For children and families who enjoy the beach and associated water sports and activities, there’s plenty to do around Negombo. Many of the hotels offer an excellent range of family-friendly facilities catering to children from six months of age to teenagers. You’ll find supervised water activities, bicycle rides, nature walks and boat rides on offer. At many resort hotels, older children can enjoy sailing, snorkelling, windsurfing and basic scuba diving.

Biking
Bicycles for hire are available at several outlets in Negombo. With a bicycle you’ll have even greater mobility for exploring the beach roads and side streets, and the whole family can join in this activity. If you’re interested in cycling off-road or along the canal paths, mountain bikes and helmets are available for hire as well.

Boating
There are fishing boats available for hire that can take you on interesting excursions along the coast, where you’ll pass small villages along the way. Some excursions take visitors along the Kalu River on a trip into lush jungle greenery. Both options make for a pleasurable day’s outing for the family, and a good introduction to native wildlife, from exotic lizards to flocks of migrant birds.

Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage
Since 1975, elephants that have been injured during the nation’s ongoing civil strife have found a home at this rescue operation in Pinnawela. This orphanage has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country. Kids will enjoy watching and taking photos of the baby elephants as they play and bathe in the river. Pinnawela is about an hour’s drive from Negombo.

Snorkelling
Snorkelling can open up an entire new world of colour and magic for children. The exotic underworld environment off the shores of Negombo will introduce youngsters (and anyone else with a sense of adventure) to the stunning variety of underwater life including coral reefs, rare fish and unusual plant life.

Swimming
Beaches and coastal resorts are plentiful along the coast in the Negombo area. It’s a good idea to swim in designated areas to avoid the undertows that are prevalent in some spots. If you’re concerned about safety, particularly with younger children, there are lots of hotel swimming pools to choose from. If your hotel doesn’t have a pool, one close by will. Day rates are typically offered to visitors at the more upmarket resorts.

Wakeboarding
In the sea off the Negombo coast you’ll regularly find perfect conditions for wakeboarding and surfing. Barefoot waterskiing is also a popular activity in the area. Negombo’s waterskiing course may only be 1500 feet long, but the prevailing conditions make for great barefoot waterskiing year round.

The country’s rich cultural heritage is largely due to its diversity: traditional art and architecture is seen in the many Buddhist and Hindu temples as well as the country’s mosques and churches. Folk museums, traditional shows of music and dance, and ancient ruins round out the area’s cultural attractions.

Angurukaamulla Temple
Negombo’s largest Buddhist temple is known as Angurukaamulla. Features of the temple include a giant Buddha image and a number of ancient paintings and murals. A highlight is a collection of artwork related to various historical kings of Sri Lanka.

Anuradhapura Folk Museum
In Anuradhapura, one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, the Folk Museum is found near the site’s Archaeological Museum. The Folk Museum boasts a large collection of artefacts used in daily rural life in northern central Sri Lanka. Phone: +94 25 225 89.

Buddhist Temple
This is one of the most frequently visited Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka, second only in popularity to the Temple of the Tooth, located in Kandy. The temple dates from the early 14^th century and it is thought that the Buddha preached at this spot approximately 2,000 years ago. Highlights include a well-known reclining Buddha image and statues of numerous Hindu deities. An important national festival is held here annually in January - Duruthu Perahera. The festival boasts a parade of dancers, drummers and elaborately-adorned elephants.

Cultural Shows
The hotels in Negombo regularly offer evening entertainment in the form of cultural shows that feature traditional music and dance. The dancing is based on centuries-old traditions from Kandy, and is often accompanied by fire-walking and acrobatic demonstrations.

Duwa Island
Duwa is a boat-building centre and fishing community which is connected by a causeway to the mainland. Situated at the mouth of Negombo’s lagoon, Duwa is most well-known for the annual Passion play held here which features a mix of street puppetry and open-air theatrical performances.

