Nilaveli is a village 14 km north of Trincomalee in northeastern Sri Lanka.
Understand
[edit]Get in
[edit]The nearest train station is in Trincomalee. Taking a Tuk Tuk or Taxi should be around 2700 Rs. (Pickme fare, but you might be able to negotiate the same price with the drivers at the train station) and will take about 25 minutes.
Get around
[edit]
The village is very compact and therefore walkable. There is a military base separating the village from the area around the Nilaveli Beach Hotel. To get from one side to the other you have to take a rickshaw or walk along the main road to Trincomalee (beachside is restricted too).
See
[edit]Do
[edit]- 1 Pigeon Island. until 17:00. A snorkelling trip to Pigeon Island is a must. There are local boats leaving to the island frequently. Snorkelling is a great way to see the abundant sea life such as turtles, colourful boxerfish or black tip reef sharks. Be careful not to hurt the still living corals. Booking the same trip with one of the diving shops around Nilaveli will likely cost more, but you'll have more time on the island as well as better equipment. 19,000 Rs.
Buy
[edit]Eat
[edit]Most of the guest houses or hotels also have their own restaurant, so finding something to eat is not a problem.
Drink
[edit]Very few restaurants will offer alcohol (except the one at the beach).
Sleep
[edit]- 1 Nilaveli Beach Hotel. Great 4-star hotel nestled right in front of Nilaveli Beach.
- H&U Guesthouse. budget guesthouse next to Anilana and Nilaveli Beach Hotel with very nice owners. You can stay there and walk to Anilana's great beach area, buy something at the bar (when you walk in from the beach the bar is to your right just before you enter the pool area) and enjoy their nice atmosphere all day long. Pigeon Island trips start right at the beach (Rs.2100 entry fee, Rs.600 equipment, Rs.1800 per boat). The fan rooms are Rs.4000 with breakfast which will seem too much when you see them, but bang for the buck is quite low in Nilaveli.
- 2 Shahira Hotel, 10th Milepost, ☏ +94 76 804 7291. Decent prices for clean rooms. Nice owner who tells you all about the tsunami in 2004.