School Holidays In Sri Lanka 2023
Debora Mccaffery
For families travelling from Australia and New Zealand, the way to go is Southeast Asia. Vietnam and Thailand offer delicious food, fascinating cultures and tropical beaches just a short flight away. Meanwhile, UK and Europe-based families should put Morocco and Italy on top of their holidays lists; the young ones will love Gladiator school in Rome or a camel ride along the Atlantic Ocean in sleepy Sidi Kaouki.
Families with a longer school holiday period up their sleeve can join two holidays together to make the most of their time. Kenya and Tanzania are perfect for this, with lots of wildlife viewing, fun camping experiences, and cultural discovery (by way of the brightly clad Maasai tribespeople). Asia is another perfect destination for combining itineraries; Thailand and neighbouring Laos are a match made in heaven, as are Vietnam and Cambodia.
When it comes to picking a long haul family holiday we always like to go somewhere new, but with so many places still on the wish list where on earth do you start? So out came the atlas again and a few destinations jumped out for us, one of which was Sri Lanka.
As both of our kids are in school, we were looking for Easter breaks in the sun, and this helped narrow down our choice. Looking at the weather during March/April, family friendly Sri Lanka looked perfect!
One great benefit you'll find if travelling over Easter for a Sri Lanka family holiday is that flights are pretty cheap, in general much more affordable than during the Christmas or summer holidays. We did end up taking the kids out of school for three days, but it was well worth it for the brilliant deal we got with Qatar Airways (and the fact we got a more extended holiday!)
We've taken a few long haul trips with the kids now and the flights to Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo were a breeze. You can fly overnight from Heathrow via a short transit through Doha and arrive into Colombo mid-morning.
We were picked up from the airport and had a 3-hour drive to our first stop Jim's Farm Villas. A beautiful family-friendly farm set in the hills between Kandy and Dambulla with fantastic views. It was so beautiful in fact that for the first three days we didn't even leave the farm! We just chilled by the pool, got steadily used to the heat and ate some lovely food (everything is organic and grown on the farm). Bliss!
This farm is remote, but it makes an ideal base to explore the cultural north of Sri Lanka. While here, we organised a driver and went to Dambulla caves and also to Sigiriya, the ancient fortress set on a 200-metre high rock. We left at about 8 am and zipped up the rock in no time - even with the kids in tow.
The walkway up the rock is steep but safe; towards the top, you need to hold hands with the little ones, but everyone will be okay! It took around 45 minutes or so to get up, and along the way, you can see ancient carvings, before reaching the top where the view is breathtaking. An experience as a family we'll never forget.
We booked ridiculously cheap Second Class tickets on the day (about 6 in total for all four of us) and enjoyed the magnificent views and the breeze with the windows open. You could pay a bit extra for First Class, but the sealed carriage with air con didn't appeal to us as much. The air cools once the train climbs, so the heat isn't an issue.
On arrival in Ella, it was clear that this place has a very different and more hippy vibe. We stayed in 98 Acres, which we reached by jumping in a tuk-tuk. The four of us were only travelling with backpacks, but we all managed to squeeze in).
While in Mirissa, the best thing we did was to head down to Polhena beach by tuk-tuk. It's a calm turquoise bay protected by the reef about 10-15 minutes away. A few guys hire out snorkels and flippers, and we all got to swim with giant turtles which was something extraordinary.
There are also (Blue Whale) whale watching trips that depart from Mirissa, but as you'll be out in the boat for 4-5 hours, you need good sea legs. We wanted to go, but our kids tend to get seasick so we decided against it.
After three nights in Mirissa (and via lunch in Galle - highly recommend for a visit), we headed on to Hikkaduwa. With the new modern highway in Sri Lanka from Colombo to the Southern beaches, most people pass by Hikkaduwa.
We took the kids to the Tsunami memorial and museum in Hikkaduwa, a pretty harrowing and humbling experience, but we coupled that with a trip to the turtle hatchery where we all got to hold some adorable baby turtles.
Below, we've put together this luxury Sri Lanka family holiday based on a similar itinerary and accommodation for the trip I took with my family. We can completely tailor-make this trip to suit what your own family is interested in and to fit your style and budget - just ask.
The Education Minister Susil Premajayantha has announced that the school holidays for the third term for the government and government-approved schools will be from December 22, 2023, to February 2, 2024.
Service Civil International Hong Kong China is a not-for-profit peace organization based in Hong Kong with attachments to a global network of peace-building organisations. Through its network various projects are organised and this program is one of the main programs offered to Hong Kong residents.
Inspire Village is the host in Sri Lanka who will host the program and place participants in various schools as well as make all the logistical arrangements such as accommodation, food and transportation as well as any other support needed in Sri Lanka.
Students will be teaching at selected rural schools (mostly primary) six hours a day for five days a week following a lesson plan created by students with the help of guidelines provided to them. In the case of school holidays during the program period, students will be taught at Inspire Village where local children come to study English.
The primary schools located in remote villages get very little attention hence they lack basic resources. The government provides teachers but there is a shortage of English teachers. Although everyone deserves a quality education, rural village schools in Sri Lanka are isolated in many ways and fail to get attention from the outside world.
Students should be flexible and skilled in adapting to changing environments and situations. The project can be challenging unless you are skilled in facing unexpected situations and open-minded to accept cultural differences.
The best time for family travel in Sri Lanka definitely combines well with school holidays. Read more below about how to avoid the monsoons, how to catch the migratory whales, how to avoid the crowds, and when to have the best wildlife experience.
We aim to communicate as clearly and accurately as possible all holidays that impact project availability and project closures to volunteers. However, due to the nature of developing countries holidays can often be sporadic or prone to change that directly effects project availability and we ask our volunteers to be flexible and appreciative of this. This usually represents a unique experience for volunteers to enjoy in the festivities and holidays themselves and/or our local teams will always do their best to find alternative project work if applicable.
The exact holiday dates can change sporadically and short notice and are never the same from one year to the next. Therefore, we try and provide the typical periods below within each country where holidays usually fall.
In addition, there are many odd public holidays that can affect project availability across the year. This is not just limited to our community teaching and childcare projects, but can also extend to other parts of the project network within that country such as wildlife and medical projects. In these situations, volunteers should expect a free day with no project alternatives and a chance to immerse within any festivities or celebrations that the holiday may bring.
During the school holidays, our childcare projects can always benefit from the additional volunteer support and some childcare projects we support have availability all year round asides from public holidays.
Alternatively, the local team will provide a platform for volunteers to lead after-school programs held at the Spanish school for the young working children of Coronado. This program is a new opportunity for children in the local area to learn English from volunteers in a classroom setting.
During the summer holidays all community projects, including childcare will be closed. Availability will be limited to prearranged afterschool programs. The childcare placement is open all year round so volunteers may also spend time supporting at this project in the holidays.
During the school holidays, we continue to host volunteers at the after-school programs for the young working children and street children of Cusco. Additional help is also needed at the childcare programs, where volunteers can help with teaching English, organising games and activities for the children during the school vacation and providing daily care and interaction to the children with special needs. The medical project is generally available all year round.
During the school holidays, we do run our own community education programs on an ad hoc basis. These are done in the form of holiday classes so from time to time there is some teaching work available. In the summertime, summer camps run daily at the local schools we work with. Additional help is also needed at the childcare and disabled children programs, where volunteers can help with teaching English, organising games and activities for the children during the school vacation and providing daily care and interaction to the children with special needs.
Regardless of the school holidays, there will always be English teaching projects running throughout the year that you can take part in. As many of the childcare centres we work with are day centres, there is always teaching opportunities available for volunteers to engage in.
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