Beach boys, Guides and Tuk Tuk drivers

I feel it may be beneficial to some to be told the “darker” side of the beach boy/guide culture even though the stories are not directly connected with the property problem, but it will be a small insight into the nature of this breed of persons, Also when I met Saman he was working as a beach boy.

Different places or areas have different ways of dealing with the beach boy, guide, and tuk tuk driver type of person that lurk on many beaches or outside hotels etc, in some places they are banned completely, in others they are supposed to be regulated !. However many do as they please as they claim it is their birthright and they are entitled to make a living, this is true they should be allowed to make a living but the living many make is far better than made out, and of course they make a living off the tourists back. There must have been a big problem a few years ago when a hotel tried to stop beach boys etc operating nearby and riots took place. I believe that an agreement was made with the “boys” but talking to people from that area today the agreement has petered out and the boys are again a pestering tourists,

Many good reviews about beach boys can be found and indeed they can be beneficial but there will always be an ulterior motive, generally speaking, knowing and using a beach boy (short term) for trips etc will enhance many holidays,

Remember that you only think you chose the boy, in fact he will be a high ranking boy and will have chosen you if he thinks there are rich pickings to have, high ranking boys control their areas of beach and they in turn could be controlled by criminal elements, lower boys are seen off or robbed if they managed to get anything from a tourist. This is true as a young man who is a victim of thalidomide used to frequent the beach area near where we stayed, I made a point of bringing him some presents when I next visited and I know that Saman and another took those gifts from him. After the tsunami he came to the attention of the Red Cross and arrangements were made to separate his thumbs and fingers (being all in one) his mother allowed him to have his thumbs separated but refused to allow any other operations as his defects made him the families major bread winner. He now concentrates on begging in larger towns

The major complaint about these boys etc is the pestering and you need to be very firm to stop them calling to you or following you on the beach, this also applies to the sellers of “crafts and clothing” that can become tiresome. In some places the boys will know “all” about you, what room your in and even if you plan to go out, rooms and your moves can be watched in some resorts, under circumstances such as these relaxing can be difficult with the regular calling to you from the other side of the fence. One couple who stayed a fortnight at a beach resort only left the hotel grounds twice, once to go on the beach and once on a very short trip to a turtle hatchery, they thought the “boys” etc were too annoying and never even ventured near the fence line, another couple changed their room from one that faced the beach to one that could not be seen from the beach. If you do decide to use the services of the beach boy/guide/driver you should enjoy yourselves but don’t expect to necessarily go where you want, he will have good reasons not to take you to certain places and very good reasons to take you where he wants as this way he will make commission on all your spending, just inland from the very popular town of Aluthgama is a Muslim area known as Dharga Town, here many items are price marked and the chances of you paying tourist prices are minimal, in fact you may even get a genuine discount if you buy a few items and ask for the best price. But you wont find any or many “boys” who will take you there, there will be many reasons for not taking you but the main one will be that they get no commission, commissions are often accumulated and received as a lump sum at the Sri Lankan new year, so the boys have to be known by the persons paying the commission. I visited and shopped in Dharga Town many times and was often fascinated by the experience, at certain times the town is alive and vibrant. Unfortunately the only tourists to get a glimpse of Dharga Town are often on route to the nearby tourist attraction known as the Brief Gardens, You might think as I did that helping the “boys” and being generous with any payments you make for trips also helps put money into the local community but you’d be wrong, many top beach boys own very nice, indeed enviably nice houses, one I know of has at least 3 houses and can be quoted as saying “stupid German tourists send me lots of money and this is what I bought” of course if you meet him he will tell you how poor he is, and a sob story about the tsunami, if you want to see for yourself you will be taken to a house where someone poor lives and he may even tell you its his mother, she will play along as he will give her some money if you don’t, but if you give her some money he will be sure to take some off her.

4 people who went on trip with a beach boy were upset by seeing the cinnamon workers and the conditions they worked in, “Poor old ladies scraping bark of the cinnamon stems, they only get a pittance, I will never buy cinnamon again“ I was told yet nothing could be further from the truth, I have watched and even helped cinnamon workers and they make the best of the conditions available as they work in many different locations, some cinnamon plantations have very good houses that the workers occupy whilst working there, most workers are men, (not poor old ladies) and actually call the shots as their skills are always needed, they get paid on a percentage basis so it is in their own interests to do a good job I employed one family that worked the cinnamon and their 4 year old son was learning his trade. After the trip to see “real” cinnamon workers the 4 were cajoled into visiting a jewellers on the way back and I think they later realised the entire trip was just to try and make them buy gems, and speaking from experience even that is fraught with problems, as similar jewellery can often be bought cheaper in the UK and getting a certificate of authenticity is no guarantee of a quality item, I suppose that if it is necessary to purchase a souvenir item of jewellery it is better to get a “Moonstone” item as it is unique to Sri Lanka, but as to price, how fair it is, and quality is anyone’s guess,



Another story involves a young Sri Lankan who worked in a gym, whilst on the beach he met some tourists who had visited the gym and stopped to talk to them, he was spotted by the local beach boys and made a quick exit, he then lay low for a few days hoping the incident would be forgotten about.



