Surfing
Sri Lanka is a famous surfing destination that caters to all experience levels. There are waves for learning how to stand on a surf board and there are tubes over shallow waters with sea urchins that make the wave even more exciting – surfers know what that means!
The country has different seasonal patterns on each side of the island; when one coast is choppy, the other is calm. The rains take turns hitting the coast from different directions, making Sri Lanka a year round surf option. The main surfing season for the south is from November to May – that’s when the waves are utter perfection. The best season on the east coast is from April to October, when the waves are longer. Here’s what you need to know: there will always be waves somewhere.
The main patches for surfing are the southwest, south and east coasts. The most famous areas are Unawatuna and Hikkaduwa in the southwest, Weligama in the south and Arugam Bay in the east. All areas have popular (i.e. crowded) as well as more hidden spots. The waves in Sri Lanka are not the giant kind like those in Hawaii or Western Australia, they are smaller and longer; one wave in Okanda (on the east coast) can be surfed for as long as 60 seconds if your legs can handle it. For the best day-to-day intel on where the good waves are, contact the team at Surf South Sri Lanka.
