Colombo Beach Hostel

There’s a garden restaurant and bar downstairs, plus a lounge and an indoor-outdoor pool. Upstairs, the roof has an open garden and a covered spot with couches and coffee tables. There are plenty of private and shared rooms. The hostel is about five minutes from the beach, ten from the main shops, and thirty from downtown. The staff are lovely and have great tips for local events, getting around cheaply, and even some underground spots.

Dinesh can help sort out all sorts of things, from exchanging cash to hiring a tuktuk, and he has loads of suggestions plus a whole Google Maps list of activities. The food is brilliant, and waking up right by the beach is just what you want. The city isn’t next door, but a tuktuk gets you there. Dinesh is a lovely host, and I’d say this is probably the best hostel in Sri Lanka. 10/10 stay ❤️

I kept coming back here during my month in Sri Lanka, four times in all. It had the most relaxed, social feel of any hostel I stayed at, and really became a home away from home. I spent plenty of late nights playing games and having beers, met some wonderful people, learned a lot about Sri Lanka from the staff, and ate seriously good local food. The welcome and experiences are the real draw. If you need high-speed WiFi and Western comforts, this might not suit you, but I can't recommend it enough if you want a warm atmosphere and great people 🤩🤩

The atmosphere was good, the place was nice, and the staff were kind. But watch out for the mosquitoes. If they give you a bed without a net, refuse it, because the dorm room door couldn’t be shut and the hostel was full of mosquitoes. We ended up with around 50 bites each.