Surfing

*Sri Lanka has consistent surf year round but the quality of waves is far lower than the nearby Maldives and Indonesia. You visit Sri Lanka more for the culture climate and ease of travelling than for the chance to get barrelled. Sri Lanka is however a superb place to learn how to surf or for intermediate surfers to get their first reefbreak experiences. Many of the spots are very close to shore and surf access couldn't be easier and this also makes Sri Lanka an ideal destination for a surfer with a non surfing partner.
*Sri Lanka's best known wave is Arugam Bay on the east coast. Surf's up at this long right point from April to October.
*Weligama on the south coast seems custom made for learning to surf and a number of surf schools and camps have recently sprung up there.
*On the west and south coasts the best surfing is from November to April, with the start and end of this season more consistent than January and February
*The reefs of Hikkaduwa on the west coast are a long time favourite, although more for the ease of living than for the quality of the waves.
*The Midigama area is the best spot along the south coast with a mellow left point a nearby consistent beach break and a short and sharp right reef, which offers about the only frequently hollow wave in Sri Lanka.
*Boards can be hired and lessons are available at most beach towns
*Low Pressure Stormider Guides offers good advise on surfing Sri Lanka.

Safe Swimming

*Every year drownings occur off Sri Lanka's beaches. If you aren't an experienced swimmer or surfer, it's easy to underestimate the dangers or even to be totally unaware of them. There are few full time lifesaving patrols, so there's usually no one to jump in and rescue you. A few common sense rules should be observed.
*Don't swim out of your depth. If you are a poor swimmer, always stay in the shallows.
*Don't stay in the water when you feel tired.
*Never go swimming under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
*Supervise children at all time.
*Watch out for rips. Water brought onto the beach by waves is sucked back to sea and this current can be strong enough to drag you out with it. Rips in rough surf can sometimes be seen as calm patches in the disturbed water. It's best to check with someone reliable before venturing in to the water.
*If you do get caught in a rip swim across the current towards the breaking waves.in a rip,swim across the current towards the breaking waves. The currents are usually less where the waves are actually breaking and the surf will push you shoreward. Never try and swim against the current. If it's too strong for you to do this keep aflot and raise a hand so that someone on shore can see that you are in distress. A rip eventually weakens the important thing is not to panic.
*Exercise caution when there is surf.

*Beware of coral coming into contact with coral can be painful for the swimmer and fatal for the coral. Always check with someone reliable if you suspect the area you're about to swim in may have coral.  Never dive into the water. Hazards may be lurking under the surface or the water may not be as deep as it looks. It pays to be cautious.

Beaches

     

 For many people the beach is Sri Lanka, and small through the island is, it really is no slouch in the sand and sea department.

       The west coast is the most developed beach area and is where the majority of the package tour resorts can be found but don't let that put you off because some of the beaches here are up there with the best in the country.

       With its stunning beaches good selection of accommodation and activities that range from diving of sunning to surfing it's no surprise that the south coast of the island is the most popular area with beach bound independent travellers.

       War and unrest have kept the east coast beaches largely off the radar of all but the most adventurous but with peace big changers are afoot here and some absolute corking beaches are starting to get travellers tongues wagging.

      Finally, there's the far north, where a beach to yourself isn't just a possibility but more of a given. However, only explores need pack their beach things.

Beach Culture In The North & East

By and large Sri Lankans are an easygoing and accepting lot and on the south and west coasts there are also very used to foreign tourists and their skimpy beachwear. For much of the East & North through the situation is a little different women in bathing suits even modest one piece numbers can attract a lot of unwelcome attention. Even in the increasingly popular east coast beach resorts such as Arugam Bay and the beaches north of Trincomalee the attention can be excessive (and there have been sexual assaults). On these beaches and especially in more remote locations, women will not want to travel alone and should consider wearing a T shirt and shorts into the water.   

