Sri Lanka is endowed with a two season’s monsoonal climate which means a beach holiday can be enjoyed year round. Here you will find sun and sand all along the western and southern coastal areas best during the months of October to April, tempting you to get away from the cold wintery climate of the west and the hot summers of Australia. If you are a sporting sort then the east coast offers the best beaches during May to September. Arugambay is one location popularly known for a long time as a surfer’s paradise. 

Here is a short list and a few highlights of the best beaches Sri Lanka have to offer.

Negombo – is north of Colombo and many hotels are to be found here. The beaches are wide stretches of gold sand. It is a fishing village and famous for enjoying the culinary delights of sea food, and is located not too far from the Colombo Airport.   

Bentota Beach – Bentota Beach is located on the island’s southwest coast 62km south of Colombo.

Wide expanses of golden sand gently sweeping along an undulating crescent of pristine beaches welcomes you to enjoy its golden sandy beaches sunbathing and swimming in the luxurious warm aquamarine waters of the Indian Ocean. It is also an ideal location to water-ski, sail or windsurf. Take a boat ride on the idyllic Bentota River set just behind the palm-fringed beach. 

Many luxurious and semi luxurious beachside resorts span the extent of the Bentota beach offering visitors a comfortable stay. The river in Bentota and adjacent lagoon can be explored by boat, look out for monitor lizards as large as crocodiles and other water loving creatures including crocodiles if you are lucky to see them among the little islands of mangrove forests. Bird lovers will enjoy seeing cormorants, herons, colourful kingfishers and other migratory and endemic birds that frequent the sanctuary.

Mount Lavinia Beach – just 12km south of Colombo is this very popular beach destination. Resting beneath an elevated promontory, Mount Lavinia was where the former luxurious residence of Colonial Governor Generals stands, now the elegant Mount Lavinia Hotel boasting old world charm. There are many tales that surround this former residence of Colonial Governor Generals. This is a very popular beach destination due to its close proximity to the former capital of Sri Lanka now important as banking, commerce and trading city.  

Ambalangoda Beach – famous for mask making and colourful devil dancing, Ambalangoda is in close proximity south of Bentota and a pleasant day trip from Bentota culminating with a cultural dance of the “devils” wearing colourfully hand crafted and beautifully painted oversized masks in traditional dance rituals.   Relax on this quiet and unspoiled palm-fringed sandy beach where the town’s people are famous for the ritual of “devil dancing” and are skilled craftsmen in carving masks, both of which are aspects of significance to the culture if Sri Lanka a tradition handed down from generations past. These intricately hand-carved and colourfully hand-painted oversized masks are significant to a variety of folklore and worn by men in rituals of traditional dances in the form of dramas.

Hikkaduwa Beach – located 98km south of Colombo, Hikkaduwa is a place to go swimming, snorkelling and diving. Hikkaduwa is famous for its marine sanctuary where an abundance of colourful coral reefs that teems with tropical fish of colourful hues. Visitors can hire a glass-bottomed boat to visit the beautiful underwater coral gardens.  Swim, Surf, or sunbathe on the pristine gold-sandy beaches or relax at any of the Hotels in the vicinity. You are never short of restaurants, beachside clubs and bars that provide an evening of entertaining activity.

Unawatuna Beach – located around 5km south of Galle this stretch of beautiful tree and palm fringed kilometre-long golden sandy beaches folds into a pictographic bay protected by a reef framed by a lush jungle-clad headland. Enjoy a relaxing day by this gorgeous beach, or go snorkelling, swimming, or for a dive in the warm southern waters or take a hike up the hilltop and visit a Buddhist Stupa located over the beach and be rewarded with breathtaking panoramic views.

Strolling to the west will bring you to a place known as Rumassala Hill, which is a rocky outcrop famous for numerous and rare medicinal herbs and frequented by lively macaque monkeys. 

Weligama Beach – is south of the Unawatuna beaches. This area is renowned for Sri Lanka’s famously known stilt fishermen. Unique only to Sri Lanka, these fishermen balance themselves perched on a single pole and cast their long lines in the shallow waters creating a different way of fishing. This quiet golden-sandy beach is ideal to watch how these local fishermen cast their lines while balancing perched on a single pole planted in the shallow sea floor. Relax in the luxury of a Boutique Hotel, or any one of the several resort styled hotels along this popular stretch of beach. Explore coconut and rubber plantations on short drive inland, explore ancient temples or visit a nearby wildlife and nature sanctuary.

Mirissa Bay – Enjoy a quiet, unspoiled, extensive stretches of lush palm tree fringed golden sandy beaches ideal for relaxed sunbathing. Enjoy swimming in the calm and crystal clear waters of the sea. Ideal for snorkelling and surfers is the western end of the bay. Strolling by along the beach will take you to the rocky headland which separates the neighbouring fisheries harbour from the beach. Go whale watching and enjoy the antics of dolphin in one of the fishing boats. Mirissa is also a great place to enjoy seafood at its freshest at one of the restaurants you will find on the beachside. Relax in a boutique hotel or maybe spend some time exploring this quaint fishing village and see how they live.

Nilaveli Beach – is a wide stretch of beach 6 km in length and is located on the eastern coast 14 km north of Trincomalee. Trincomalee is a natural harbour and long stretches of unspoiled golden sandy beaches offer ideal places for sunbathing and swimming along with wide ranging water sporting activities, to name a few includes water-skiing, snorkelling and diving. Pigeon Island is an especially good offshore area around nearby Nilaveli Beach and is an ideal location for water sports and diving for sunken wrecks. Presently there are two good hotels to cater to your creature comforts and chill out. 

Passekudah – also famous for surfing, swimming and water sports with long expanses of golden sandy beaches perfect for sunbathing and relaxing. The east coast is seasonal for whale and dolphin watching.

Arugambay – long discovered and made famous for surfing, swimming and water sports with lengthy expanses of pristine sandy beaches perfect for sunbathing, and more. The period during May and November are considered the best time to surf. Arugambay lies on the south-eastern coast of Sri Lanka.  Numerous low cost budget type guest houses and hotels are available here. Arugambay is best suited for the young at heart.

The north and eastern coastal areas are still to be developed. New hotels are being built and many more planned to cater to the influx of tourists visiting the island. Generally the infrastructure is good, but lots more development projects are in the pipeline to take advantage of the full potential of what these beautiful areas have to offer.

(By Sylvia Page)