7 Awesome Things To Do Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
7 Awesome Things To Do Trincomalee, Sri Lanka
Trincomalee is a great little town on the east coast of Sri Lanka. Trincomalee offers beautiful white sand and is one of the best beaches of Sri Lanka. The east coast is upcoming and way more quiet than south, which is a perfect reason to plan a visit. Trincomalee is surrounded by wildlife, hilltops and rock formations. Take about 2 or 3 full days in this town because there are quite some great things to do in Trincomalee.
Quick links:
- Things to do in Trincomalee
- Restaurants in Trincomalee
- Where to go after Trincomalee
- Hotels in Trincomalee
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1. Nilaveli Beach
Rent a motorbike for your whole stay (±1500 LKR per day) and go explore the nearby beaches. The east coast is much quieter than other parts so driving here on a motorbike isn’t a problem.
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Nilaveli Beach is a beautiful beach area where you just can chill for the day. In the weekend, locals from all over the country also like to visit Nilaveli because of its white sand. It’s even better to just spot some small roads towards the beach because this brings you the untouched spots!
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2. Whale Watching
Trincomalee is famous for Whale Watching. Which is also one of the popular things to do in Mirissa in the opposite season. The whale season in Trincomalee runs from March until August.
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3. Chill at Fernandos
One of the most laid-back bars in town is Fernando’s. Located right on the beach this chill out bar offers some good drinks and music. Enjoy the last moments of the sunset in a hammock. Just skip lunch or dinner here, go to one of these restaurants in Trincomalee.
➳ Find all: Hotels in Trincomalee
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4. Visit Sri Pathrakali Amman Kovil
This beautifully colored Hindu temple is located in town and easy to visit. It even might be your lucky day to experience a real ceremony.
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During your little trip through town towards the temples or Fort Frederik, you might pass loads of dried fish stalls. Trincomalee town is full of real local life, where they don’t necessarily have to live from tourism which is completely different from the south.
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5. Visit Fort Frederik
Fort Frederik is an old fort built by the Portuguese. These days it is used by the Sri Lankan military but its open for visitors. Within the fort, you can see many deer and escape the heat of the day because most of the fort is covered by trees.
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6. Enjoy the bay view at the Koneswaram Temple
From Fort Frederik, you can follow the road until the viewpoint area and Hindu temple Koneswaram. From this area, you can drink a coconut with a view over the whole Trincomalee bay. The temple is built on a great location with an insane drop into the ocean. Make sure the visit the back of the temple area.
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7. Snorkel at Pigeon Island
A 10-minute boat rides out of Nilaveli Beach is a small island with super clear water and a small white sand beach. Pigeon Island is great for a morning or afternoon tour. Don’t forget your snorkel gear.
➳ Find all: Hotels in Trincomalee
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Best restaurants in Trincomalee
There are loads of fantastic restaurants in town. We have rated them by yummy (♥️) rating.
Cafe on the 18th – ♥️♥️♥️♥️
Nero Kitchen (Pizza) – ♥️♥️♥️
Rice ‘n’ Curry Restaurant – ♥️♥️
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Where to go after Trincomalee?
From Trincomalee, you have some great options to continue your route through Sri Lanka.
- Do a 2-day road trip along the east-coast of Sri Lanka
- Visit Surfers paradise Arugam Bay
- Jaffna, the most northern province of Sri Lanka
- Climb up Sigiriya’s Lion Rock
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Colombo to Trincomalee by car
Arranging a taxi from Colombo will usually get you high prices. PickMe is an Uber-like service for long distances. Their prices can be directly calculated from their website. From Colombo Airport to Trincomalee is a 6-hour drive and will cost you around $75 dollar. This ride includes an English speaking driver, new car with aircon, and pick up from the airport.
➳ Discount! Use the discount code SALTYTAXI while booking your ride!
Where to stay in Trincomalee
We found the best area to stay in Trincomalee just outside the city’s center near Fernando’s bar. You will have plenty of great restaurants around and can easily visit Nilaveli + Pigeon Island or the other side of the city like Fort Frederik.
➳ Find all: Hotels in Trincomalee
Blog comments (20)
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Thanks for your article, it is so interesting. SriLanka is near to India!! Do visit India next time as well. It is an amazing place to explore!! I hope you will surely like it.
Thank you! We hope we will have the opportunity to visit India one day :)
Hi there – We arrive in Sri Lanka on 3 July 2019 for 14 days. I have heard that trincomalee is the best place to visit at that time of year? What is the best way to get there from Colombo and is it worth travelling south to Mirissa? We are keen to see a little bit of both east and south weather dependant. Look forward to hearing from. Steve
PS. Does your book come as a paper back?
