Rather than going all the way to Colombo to catch the bus to Trincomalee, we just went to Minuwangoda and waited for a Kuneragala bus. We probably left at around 8:00 am but didn't make it in time for the 10:00 direct departure from Kuneragala. So we walked to the police station area and waited for one from Colombo to come by. By 11:00 we were onboard one which would have left Colombo well before we would have gotten to the big city. Therefore, we were winners.
After getting into the eastern port, we boarded another local bus to Nilavali. Jay had looked online to see about possible hotels. The bus stop was directly in front of the road to Shahira Hotel. It was at least a 1.5 km walk to the water from the highway, but we are here!
A lot of local tourists were visiting the beach because it is Sunday of a long weekend. We are not directly on the beach, but the hotel has a very nice garden and I can see the sea from the covered porch-like area in front of the rooms.