Travelling Sri Lanka with grandparents, three generations

Three generations travel well together in Sri Lanka when the day has one plan, plenty of shade and a long meal in the middle. The south coast suits it, because the drives are short and a good day can happen within a few steps of one table.

What pace works for three generations?

The youngest and the oldest in a family want the same things, and that is lucky. Both do well with an early start, a rest at midday, food at regular hours and an early night. It is the parents in the middle who try to fit in too much.

So plan for the two ends of the family, and the middle will follow.

• One outing a day, in the morning.
• Three or four nights in each place. Packing and unpacking tire everybody.
• Short drives. Between Galle and Tangalle, few journeys along the coast need more than an hour or two.
• A free afternoon, every day.

How do you manage the shade and the heat?

The coast is warm and humid all year. The sun is high from late morning until mid-afternoon, and that is the time to be sitting down under something.

• Use the morning and the late afternoon. Go out before ten, come out again after four.
• Choose places by their shade. Ask before you book a table whether it is covered.
• Drink through the day. Small glasses, often, for grandparents and children alike.
• Speak to a doctor before the trip. Some regular medicines and hot weather do not go well together, and a doctor can say what to watch. Carry medicines in hand luggage with the prescription.

With us, filtered water is on the house all day, and there is shade under the palms, in the cabanas and in the lounge.

Where are the steps, and where is it flat?

It is better to know before you go.

• Many steps. The rock temple at Mulkirigala has around 500. The Hummanaya blowhole near Dikwella is reached by steps too.
• Fewer steps. The giant seated Buddha at Wewurukannala, just inland from Dikwella, asks much less. At temples, shoes come off, so go early before the ground is hot.
• Easier on foot. The old walled town of Galle Fort is small enough to see slowly, with cafes to sit in and the sea wall for an evening stroll.
• Sand. Soft, dry sand is hard work for unsteady legs. Firm, wet sand near the water is easy. A table or a chair close to where the car stops is worth asking for.
• Getting around. A car with a driver is the comfortable choice for a mixed group, door to door. A tuk-tuk is low to climb into and bumpy, fine for five minutes. The trains along the coast are slow and a pleasure to look out of.

At Ohana the entrance is wheelchair accessible, our own car park is in front of it, and the tables are a few steps away, on a gravel floor with a hard path: there is no soft sand on the way. We have chairs with arms and a firm back, and toilets are close by.

More on this, written for older visitors alone, is in the south coast for older travellers.

What does everybody eat?

Sri Lankan food can be hot, and a table of three generations rarely agrees about chilli. Ask for it mild, and ask for the sambols on the side, so that each person decides.

In our kitchen, food is not spicy unless the dish says so, and the menu marks each one that is. That lets one table order like this:

• For the children: Kids Fish and Fries, 2,800 LKR, real snapper in crumbs, or Kids Toast and Eggs, 1,500 LKR. A Babyccino is free. The Little Ones are served all day, and there are high chairs and a changing table.
• For a gentle appetite: Sweet Prawn Curry, 6,700 LKR, gentle on the chilli and rich with coconut milk, with basmati rice. Or Gazpacho, 1,800 LKR, a cold soup for the heat.
• For everybody: a pot of Ceylon Tea, 700 LKR, afterwards.

Tell us about allergies and diets. The full menu lists the allergens of every dish.

Why make a long lunch the main event?

Because it is the one thing all three generations enjoy at the same speed.

A long lunch asks nobody to climb, queue or keep up. The grandparents have a chair in the shade and the family around them. The children leave the table and come back, and at our place they are on the two swings under the palms or in the sand in between. The parents get a swim. The sea is in front of everybody.

Dishes made for sharing suit it:

• Ohana Seafood Platter, 18,900 LKR. For two or three: a whole fish of the day off the grill, herb shrimps and grilled calamari, with a big gotukola salad, fries, rice, a coconut curry gravy, our sauces and papadam.
• Red Snapper for Two, 15,900 LKR. A whole snapper cooked on the bone with garlic and thyme, with the same sides.
• Iced Tea Jug, 3,600 LKR. One litre to pour yourselves, with four glasses.
• Royal Fruit Platter, 7,900 LKR. Mango, papaya, pineapple, watermelon and banana on one big tray.

The kitchen cooks to order, so a whole fish takes time. That is part of it. Nobody will hurry you, and we serve no alcohol, so the tables around you stay calm through the afternoon. The hammocks are free for our guests, and a sunbed is free all day when each person spends 10,000 LKR on food and drinks (otherwise 1,000 LKR an hour), so a grandparent can lie down after lunch.

For a big table it is kind to book ahead. The whole kitchen is on our restaurant page, and how we look after families is on our page for the south coast with kids and with grandparents. The beaches and outings for the children are in Sri Lanka's south coast with kids.

Good to know

• Ohana is at Turtle Beach, Dikwella, less than five minutes by road from Hiriketiya.
• Lunch and dinner are served from 11:00 to 21:00, breakfast from 08:00 to 11:00, every day.
• Food is not spicy unless the dish says so. No alcohol is served.
• Prices are in LKR, plus a 10% service charge. Filtered water is on the house.
• Sunbeds are free for the whole day, one for each person, when each person spends 10,000 LKR on food and drinks; otherwise they cost 1,000 LKR an hour each. A towel comes with every sunbed.