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No worries. Are you looking at land based wildlife options around Yala? There is not much diving there. The Great Basses offers interesting diving but is accessible only during a 2 month window in March/April. The southeast coast of Sri Lanka is an area of big swells, sand dunes, and dry scrub...

If you like wrecks Colombo is the best place in Sri Lanka this time of year. Island Scuba is the only dive center based in Colombo. They offer nitrox and may be able to provide some tec support. But keep in mind that business has been bad for 3yrs straight (Easter attacks, COVID, recent...

Situation on the ground is calm but its very dynamic. More than political issues the economic problems are a challenge. Major fuel shortages make travel and diving a logistical nightmare. I run a research programme and have had multiuple dive days lost due to not getting fuel for our boat...

Hi Tara, sorry I misunderstood and thought you had snorkelled in Sri Lanka on your last trip. I think overall Caribbean reefs have much less coral cover than those in the Indo-Pacific although many reefs in the latter have also been severely impacted by coral bleaching. This is the case on...

Bit late but chiming in just in case. Diving in the southwest, and all around Sri Lanka is decent but not spectacular. You will not have the colour and marine life of Indo or Phils, or the pelagic action of the Maldives. If there is something unique then its wreck diving and for this Colombo...

Where did you snorkel and when? Reefs arounds Sri Lanka have beeen very badly impacted by coral bleaching. There is some good diving a bit deeper on rocky reefs and wrecks. On the east coast there are some decent coral reefs with reasonably healthy coral cover. The best known is Pigeon Island...

The two parks that most operators visit in Sri Lanka are Yala National Park and Wilpattu National Park. Both are nice in their own way. Yala is the more popular park with more frequent animal sightings. Wilpattu has has more scrub forest and woodland so you tend to see less animals but when you...

Pasikudah options are limited. Much quieter than Trinco. I would recommend going to Trinco and if you have time plan a day or two in Pasikudah. The British Sergeant is the best recreational wreck on the east coast. I spend a lot of time there doing reef research so feel free to check in on...

July is technically east coast dive season but can be quite windy. Expect viz around 10m. Mostly shallow coral and rock reefs with a few deeper sites. Fairly easy diving, with the usual reef fish and a mix of hard and soft corals. You will find more coral than in the south, and interesting macro...

How long do you want to spend on vacation? The Maldives is not as expensive as people make it out to be, and you can do a week in a decent resort for 2 pax under 4k. Just note that resort diving and activities are usually expensive so check prices and do a budget depending on how many days of...

Sri Lanka is nice for wrecks. Either Colombo or the Batticaloa District in the east depending on season. Lots of fish, and nice corals on the older wrecks. If reef diving / macro photography / pelagics are your thing then Philippines is by far the better option. SL has nothing special in terms...

I would say 6-8 hrs from Galle to Trincomalee depending on time of day and traffic. Train will be slower. There is a flight from CMB to Trincomalee. Helitours is quite affordable but limited flights and times. Cinnamon Air has daily flights but very expensive. There are no liveaboards in Sri...

Dive centers on the southwest will be closed in June due to monsoon season. It can get quite rough and viz is often very bad (<3m). Most dive centers operate on the east coast, primarily in Trincomalee. Its also the easiest to access, but still 6hrs from CMB by road. We are still waiting for the...

Maldives probably has the best diving in the region but as others mentioned its best to do as liveaboard. Local islands can be a less costly option. The diving is still good and they will dive some sites with less currents (although the big fish action is in sites more exposed to currents)...

East has mostly shallow reef diving with some slopes and pinnacles around Trincomalee. There is some nice reef and wreck diving around Pasikudah but not many dive operators. Batticaloa and further southeast has nice diving including the HMS Hermes and other WWII wrecks but they are deep tec...

Snorkeling and diving with whales is currently prohibited in Sri Lanka. Special expedition permits are sometimes issued for small, high end groups and film crews. There are many local operators running snorkeling trips but these are technically not licensed and are illegal. While my personal...

Sent you a PM with some info.

There is only one dedicated dive operation running daily trips to the wrecks in CMB, but you can book ahead and plan your wreck dives. Commuting back and forth is not advisable. Trains are usually on time but its just tiring and time consuming. Hikkaduwa is about 2.5hrs by train but with the...

Actually January is fine for diving. The winds are a problem if accessing the dive sites from Negombo as the distance is much more which doesn't work when using small boats. From CMB itself its less of a problem. If you have flexibility I would suggest late January or even February when...

No liveaboards here at the moment, and there are some practical issues in terms of sheltered anchorage, although this can be somewhat less of a problem depending on where and what time of year you plan to dive. Depending on what you plan to do a day boat might work better. Feel free to PM if...