Hi Steve,
So great you’re planning to travel to Sri Lanka.
Mid-July until September is high season for the whole country so it doesn’t really matter where you go weatherwise :)
Our best suggestion to go from Colombo to Trincomalee is using Pick-me. It’s like a Sri Lankan Uber that offers transport between all cities and offers fair prices. Of course, you could also you public transport but this takes about 9 hours.
Mirissa is a lovely place too!
Our book is a handy E-book that you can take with you on your phone. It includes 2 fun routes with all the information you need + cool visuals etc.
We’re sure you love it :)
Have fun in sri Lanka!
Hey, we are visiting Sri Lanka in 5th May – 20th May and Im looking mainly at east coast spots. Do you think it would be foolish to go to the south beaches? I know the monsoon begins in May but Im wondering how much it actually rains at that time of the year in the south? Also, in the east, which beach would you recommend for having a good atmosphere? Nothing too crazy but just a few nice bars and places to eat and chill? Thank you so much for your wonderful blogs and your anticipated reply :) xxx
Hi, it’s hard to say. It’s different every year so I would just plan as you like and re-plan while you’re there. The east coast isn’t as stunning and much to do as south so spending 3 weeks there is too much. We’ve done a little road trip along the coastline but we can’t really recommend other places than Trincomalee and Arugam. Make sure to check those articles as well. enjoy!
Thanks a lot for the information :) What are the best months to visit Trincomalee?
Between Feb and Sept is best.
You can find more information in our ebook.
https://saltinourhair.com/ebooks/traveling-sri-lanka/
What an ameezing blog you wrote! I am getting all exited from reading it. We will travel to Sri lanka in February. I have a question, is there also a way To get from Ella to tricomalee? Or the other way around?
And did you guys ever try the night trains that go from Colombo to the north and east?
Looking forward to read your answers.
Greetings Lotte
So great to hear you love the blogs!
We used PickMe a lot. You could easily arrange a ride from Ella to Trincomalee with them.
We haven’t tried the Night trains in Sri Lanka so unfortunately we can’t help you with that.
Maybe you like to check it out our Sri Lanka Ebook? :) https://saltinourhair.com/ebooks/traveling-sri-lanka/
It’s full of extra information.
Hi there we are planning a cousins reunion in Sri Lanka in July. Is this a good time to travel? When is the monsoon period. Also we want to go to Trinco as we have not visited due to the trouble in previous years. Can we do some Yoga and meditation there? Love your website and pictures!
Hi!
The monsoon season ends Mid-July. So you’ll have some showers but nothing major. :)
Trincomalee is a very relaxed place, there are also quite some place to do yoga. But we can’t recommend a specific place since we haven’t tried it ourselves.
Maybe you like to check it out our Sri Lanka Ebook? https://saltinourhair.com/ebooks/traveling-sri-lanka/
Itβs full of extra information about transportation, the seasons, money etc etc.
We hope you’ll have an amazing trip with you’re cousins!
Sick Review , Really made my day during my Time of staying at Trincomalee:) cheers
Hi!!
I’m planning a two/three week trip to Sri Lanka in March 2019. We love exploring areas that are still ‘off the beaten track’ (although I know this doesn’t really exist anymore in countries like Sri Lanka). If you have to choose.. would you rather visit the south or the east part of the island (the beaches). When I read your blogs I get more excited when I read about your jeep adventure compared to the most famous beach swing in Unawatuna. Love to hear your thoughts. :-)
Hi Stephanie!
Hmm if you really like off the beaten track you should spend less time in the south and north (Jaffna) and east (Trinco). The Diyaluma falls (near Ella) was also quiet and unknown when you visit the top. World’s End hike at Nuwara Eliya isn’t too busy either. For an off the beaten beach destination; visit Tangalle.
We love a good mix of these so that’s what we did last time, the south is amazing (it really is haha). We haven’t published that route yet but it was something like Colombo> Dambulla > Jaffna > Trinco > 2-day Road trip to Arugam > Yala -> and some other spots down south.
Enjoy / Veel plezier :-D !
Looks cool.. really liking your blogs! will be visiting Sri Lanka in beginning of September.. any idea where I can do whale watching (if anywhere) .. since it will be off-season both in trincomalee and mirissa? thanks
Hi, thanks! You might want to scrap this off your Sri Lanka wish list. You’re in between seasons and most boats will probably be docked. Sorry about that.
Wow! Awesome pictures, especially the deerβ one. You guys are simply amazing!
thanks <3
Thanks for the recommendation! I’m planning to go to Srilanka, would definitely check out these places. Greta pictures as always!
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