Of course the “boys” want to please the tourist and can arrange many treats but many will be set up specifically for that purpose, after all how can they be sure the tourist gets to see baby turtles hatching and how many babies there will be unless its prepared, once I worked this ruse out the boys responsible just grinned, however they cant “fix” when an adult turtle comes ashore to lay.

Below added on Jan 30th 2010


About Bob,

To further information on Beach Boys, The area I visited most often and subsequently suffered all my problems is “will be added later after court cases”, I came to hear of an incident where Saman lost Rs300,000 (approx £1,500) to Bob playing cards near the hotel, this is small money compared to the Rs1,600,000 Saman wanted to but the jeep but lost at cards, (see sidebar) but is further proof that the poor beach boys need money for the basics in life, Bob is also known as Dilan (any spelling will do) also known as Dilan the villain, this Bob seems to be not only top beach boy but also controlling the staff at the hotel by fear and intimidation, apparently Bob has taken Saman’s three wheeler as surety for the gambling debt, I will add the link to the holiday web site that has very poor reviews of Bob and his activities after my court cases, but here are some extracts from the reviews. (Saman is the person who stole everything from me)

“The beach boys were a nightmare they would not leave us alone and when we told them we did not want to see the turtles or go on a trip they turned nasty and we felt threatened and intimidated.
This Dylan bloke I read about in early reviews appears to be the ringleader and the rest his henchmen. He is a nasty piece of work and on two occasions he was shouting at us over the fence between the beach and the Hotel. The manager was obviously frightened of him and the staff were too as no action was taken against him even though we complained.”

Of course no action will be taken, you go home, the manager and staff will suffer later, the police do nothing as they are either also afraid or taking backhanders,



“This Dylan character appears to be single handedly responsible for the demise of this beautiful Hotel.”



“We were encouraged both by reviews on Trip Advisor and the hotel reception staff to go with Dylan (Bobs Tours or Bob Dylan). We did meet up with him as he took us to the turtle sanctuary, but then impromptu took us back to his house and family and introduced his tours to us. I just had an instinct that I didn't feel comfortable with him, partly because I could smell alcohol on his breath but also because he took the opportunity to take us into his house on our return to the hotel which I wasn't comfortable with. The important thing to note is that there is a business arrangement between Dylan and the hotel, such that the hotel own Dylan's minibus and rent it to him, so they have a vested interest in recommending Dylan. In fact, the hotel wouldn't recommend any other of the 'beach boys' or tuk tuk drivers, which meant that we didn't go out until we found our own driver that we were comfortable with. The hotel will encourage you to visit the turtle sanctuary for free which is designed purely for Dylan to make his acquaintance with you and sell you his service as a guide.”



“Don't go with Dillon and his crew who hassle you from the beach;”






“Once you give an inch to 'Dillon the Villain', even just to be polite and talk to him he never quits thereafter.”



As my dealings were with Saman I never had much to do with Bob though I did think of him as a rather unsavoury character, I am using what I heard about Bob and the reviews I found about him as an example of what the beach boys of Sri Lanka are all about, nowadays I would not trust any beach boy no matter how well recommended he was,

As mentioned in an earlier passage I once asked a couple if they would like to travel by train to Galle with me and my wife, their beach boy heard me ask and before becoming aggressive tried to dissuade the couple by suggesting there could be bombs on the train, it was his violent outburst that persuaded the couple to “stay with their beach boy”

Be very cautious of dealing with any beach boy, guide, or driver type who approaches you for any reason, many do give the holiday maker good service and often help make the holiday seem special, but all have an ulterior motive and their smiles are just a veneer.

Added on 18th Feb 2010.


The card games continue,

Bob has gone missing from the area, though allegedly innocent (so why disappear) of MURDER, during another card game there was a dispute over Rs 300, (£1.50) and one beach boy was stabbed, he died on the spot, (this happened between 7th Feb. and 14th Feb. 2010) of course the players all know who did the stabbing but none will speak out.  


