Sri Lanka Surprises

EVIE FARRELL and her daughter take us on a loop around palm-fringed Sri Lanka, where elephants, temples and kid-friendly beaches are just the start.

It’s one of the hottest destinations for families right now, and the popularity of this sun-drenched, palm-filled island is well deserved. Sri Lanka is the fabulous family holiday spot you’ve been dreaming of, with white-sand beaches and palm trees, ancient ruins and fortresses, epic train rides through terraced tea plantations, wild elephants, peacocks and leopards, delicious curries and wide-grinned happy locals who welcome tourists with open arms.

“We need to buy land here,” I declared to eight-year-old Emmie when we stumbled upon the horseshoe-shaped Hiriketiya Beach a few years ago, and we almost did. This tiny bay on Sri Lanka’s south coast is calm enough for children to splash around in and learn to surf while parents take on the big waves out the back. It was one of many Sri Lankan villages where we fell in love and tried to turn soil.

Surfing, saris and sacred rocks

When I ask Emmie what she likes most about Sri Lanka, I get a long list of loves, from seeing elephants in the wild and feeling the long grass whip her feet from the doorway of the blue train, to hiking Sigiriya Rock and learning to surf against a backdrop of palms and blue sky. She adores getting around barefoot, chasing the music-playing ‘bread men’ who deal fresh sugar buns from the back of their tuk-tuks, and gazing at the sari-clad women who glide past, adding colourful splashes to the jungle-green landscape.

You could spend months in Sri Lanka with the fam and still have more to see, but after many visits we have our favourites that take us on an easy loop, starting with a night or two settling in at beautiful Negombo Beach. It’s only a 30-minute ride from the airport and is a great spot to acclimatise to the heat, enjoy some local ‘short eats’ and get ready for an upcoming adventure.