Panduvasnuwara
Another ancient Sinhalese capital that’s not as frequently visited as Anuradhapura is Panduvasnuwara. It’s a relatively short drive from Negombo to Panduvasnuwara, and the site is an important reminder of Sri Lanka’s cultural heritage. When organising a tour of the ruins here, you may want to include a visit to the rock fortress at Yapahuwa – an impressive sight in itself.

The better restaurants in Negombo are located in the hotels and resorts here, which boast menus catering to international tourists. There are, however, plenty of local restaurants scattered around the town, where you can try more authentic regional cuisine.

Local dishes typically include curry with rice, with coconut featuring prominently. The curries are often quite hot and spicy. Locally-produced brews such as beer and gin are also available at most eateries.

Negombo's coastal location means that fresh seafood such as crab, lobster and prawn are often on the menu. Catering to the many Europeans residents in Negombo, you’ll also find German restaurants and English and continental cuisine featured. Along the beach strip known as ‘Beach Side’ are such popular eateries such as Browns, Camelot and Rodeo.

For shoppers, shopping options in the town are somewhat limited, as the shops cater mostly to locals and tourist necessities. You will find a few outlets where you can pick up souvenirs such as batik, carvings, spices and teas.

Around the resorts and along the beach strip you’ll find shops that carry souvenir items and local handicrafts. The best buys here are gemstones, silver jewellery, leather goods and carved masks. Many shops have set prices and you’ll find that shopkeepers will not haggle over prices.

For carved masks and other traditional handicrafts, the most popular shops are found on Lewis place and Hotel road. The best buys, however, are often found at the beaches, where vendors are willing to negotiate the prices of colourful sarongs, ethnic costumes, swimwear and jewellery.

Just four miles from Negombo at Kochikade there’s a Sunday market that’s worth a visit for a view of local life. Six miles from Negombo you’ll come to a small town known as Mahawewa, where batik production is a specialty. The prices are cheaper here than elsewhere on the island.

Water sports are the most popular of the outdoor activities on offer in Negombo. Although there are more popular beaches farther along the west coast, the swimming, surfing and windsurfing in Negombo are excellent. There are diving operations centred here, sailing craft available for charter and both national and international windsurfing competitions.

Beaches
Negombo’s beaches are wide expanses of golden sand, and appeal to the sun-seekers who stay at the coastal hotels and resorts. Water sports enthusiasts flock to the beaches here from November to April, when area hotels organise a host of water activities.

Diving
Approximately 12 miles offshore and easily reached by hired boat there’s a popular dive site that features a sandy bottom with coral formations and an enormous variety of invertebrate and fish life. You can see hundreds of colourful species including blue and puffing starfish, sea cucumbers, stonefish, emperor angel fish, blue triggerfish, moray eels and Christmas-tree anemones.

Sailing
Sailboats can be hired in Negombo for just one hour; however, it is more common to charter a boat and captain for a half or full-day, or more. A day out on a boat will give you a chance to observe life along the shore while enjoying the warm tropical breezes at sea. Prices are reasonable and negotiable.

Surfing
The sea in the Negombo area is warm and perfect for surfing without the need for any protective gear. You can rent boards from a number of operators, but you won’t need boots, gloves and hoods that are required at so many other surfing hotspots. At various times of the year undercurrents can be a problem, so it’s highly recommended that you ask around about tides and conditions before venturing out.

Waterskiing
Several waterskiing camps are located in Negombo, where you can hire equipment and take lessons so that you can enjoy this fun sport safely. The best time of year for waterskiing is between December and March; at other times of year the undertow can make this sport a bit risky. Some of the waterskiing centres also provide accommodation and can arrange tours of area attractions, making it possible for you to organise your entire visit around learning and enjoying this sport.

Whale Watching
Both dolphin and whale watching are seasonal activities off the coast of Sri Lanka. On the west coast, November to March is the best time to go on an excursion to spot both species. You can take a daytrip from the Negombo area to the breeding grounds, where it’s quite likely you’ll see blue and sperm whales.