Bentota ( Sri Lanka)

Bentota River 

Think of thick mangrove forests, spending your afternoon dabbling in water sports like wind surfing and jet skiing and holding baby crocodiles and your evenings by the poolside of some exotic resort….think of Bentota.

Heading towards the Mangrove Swamps

Bentota is one of the foremost coastal cities of Sri Lanka. Famous for its beaches, resorts and parties it is a must visit in every tourist’s itinerary. Almost every resort here has its own private beach where you can laze around or try your hand at some surfing lessons during the day and party hard at night. For those looking at something more relaxed, you can opt for some fine dining at one of the many world class resorts here. 

A crocodile taking an afternoon siesta

But Bentota is more than a resort getaway, what most people here miss out on is the Bentota river boat cruise where you can sail through untouched mangrove forests and sight crocodiles in the wild, heck you can even hold the baby crocodiles and take back home some photo memories! 

So when you are done swimming in the luxurious pools and sipping on those exotic cocktails, head out to the Bentota river.

If water sports excites you then this is one place where you want to be, you can learn wind sailing, jet skiing and the like. But you shouldn’t miss out on the boat safari which takes roughly about one hour. What’s so special about that right?! Well, on this little ride you can sail through the islets and the mangrove swamps located on the river, while spotting aquatic birds like herons, kingfishers, cormorants as well as reptiles like monitors and crocodiles. 

Baby crocodile aboard!

Accompanied by the balmy breeze and the easy sunlight you feel at one with nature. Honestly I went for it not expecting much but I did spot some monitors and a couple of crocodiles and lots of different birds. Seeing these creatures in their natural habitat is something different, to know that you are actually at an arm’s length distance from a crocodile is kind of exciting! 

The boat safari takes you further ahead to what they refer to as the crocodile man’s house where you can hold baby crocodiles in your hands, an experience you will never forget.

Bentota is definitely a place where you should go during your visit to Sri Lanka. It is located on the southern tip of the Galle District and is about 100 kilometers from the Bandarnaike International Airport (Colombo-Negombo road). 
Make the most of a luxurious getaway here by booking yourself into the Taj Vivanta Resort or the Bentota Beach Hotel.

A few things to be kept in mind, locals here are not very fluent in English, in fact most of them barely understand the language so communicating will be difficult. 

Beware of touts who will try to charge you extra for crocodile sightings.