Things To Do in Galle

There aren’t really so many things to do in Galle so much as really beautiful things to see.  It’s a small fort town and and therefore the entire outside perimeter is surrounded by a fort wall.

Galle Fort Wall

The view from the fort wall for sunset is, incredible. Really, probably the most amazing sunset I’ve ever seen in my life (I have so many photos of it, it’s ridiculous but here are a few to give you an idea).

I also saw more stars in the sky there than I’d ever seen before in my life (I’ve have now topped this thanks to Nyepi in Bali).

Since there aren’t really any things to do as such in Galle Fort, aside from seeing the town itself, it was the one day in my whistle stop tour of the country where I wasn’t going to need to get up early the next morning.

So instead of getting an early night, I, like the genius I am, decided to go out which resulted in me going to sleep at 6am!

It’s actually quite a feat to go for a night out in Galle though. Alcohol is banned in most places there, apart from a couple of hotels, and almost everywhere closes early.

I got lucky and discovered this one tiny little bar that was being allowed to sell alcohol and stay open late (clearly a lot of bribes were being paid). I’ve heard it’s since shut down though so unfortunately I don’t know where everyone hangs out in the evening there now.

If you want to go for some drinks though the hotels are your best bet as they’re allowed to serve alcohol.

I didn’t explore all of the cute shops in the town that much since I was backpacking and its not like I would have had space to put anything I bought in my backpack anyway but the shops in town are really cute and if you’re on a shorter trip definitely worth exploring.

Where to Stay in Galle Fort

I stayed at Galle Fort Hostel which was well located and a cute hostel although when I arrived it was EMPTY. I was the only person in the hostel. I was lucky enough to meet some other people when I decided to sit and get a drink in the one bar that existed in the town later that night but it could have been a lonely time otherwise. You would probably be hard pushed to find many other hostels in Galle Fort though as it’s not that much of a backpacker area.

I would happily stay at this hostel and visit Galle Fort again.

It’s just important to accept if you’re travelling on your own that you may not have that much company whilst you’re there. But there’s nothing wrong with a bit of alone time once in a while.

How Long to Spend in Galle Fort

Galle Fort is a small area but it’s beautiful with lots of small cobbled streets to explore. I

only spent one night there and I felt like I still got to see a lot of it but you’d be better off staying at least two nights to explore properly. Whatever you do, make sure you are there for at least one sunset over the fort walls.

Moving On: How to get from Galle Fort to Mirissa

Approx 1 hour 10 mins by train.

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