance.
Along with our villa stay, we’ve also stayed in two beach-front, more upmarket hotels in Hikkaduwa, both were excellent stays but not really top-end luxury. Buffet breakfasts in these hotels, with Sri Lankan food options, are normally excellent.
Hikkaduwa is famous for turtles. This is the only place in the world where I’ve seen a turtle laying her eggs on the beach after dark. A walk along the beach in the evening could bring you an amazing surprise! If not, there are turtle hatcheries nearby.
They say that Hikkaduwa is a good place for snorkelling. There was some coral, but the rough seas at the Coral Gardens have never given us decent visibility. You may have a better snorkelling experience if you book a dedicated snorkel trip like this one.
We have gone scuba diving from Hikkaduwa, it was pretty good, there was a wreck to see, but the visibility was quite average.
Where To Stay in Hikkaduwa
We’re going to cover where to stay in Hikkaduwa at all budget points from cheap places to stay to the most luxury resorts. All can be good options depending on your travel style.
Where To Stay in Hikkaduwa – Cheap
Hikkaduwa, and most of Sri Lanka, has very cheap accommodation. At the budget end consider hostels, guest houses, villa stays,cabins and cheap hotels. The lowest prices start at around $10 US per night for 2 adults. I checked this for 2026, and it’s still true. Look here for the cheapest stay we could find.
While accommodation can still be very cheap in Sri Lanka, what puts up your holiday costs are the admission prices to ancient sites. These will very quickly eat up your holiday budget.
For a cheap place to stay in Hikkaduwa, take a look at this cute villa, three bedrooms, or one, with a washing machine, that’s a huge bonus!
Hikkaduwa Hostels
I have found a couple of hostels in Hikkaduwa in 2026 with dorm beds for $5 per night. However, these places had terrible reviews, and with private rooms costing little more, I’d probably take that option.
Best Hotels in Hikkaduwa
If you’re looking for the very best place to stay in Hikkaduwa, you can pay $500 to $1000 per night for luxury beach front villas and suites. For a 5 star hotel stay, this hotel has excellent reviews and is typically under $300 per night, for 2, with breakfast included. This is 2026 information.
This hotel is cheaper, under $200/night, and the pool looks amazing.
Where To Stay in Hikkaduwa – Family Hotels and Villas
Hikkaduwa doesn’t have a huge number of properties with family rooms suitable for a family or 4 or larger family with kids. The following hotels, villas, and apartments do have family accommodation. Triple rooms for a family of three seem to be more common in Hikkaduwa.
Where to Stay in Hikkaduwa – Most Luxury Resorts
The best luxury hotels in Hikkaduwa are usually considered to be the following.
My pick out of all of these for a luxury hotel in Hikkaduwa would be Riff Hikkaduwa (see it here) this hotel has 5 stars awarded on Booking dot com, great reviews, and is on the beach. We have stayed at some of the hotels in the list above and to us, they weren’t really very luxury.
Where to Stay in Hikkaduwa – Mid-Range Hotels
Where to Stay in Hikkaduwa – Hostels
There are a few backpackers hostels in Sri Lanka with prices from under $10 per night. These include Kind and Love Guesthouse and Hostel and Travellers Hostel.
Hikkaduwa Sri Lanka
Where is Hikkaduwa Sri Lanka?
Hikkaduwa is a beach holiday destination on Sri Lanka’s southwest coast. The main international airport in Sri Lanka, Bandaranaike International Airport near Colombo. Colombo was the capital of Sri Lanka from 1948 to 1982, today the legislative capital of Sri Lanka is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (known as Kotte) which is also in the urban area of Colombo. Hikkaduwa is 114 km, about 70 miles, south of Colombo, the drive time is about 2 hours on the Southern Expressway, the coastal road and coastal train track south from Colombo are far more picturesque but the drive time would be longer.
Hikkaduwa is only about 6 degrees north of the equator, putting it in the northern hemisphere. Hikkaduwa is in Asia and Sri Lanka is part of South Asia, not Southeast Asia, and is part of the Indian Subcontinent. The country of Maldives is to the south of Sri Lanka and it’s easy to combine these two destinations in one trip. Hikkaduwa is in the tropics, lying between the Tropic of Cancer (northern limit) and the Tropic of Capricorn (southern limit). Hikkaduwa enjoys a tropical or equatorial climate.
Hikkaduwa, Day Trips and Places to See Near Hikkaduwa
Galle is south of Hikkaduwa, only about 20 km away. You can take the local bus or catch a tuk tuk or taxi to see Galle (half an hour or so). Galle is a great day trip from Hikkaduwa.
Colombo to Galle by train can be a really beautiful ride along the coast. It is possible to visit Udawalawe National Park for a wildlife safari from Hikkaduwa, You can also visit Yala National Park from Hikkaduwa. Check out these tours here.
Hikkaduwa Sri Lanka – Best Time to Visit
Sri Lanka is one of the hottest countries in the world, with hot temperatures year-round. The island of Sri Lanka has 2 monsoon seasons, which complicates the weather. The best time to visit Hikkaduwa is normally January to March. We have spent Christmas in Sri Lanka twice, and did experience a few days of rain. January is the driest time in Hikkaduwa, but you could still see some rain. May is the wettest month in Hikkaduwa.
Hikkaduwa is a popular winter sun vacation destination in Sri Lanka, being not too far from the airport.
Where We Stayed in Hikkaduwa
This was a very budget family trip to Hikkaduwa, backpacking the island with kids for over a month. Previously we have visited Hikkaduwa on vacations and used some of the hotels mentioned above. You can still find traditional style villas like this in Hikkaduwa today.
We stayed at OVC Villa (Part of Ocean View Cottages Hotel) Hikkaduwa, I don’t know if this still existes today, but we keep this information on the travel blog because it’s part of our story.
Cost per Night: $35 to $50 depending on where you book. The accommodation’s own website is cheaper than an online booking agent, this is very rare. We could not negotiate any sort of long-term discount with this owner.
Number of Beds: 2 double beds, in separate room. 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 was on the other side of the road, on the beach, they had 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 was behind the villa, the main road was out front. The noise was 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.
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
If you'd like to hire a car during your stay, use this car rental comparison tool to find the best deal!
We also suggest you take a look at this company to get a quote for all kinds of the more tricky adventure or extended travel insurance.
Try Stayz / VRBO for an alternative way to find rentals on homes/apartments/condos in any country!
Thank you for the information.
Thanks for sharing your experience in Sri Lanka. Glad you enjoyed your stay.
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.
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.
Thank you so much for your advise 🙂