Gay Negombo: our guide to the best gay bars, clubs and hotels

Not only is the Dickman Resort well known for being very gay friendly, it's also home to a pretty amazing cocktail and juice bar which opens in the afternoon. The bar is right on the lawns of the garden and the charming barman was happy to make any of our favorite cocktails or a delicious fresh juice. There's also a pool table where we enjoyed our drinks with a friendly game while getting to know some of the other guests.

Location: Dickman Resort, 26/7 A.K. Schnakenberg

Open: From 4pm every day until the last guest leaves!

The Lords Restaurant Complex is a fun and gay friendly group of bars and restaurants close to the beach in Negombo. While the food is excellent here (more on that later!) we also really loved the fun LBW (Leg Before Wicket) Bar for some cheeky cocktails. If you're not a cricket fan you may not get all the references at the Lords Complex, but you'll have fun anyway. The décor is very quirky, with lots of purple lighting, wrought-iron furniture, plants and sculptures. Happy ‘hour' is between 9-11pm every day and it draws a young, hip, open-minded crowd.

Open: Every day from 1pm until 11pm

Location: The LBW Bar is inside the Lords Complex at 80 Porutota Road

Ok, so Tastees Banana while technically being a restaurant (and having a quirky name) is still one of our favorite spots for a drink as they have a very extensive selection including cocktails! They boast the largest spirit collection in town and also luscious fruit juices or bubble tea. Tastees Banana is very gay friendly too, so we enjoyed coming here for a few drinks of an evening, especially when they have live music. It's also right on the beach, so we could watch the sunset while sipping on something tasty.

Open: Daily from 8am until 11.30pm

Location: 39B Porutota Road

Serendib is a fun bar and restaurant right on the Negombo beachfront. There's both a happening DJ area as well as a quiet terrace at the back with a nice sea breeze if you prefer something more chilled. Sitting outside near the beach is lovely, but we also enjoyed the interior which is decorated with a kind of “Wild West” theme, a cool lion mural above the main bar and twinkly colored lights strung above the outdoor area. Patrons here also didn't give a hoot about this gay couple having some fun on the dance floor.

Open: Daily from 9.30am until midnight

Location: 35A Porutota Road

We're not sure why, but apparently they like the wild west/rodeo theme in Negombo, as the other best spot we found for late-night partying is the Rodeo Pub and Restaurant. This one feels more like a saloon though, with rustic wood beams, yellowish walls, high stools and a variety of cowboy-style art and animal skulls hanging on the wall! There's a DJ every night of the week except Thursday, which then has live music instead. The crowd is young and fun, with a mix of locals and tourists enjoying the weekly drinks specials.

Open: Daily from 10am until midnight

Location: 35A Porutota Road (yes it's the same address as Serendib but they're next door to each other)

As well as the long stretch of beach, Negombo is famous for the Negombo Lagoon and a centuries-old fishing tradition. You'd be hard-pressed to visit without taking a photo of one of the traditional fishing canoes, made from tree trunks. We explored the lagoon and main fish market on a local fishing trip, which was very fun. Nothing makes you feel more self-sufficient than cooking and eating your own fresh catch… then going back to our air-conditioned hotel before Seby has a tantrum!

Negombo was first colonised by the Portuguese in the 16th century when they took over the cinnamon industry and introduced Catholicism to the locals. The Dutch later captured Negombo from the Portuguese, and the many ways they shaped the city can still be seen to this day. Negombo's Fort was destroyed and rebuilt by the Dutch, who also built extensive canal systems to link Puttalam to Colombo via Negombo. Exploring these pretty canals by boat is a relaxing way to see Negombo's history. Hamilton Canal is the main one that runs through the city and very picturesque.

At the southern end of the Negombo Lagoon is an area of marshland known as the Muthrajawela wetlands. It's home to around 209 different types of animals, around 102 species of birds and many creatures that are native to the marshland. If you like wildlife-spotting as much as us then you can combine a boat tour through the Dutch canals to the lagoon and wetlands. Watching thousands of birds lift up from among the mangroves is just breathtaking!

I mean c'mon, you wouldn't expect us to stay somewhere with a fabulous beach and NOT spend most of our time there now, would you?! Negombo beach faces west, so it's perfect for romantic sunset cocktails and photos. The beach is very wide and lined with many of the bars we've already mentioned. The water is quite warm, so we had fun dipping in and out in between watching the world go by. After a wild ride through Sri Lanka, catching up on some rest here was just heavenly.

We love trying out all the different cuisine when we travel somewhere new, and Sri Lanka definitely offers up a veritable feast of flavors to enjoy. We nearly always join a local cooking class when we get to a new country, so we can learn how to make our favorite local dishes again and again once we go back home. We definitely recommend finding one to take part in (your accommodation staff should be able to give you advice on what's available) so that you can also learn to make some of Sri Lanka's most yummy food and drinks.

We mentioned the LBW Bar at the Lords Complex already, but there's also a fantastic group of restaurants in the complex, all themed around cricket! Everything about this place is amazing, from the welcoming and inclusive atmosphere to the delicious food, including extensive options for vegans or those eating gluten-free. They serve lots of freshly prepared Sri Lankan cuisine (like curries and epic seafood platters) as well as international favorites. What's more, the owner runs a program to save stray dogs and cats – mouthwatering meals with a side of good deeds? Yes, please!

Dolce Vita is a coffee shop and restaurant that's gay friendly with plenty of delectable treats. We loved coming here for some of the best coffee in Negombo, and you can't have a coffee break without some cake or pastries now can you? Dolce Vita also does main meals with Italian, Sri Lankan and international dishes along with live music on Friday nights. Most evenings we would find a gay and lesbian mixed crowd having a meal while looking out over the beach or boogying down with some drinkies.

For some authentic (and delightful) vegan and vegetarian cuisine, we headed to the poolside Koththamalli by Rohan restaurant in the Jetwing Ayurveda Pavilions. Koththamalli is a traditional Sri Lankan drink used to treat colds in the Ayurvedic tradition, and the Koththamalli restaurant follows in that tradition, with dishes that have been inspired by Ayurvedic recipes. We had some very tasty vegetarian curries with rice, as well as soup, bread and a divine salad of beetroot with mango!