A day at the beach is nothing out of the ordinary for us islanders. So much so that popular beach haunts are positively swarming with people making tossing a frisbee without inadvertently knocking a few off their feet virtually impossible. Here’s an alternative. If you’ve pre-planned a day at the beach, you can head over to Wadduwa.
At 33km from Colombo a train ticket will cost you no more that Rs. 35. You can take the 8.45am Maradana to Kalutara south train from the Colombo Fort station. The ride is just an hour long, comfortable and adds to the ‘heading out of the bustling city’ feeling.
If you get there early you can try some ginger tea at the petti-kade right outside the railway station. It’s milk tea with the right kick of ginger to awaken your senses on an early Saturday morning. I’d give it a 7.5 rating up against all the cups of tea I’ve had while crisscrossing the country.
Once you get to Wadduwa at 9.45am, follow the train tracks heading back towards Colombo till you reach a road crossing the tracks. Go along the road and towards the beach till you arrive at a lane leading towards Saffron Beach Hotel. You can’t miss it because the hotel is visible from the road but if you have trouble don’t hesitate to ask around. The Wadduwa-folk will be able to direct you there effortlessly.
The Saffron beach hotel came up two years ago. It’s got a large swimming pool with the beach front view. Before you hit the beach be sure to order your food and let the waiter know at what time you’d like to have lunch at; the food takes a while to prepare but it’s worth the wait.
The menu varies from about Rs. 200 for soup to dishes that cost Rs. 5000. Don’t let that put you off though. You can get grilled fish and prawn dishes for Rs. 300 and Rs. 450, and considering the epic proportions they’re served in its surprisingly inexpensive.
While your fish and prawns are being grilled, you can mosey over to the beach and either chill out or play Frisbee, football or beach cricket- the possibilities are seemingly endless! If you wish to you can swim in the sea. During this season the sea is relatively calm and quite inviting.
Lunch can be had in the garden overlooking the beach. The grilled fish is served on a large platter and there’s enough of it to feed a small army of nac mac feegles. Okay, mild exaggeration there. But it sure can feed at least two ravenously hungry grown men. The grilled prawns are also piled generously onto the platter with a mountain of French fries.
After lunch you can head back to the sea till about 5pm. The last train heading back into Colombo leaves the station at 5.22pm. That’s the weekend train from Aluthgama to Colombo Fort. Again, a ticket will cost you Rs. 35. You’ll be back in Colombo by 6pm. The overall daytrip should cost you Rs. 500 give or take— depending on what you order at Saffron Beach.
If you wish to remain at the beach till longer you can always take a bus back. Buses to Colombo are frequent. As always, be a green budget traveller and don’t litter. Happy beach bumming! |
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