Sri Lanka Holidays - Our time in Galle and Travel Tips for Sri Lanka

Day 1 We travelled to Sri Lanka in January 2024 and when we arrived we stayed in Negombo for a few days to help the children get used to the time difference and temperature etc. With a 3 year old and an 18 month old that time proved invaluable as we all struggled sleep wise at the beginning after such a long flight. We had decided to do a bit of an adventure and travel from Colombo to Galle using the train. It was a 45 minutes in a taxi from Negombo to Colombo train station and the train was due to leave about 14.40 but you never quite know. I like to look at the train info on Seat61 here as a good starting place for train info and advice. The train we got went from Colombo Fort and they only had second class, you only need to pay for adult tickets which were 500 rupees (aprox. £1.25) per person. From here was a struggle, we had to walk through the station and over the bridge to the platform with all our luggage and both the children, thank goodness we had packed fairly light. In Sri Lanka, as in many countries we have travelled to, the locals are very curious about the children who are very pale and blonde so they attract a lot of attention, as long as you are aware of it, it is fine, but it's not bad attention just curious, but at the train station we did get a lot of people stroking the kids arms and tickling our youngest under the chin which got a bit much. We laughed it off and just kept out of the way as best we could. The train was a bit late so the kids ate nearly all my 'train' snacks and the little one spent most of the time trying to stroke pigeons but eventually the train came. In our heads we had thought it would be fairly empty, we would get a nice little seat area together and we could watch the world go by out the window...this was not the case at all. It was filled, crammed full, we could hardly get in but we managed it, we had to! We squeezed into the aisle with our bags and holding the children as best we could standing in the middle as the train left the station, sweat dripping off our faces as we realised this train might be the hottest place on earth and we looked at each other with a 'what are we doing' face!! I tried to lighten the mood with a 'well this is an adventure' light hearted joke, we were so lucky though as a very kind young man stood from his seat and offered it to the children and I, we were so thankful, until we sat down and realised the seat was right next to the window in the full on burning sun. The train doesn't change direction either it just follows the coast so this would be the case for the whole journey, the heat got unbearable, I smothered the children in sun cream and tried to keep the sun off the baby's head as we laid on me with my spare shirt. Our 3 year old instantly got out a water colouring book ignoring the scenery but at least she was happy. The train literally goes along the coast, right next to the sea at some points, had I not been so hot and uncomfortable I would have really enjoyed watching the scenery out the window.

Train from Colombo to Galle — The train travels right next to the sea

The train was supposed to take about 2 hours but ended up taking nearly 3! We had organised a home stay in Galle, we had sent them photos of us, at their request, beforehand and the Dad spotted us at the station and waved us over which was lovely. We walked to his tuk tuk and crammed all our bags in and off we went. We had booked to stay at Silver Rail Guest House and we discovered it was so called as it was literally right next to the train line. The family were all so kind and sweet and they made it feel like a home from home, the parents don't speak much English but the daughter can translate but we find it doesn't seem to matter as you always get by anyway. The family literally have one guest room at the top of the building and then a little shop at the bottom. The room was big, with two double beds, lots of space, mosquito nets over the beds, a fan and a nice size bathroom. It was clean and spacious. In our room we were all desperate for a shower to wash that sweaty train ride off and freshen up. If you want to eat here the Mum will cook evening food for you but you need to give her notice so she can purchase ingredients and prepare it etc, sadly we didn't do this but if her breakfasts are anything to go by she is an amazing cook! We decided to head into town for a bite to eat, so the Dad drove us in in his tuk tuk, the kids LOVE a tuk tuk ride and talk about them all the time at home which is really sweet. As we headed into the city area of Galle it had started to rain, the Dad reassured us it would be a quick shower...it ended up being a monsoon type experience! We went to a restaurant called Aqua for dinner...somewhere I had researched on the trusty TripAdvisor app beforehand as our 4 year old was struggling with the different foods a bit and told me she wanted a pizza, so pizza it was! If we had been travelling without the kids we would not have eaten like this but funny how you have to adapt when you have little ones with you. The restaurant is very popular and it was heaving, it also seems to be quite upmarket and we felt a little underdressed so were pleased when the table out the front of the restaurant was free and we could sit out there and it didn't matter too much if the children moved around, were a bit noisy etc. However, it began to rain harder and harder then it was almost like a full on monsoon and we began to get wet on the table, luckily it was still warm and we were able to laugh about it but we did have to squish up a bit to stop the pizzas getting soggy, haha! Dinner here was expensive, for Sri Lanka, with our meal for 4 working out to about £28...blowing our budget but the kids were happy and the food was really nice so we made our peace with it as one of those things. Feeling like teenagers again we messaged the Dad at the homestay to come and pick us up, bless him he arrived with umbrellas to help us out to the tuk tuk but we didn't mind, we got soaking wet just running a few meters to the tuk tuk but all thought it was very funny. The roads by now had turned into rivers, it was insane the water was flowing into the tuk tuk at one point but good old thing just kept going and got us home safely. Exhausted we all went to bed, what we didn't realise though it that the trains continue all through the night, the kids slept through everything but after having children I am an incredibly light sleeper so I spent most of the night awake.

