Sri Lanka Colombo + West / South Coast suggestions

[n171n]

Hello all,

Am going to be in Sri Lanka at the end of November and planning to spend 1-2 days in Colombo, followed by 2-3 days slightly south of the Bentota area .

While I am PADI Advanced + Nitrox certified, it has been at least 5-6 years since my last dive. Also, I occassionally have had trouble with equalizing.

Thanks to Nishan's recommendation on DiveSrilanka.com, here are some ideas that I have come up with. Am not tied to these, but just wanted to start somewhere! Welcome your input ...

Day 1: Taprobane East OR North --- Given that I have never done a wreck dive and the duration since my last dive, would these be too much for me to handle on my first dive?
Day 2 & 3: The Conch from Hikkaduwa seems to be a relatively easy but excellent dive near my hotel location.

If you could only do 1 or 2 dives each from Colombo and the south/west coast, which dives would you do?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Greg43]

there is a great wreck dive in passikudah....HMS hermes...

Diving & Snorkeling in Kayankerni North of Pasikudah | Things to Do

 

[Nishan]

If you have not dived in almost 6 years and have problems equalising would highly recommend doing a shrt refresher or at least a shallow check dive first. Most dive centres will not take you out without one.

In Colombo the most popular site is the Pecheur Breton wreck. Its a great all round wreck and a relatively short boat ride as well. The Medhufaru is another excellent wreck with loads of fish and easy to access. The Taprobane East wreck is nice but very small and being offshore is often limited by swells and currents. The northern wrecks are only run as special expeditions at the moment and limited to very experienced divers due to the depths and currents.

Where are you staying in the south? In Hikkaduwa Kiralagala is probably the best site. The Conch is a decent dive as well and not too difficult. Beruwela / Bentota has some nice rock formations. Barracuda Point is particularly good.