Added on 26th Feb 2010

looking at various web sites and holiday reviews I came upon the following,

Ok, we are relatively rich while some Sri Lankan people remain poor so maybe I shouldn’t begrudge paying hugely inflated prices to enter tourist sites but I can’t help it, it irks me, we call it racism in my country and I wish they would find a more subtle way to overcharge me.











There are several sea turtle hatcheries along Sri Lanka's coast from Induruwa to Yala, all of which claim to be aiding in turtle conservation by buying eggs from poachers and releasing the hatchlings into the sea two or three days after they hatch. All of these places are illegal and are either ignorant of turtle biology or are deliberately misleading tourists in order to make money. When a baby turtle hatches in the wild, he immediately heads out to sea, swimming for two straight days until he reaches the deep sea, and only then does he begin to feed. When the baby turtles are kept in the hatcheries so that tourists can view them, they use up all their energy swimming around in a tank, and by the time they are released they are unable to make it out to their feeding grounds, so they have no chance of survival. These hatcheries prey on tourists who believe they are supporting turtle conservation, when in actuality they are part of the problem. In fact, many of the eggs that are poached nowadays are not sold for human consumption but instead have a new market in the hatcheries, as this has become a big business in Sri Lanka.






The only organization that legally works with turtles in Sri Lanka is the Turtle Conservation Project (TCP). They have two projects which are open to visitors at Rekawa and Kosgoda, where it is possible to view nesting turtles when they come up to lay their eggs (there are no guarantees however; the turtles come when they want to). It may also be possible to see hatchlings here, but again it depends on nature so there are no guarantees. For more info on the TCP projects see my things to do tip.






When walking along the beach, town or village you will get stopped by the beach boys and locals. The locals are nice and friendly but beware if they ask if it's your first time in Sri Lanka . If it is don't tell them as they will try and sell you goods and trips at over the going rate.






Locals will follow you and if you go into a shop they will pretend they have taken you there and get some commission!






If your not in the mood for buying don't make eye contact and politely say "no thank you" which usually does the trick. If not then say "epa" meaning I don't want it.


A tip for the over 50's, tell them your with Saga , they know Saga is all inclusive and trips are included so don't think you will be spending any money!






If you do end up buying something look on the bright side. It probably won't have cost you much and you can give it to the aunty you don't like!






I hate to be dismissive about an important 'feature' but while the guy sits out on his stilt dangling his line in the water his colleagues wait on shore to collect money from the tourists who stop to take pictures. Whether these guys ever catch any fish is debatable, I’m assured by my Sri Lankan friends that its tourist they are really after and catching fish is at best a sideline. But hey, why not, it’s a living init and you wouldn’t get me perched on a stick for hours on end for a few hundred rupees.






Arugam Bay






In tourist areas touts, aka 'beach boys' are a fact of life and they can be very annoying indeed, I have met people who have hardly left their hotel because of them. They are not usually dangerous but are often highly skilled in the art of separating tourists from their holiday cash and some will go to great lengths do it with all manner of cunning scams. The cleverest touts are difficult to distinguish from ordinary well meaning people and it is very easy to be taken in so be always on your guard and remember that while most people in Sri Lanka are happy to help a tourist they would not generally approach you directly unless you were obviously lost or in a dangerous situation.






The simple rule is that people who engage you in conversation in a tourist area are probably out for your money, anyone who leads you into a guesthouse or even a shop is on commission and it is you who pays it.






People are well mannered here and even with touts keeping good-face is important, a firm but polite refusal (in Sinhalese if possible) with lots of eye contact will sometimes do the trick, in Sri Lanka losing your temper is never a good idea. He may be a tout but this is his country, not yours.






When arriving anywhere it is best to have some idea where you are going to stay so use a guide book and telephone in advance. If necessary find a three wheeler, tell the driver the name of the place you want to go and agree a price for the journey in advance. If the driver informs you that the place is closed or full of cholera and that he knows a better place, tell him just to get on with his driving. When doing your holiday shopping hop on a bus to the nearest large town inland, one that is not mentioned in your guide book (and so has no tourist attractions) where things will be a fraction of the price in your resort.






For all their faults the local beach boys will know what is going on, they will know where the locally owned bars are (which are considerably cheaper than beachside hotels) and can arrange trips to places of interest. So by all means have a chat with your fellow tourist and ask them which beach boys they have done business with and use him when it suits you but always remember that this is a business arrangement. The most dangerous touts are the ones you do not realise are touts.






Do not let the touts put you off from meeting the locals, most people are fantastic and will be glad to help you, so if you need advice do not be afraid to ask. One day I stopped the guy in the photograph and asked him where there was somewhere to swim, he took me along to the river, joined me for a swim and later drove me to the nearest rest house. He came back in the evening and joined me for a beer. That is how it works here