When it rains it pours! Day 2 I would say we woke up early, but I'm not sure I ever got to sleep!! I love this homestay and the family and if I were a heavy sleep I would stay here again no question! We had asked to have breakfast at 9am and when we went down we found that the Mum had made enough breakfast for about 20 people and it kept coming, there was toast, hoppers, fruit, curried eggs, sambal, pancakes...it was amazing but way too much food for us and two little ones. We ate until we were full but it looked like we had hardly eaten anything and we felt terrible that there was so much left. It would appear the storm last night has meant some very hot and humid weather today, it was 9am and we were already sweating. We got ready as quickly as we could to head into Galle before it got too hot. Once there we explored the Black Fort, which was interesting and the kids loved running around. We walked around the little streets and explored some of the shops, we went into Stick no Bills which is must when you are in town, we fell in love with a poster but couldn't lug it around with us for the rest of our time in Sri Lanka and have regretted not buying it ever since...so we will have to return! After walking around in the heat our little one was getting tired. We stopped in a cafe and he fell straight to sleep, but it turned out the cafe only had hot drinks on offer and it was baking hot so we left, I had to carry a sleeping baby in my arms through the streets while we found somewhere else we could go, another cafe had put up a sign as we went in saying they were closing so a bit stuck we spoke with some fellow tourists who recommended the Fort Printers Hotel, so we walked there. On days like today I regret choosing not to bring a buggy with us but I need to remember that I do stand by our decision as lugging it around the whole time would have just not been possible, just means lots of carrying little one has to take place but when it is around 40oc some days it's not always the most enjoyable experience! The Fort Printers Hotel was like a dream, an airy sanctuary compared to the inferno that was outside in the midday sun! As soon as the staff saw us walking in with a sleeping baby they were so sweet, they showed to a sofa in the foyer area and gestured that I could lay him down then they rallied round to get a fan which they put right next to us to keep the kids cool, it was very sweet. Everything about this hotel that we saw was lovely, and should we return to Galle then we would very much like to stay here. We had cold drinks, made the most of the wifi to plan next bits of our trip and let the baby sleep. We explored a bit more of the town once little one woke up, we walked to the shoreline/wall and followed it around to the famous lighthouse.

By now though we were all getting hungry and we needed to find somewhere to stop for lunch. We walked down a little side road and past a little hole in the wall place called Coconut Sambal, there were just a handful of tables in there and a small buffet along the wall in clay pots, it smelt delicious and the people just leaving informed us it was tasty so in we went. It works on a per person basis, children eat free, and was good value at about £4 per adult. We filled our plates with their tasty looking options and were pleasantly surprised, it was in fact delicious. The kids tried some bits and enjoyed the mango curry which was tasty and a bit sweet.

After lunch we walked down the road to Isle of Gelato for ice creams, we sat upstairs and the air con was very welcome! With 1 scoop costing 950 rupees (about £2.40) it wasn't the cheapest treat but the look on the kids faces was totally worth it and that's what holidays are all about. We walked around some more exploring the small roads and walked up to the top of the wall then headed back to our room in a trusty tuk tuk. I would recommend having maps.me on your phone while in Sri Lanka as we have found a distinct lack of knowledge in where the tuk tuk drivers are going and have to direct them a lot of the time using our maps.

Back at our room, from the balcony we could see the black and white monkeys jumping around in the trees opposite and the chipmunks all running along the roofs of the building around us. As dusk fell we watched the biggest bats we have ever seen flying out of the trees, it was amazing...the kids loved it, what an experience. It rained again in the evening as we headed out for dinner, we went to Imal's for food which was really good and the food was really nice and very reasonable.

Overall thoughts on Galle We loved our Sri Lanka holiday and really liked this little town and enjoyed exploring the little streets and learning about it's history but it was just way too hot for the kids while we were here so I would like to go back again but either when it's a bit cooler or we would plan to head out much earlier in the morning to avoid the hottest part of the day. I feel a couple of days here is probably enough unless you are using it as a base to explore other places nearby. GALLE TOP PACKING TIPS - I think it would be a good idea to pack ear plugs just incase like these ones here - A decent day bag you can fit all your essentials in is a must when exploring especially if you have little ones, my favourite 'Mum' changing/nappy bag is from Ruvalino and I take it EVERYWHERE!! Mine has been around the world with me and I have used it everyday for 4.5 years and it is still going strong, you can take a look here - Make sure you have your copy of the Sri Lanka Lonely Planet book which you can get here - If you have kids then these Magic Water Colouring books are amazing, you fill the pen with water and they colour in the pictures, which dry with no colour showing so they can colour them again, brilliant! You can take a look at the Galt Toys Water Magic one we have here - Kids water bottles are essential here as it is just so hot and we swear by the LittleLife Water Bottles with a straw, they are perfect and I always pack a couple of sterilising tablets with me too so I can give them a regular soak and clean on the go. Take a look at the LittleLife Water Bottles here - Sun hats for the kids when the sun is this strong is something you can't go without, we have tried all sort of hats and for a while we favoured the Legionnaires style hats which is the baseball cap with the curtain around the side to protect their neck and ears but we now prefer a more traditional sun hat with a wider brim and extended brim at the back to protect the neck, they have the option to tighten around the head and a drawstring style under neck loop so you can secure it in place on a windy day, we feel they offer better protection and our kids love them, check them out here there are some many cute patterns to choose from - As always make sure you pack a decent camera, I always favour a compact one from Sony similar to this one