Best places to work in Hiriketiya, Sri Lanka
When you come to Sri Lanka to work remotely you will quickly realize that finding a good internet connection and a place to work can be a challenge. To make your search a bit easier I gathered the best places to work in Hiriketiya that offer decent internet connection and good coffee to get you through your workday.
Verse Collective
Out of all the places Verse Collective has probably one of the best locations as it is located right next to the beach. Verse collective is also the only "proper" co-working space on the list. Internet access costs 1000 LKR (about 4.50 Euro) and grants 24h access to the internet. For an additional charge, there are telephone booths available for work calls that give you more privacy and quietness.
Verse Collective also rents out double and single rooms which is a good option for people working remotely since the internet is included in the price for the accomodation.
Good food and drinks are also on the menu to keep you fuelled througout your work day.
Dots Bay House
Dots Bay House is a well-known place in Hiriketiya – maybe even the place to be. With regular events going on in the evening such as open mics and parties, there is life in this place. What many people don't know however is that internet connection is great at this place and they welcome people to work from there. The location is very central and right next to the beach – so you can take a dip in the ocean or go for a surf in-between work calls ; ) You can also join their daily morning yoga classes for a drop in fee or attend one of their Muay Thai Boxing classes on Wednesdays or Saturdays at 10am (check out their Instagram for changes on the schedule and exact hours). Dots Bay House is by the way also a hostel and offers shared as well as private accomodation.
Café Mond
Café Mond has become one of my favorite places during my stay in Hiriketiya. Café during the day, bar by night – there is a lot of charme to this place. People like me who are big on interior and design will love this place. If you are keen to work with sea view this is where you want to be. The coffee is also great and so is the food – enough reasons to fall in love with this place. Mond also rents out beautiful rooms, for anyone still looking for a place to stay.
Bahia
Bahia is another lovely café that offers the right amenities to work from. Bahia is run by Aussies so you know for sure that there is going to be great coffee. They have a big garden with places in the shadow that you can work from. Bahia is right next to Hiriketiya beach and you can keep an eye on the waves while working.
Just like the others, Bahia also offers rooms to stay at. Furthermore, besides good coffee they offer great breakfast and Pizza at night.
General tip
Since most places mentioned in this article are not designated co-work places it is wise to bring a powerbank with you since cafés hardly have any power sockets here since cafés are all open-air. Furthermore, as a backup get yourself a local SIM card with internet (I bought a 60GB SIM valid for a year that cost me around 10-15 Dollar. Alternately, it can make sense to buy a portable router to connect to.
Conclusion
While Hiriketiya might not have co-working spaces and spots en masse, there is still a fairly decent amount of places to work from where you can simultaneously stay at too. Sri Lanka generally doesn't have high speed internet in too many places yet, this is just generally something to be aware of before coming. However, this is likely to change in the future as more digital nomads will discover this amazing country and more places start opening up.