Trincomalee

Trincomalee is a city in northeastern Sri Lanka.

Understand
The city went through a lot of fighting during the civil war, but is being developed as a tourist destination.

By plane

 * Cinnamon Air, a domestic airline in Sri Lanka, operates flights from Colombo to Trincomalee. Along the way, it makes a stop at Sigiriya. The total duration of the flight is 1 hour and 15 minutes. One-way fare per person is US$227 (without tax).

By bus

 * The bus station is across the street from the clock tower and the market. Buses to Kandy leave at 4AM, around 9:15AM, 10:15AM, 1:45PM and 2:45PM. The bus at 9:15AM is supposed to be a/c and needs to be pre-booked, all other buses are standard non-a/c government buses.

By rail

 * The train station is about 1 km north of town. Both daytime and nighttime trains are available. The Night Mail departs Colombo Fort at 21:30 and arrives at Trincomalee at 5:30 the next morning. This train has 1st class sleepers as well as 2nd and 3rd class "sleeperettes" which are reclining seats. 2nd class (LKR 520) has arm-rests, 3rd class (LKR 325) does not.
 * There are also two day-time arrivals into Trincomalee each day. You must leave Colombo Fort on the 6:05 train to Galoya. Tickets are LKR 450 for 2nd class, LKR 285 for 3rd class. It should arrive at 11:36 so you can transfer to the Trincomalee train which departs at 12:00 and arrives at 13:40. If you miss this connection, there is a second Trincomalee train departing Galoya departing at 14:35 and arriving at 16:12. These trains have 2nd (LKR 140) and 3rd class (LKR 80) unreserved seats.

Get around
Trincomalee is a very compact town, so walking is a suitable way to see the town. For longer trips, rickshaws are available at nearly every corner. Negotiate your fare before boarding if there is no meter: a rule of thumb is around 50 LKR per kilometre.

See

 * Pigeon Island

Eat
Most guesthouses will make meals for you if you talk to them. Restaurants are clustered near the hotels north of town near Ananthapuri.


 * Green Park Beach Hotel - North Indian food
 * Jeffry's Restaurant
 * JKAB Park Hotel - Sri Lankan buffet
 * Nina (Sarvodaya Road, Uppuveli, 300 meters from main road) family-run restaurant serving local and western food. Some specials every day. Smoothie bowls available.

Sleep


There are tons of guesthouses along the beach at Uppaveli and Nilaveli. Shop around as the prices vary greatly.

There are also an increasingly large number of guesthouses to the South of Fort Fredrick on the beach. Once again shop around as prices vary greatly.

Go next

 * Batticaloa
 * Uppuveli
 * Nilaveli