When are you like to go around in Sri Lanka

         Sri Lanka is pretty much a year round beach destination. When it's raining in the East it's normally sunny in the west and vice versa.
         The main tourist season coincides with the northeast monsoon, which runs from December to March. At this time the beaches on the west and south coasts are bathed in sunshine and the tourist industry for this part of the country is in full swing.The east coast by contrast is often wet and many hotels are closed.
         Between May and September when the stronger southwest monsoon hits the island and the southwest coast is drenched, head straight for the east coast which sits in the rain shadow of the highlands and will be sunny and idyllic.
         Don't take the season as gospel, through even during the height of the southwest monsoon it can often be sunny in the morning on the west coast beaches before the afternoon thunderstorms roll in.
         The north of the island is generally much drier so you could come here any time and get your beach towel out.

Tour Plan-5

*This tour covers the uncrowded middle of Sri Lanka. Start in Dambulla, with its series of cave shrines painted with vivid Buddhist murals. From here it's short jaunt to Sigiriya, a 200m tall rock outcrop that was once a monastery and is truly one of the island's most amazing sights.













*Further northeast the former royal capital of Polonnaruwa offers an inspiring collection of Buddhist sculptures and monastery ruins dating back nearly a thousand years. Head due east to the coast and the beaches at Kalkudah, and Passekudah. The former is a deserted and beautiful broad strip of sand. The latter is also beautiful and draws locals by the busload.

*Continue your beach adventures 20km north at one of Sri Lanka's hidden gems, Vakarai Beach. You're really off the grid here at this paradise and only have electricity a few hours at night.

*Go north again and you are on the idyllic natural harbour of Trincomalee. It has a rich history going back centuries that the recent war couldn't erase. Finally end your cultural and sandy trek at the dual beach towns of Uppuweli and Nilaveli. There's much debate about which is better you decide.

Tour Plan-4

 *This fast trip will warm even the most frost bitten visitor escaping a frigid winter elsewhere in the world. Begin your jaunt in Galle founded by the Portuguese in the 16th century, it is one of southeast Asia's best preserved, fortified colonial cities. Walk the walls at sunset and enjoy the many cafes cropping up along streets lined with renovated and delightfully dilapidated old buildings.

*Hit the beach at nearby Unawatuna, which has an alluring crescent of sand, cafes overlooking the surf and perfectly blue waters luring you in. Now find your inner Tarzan (many of the movies were short in Sri Lanka) at the UNESCO recognized Sinharaja Forest Reserve, Sri Lanka's last major tropical rain forest.

*Back on the south coast, Sri Lanka has a fast breaking surf scene and you'll find lessons, board rentals and cheap surfer dives in Ahangama and Midigama.

*Another short jaunt east brings you to Weligama, which has beach resorts and a lively fishing village with fascinating markets. Not far away is the sandy gem of the south, Mirissa, where cute little places to stay are hidden in the palms.

Tour Plan-3

*With peace, parts of Sri Lanka that were off limits or almost off limits for decades are opening up to visitors, who will be warmly welcomed. Start at Kalpitiya, the main town on the long finger of land that just up into the Indian Ocean. The beaches here are just OK but the kite surfing and reef diving are spectacular. Hook your way around north to Wilpatthu National Park. This treasure was closed for years during the war but is now returning to life. It has all of Sri Lanka's iconic animals and is very quiet.

*Next explore another spit of Sri Lanka extending in to the sea Mannar is technically an island but feels like a peninsula. It has white beaches, wild donkeys and incredible beauty. The remote town of Talaimannar feels like the end of the world. Here a chain of reef and islets almost from a land bridge to India.

*Hook around again to the Jaffna peninsula. Jaffna bears scars of the war, which still seems like a recent memory here. But the rich Tamil culture is returning and charming temples on shady backstreets await exploration.

*Roads closed for years have reopened and you can visit Keerimalai spring, a sacred site with legendary bathing pools. It's close to the Naguleswaram Shiva Kovil, which traces its past to the 6th century BC.

*Your next destination is Point Prdro, which is still shaking off the 2004 tsunami but holds onto traces of a colonial past.There is a long swath of the whitest beach you can imagine here.

*Jaffna has nearby islands well worth exploring for their sheer minimalistic beauty.There's actual sights on Nainativu, which you reach via increasingly unsubstantial causeway and a ferry. Buddhist and Hindu temples draw the pious to this tiny speck of sand.

*Another ferry ride which is half the fun takes you the 10km to Neduntivu, which some still call by its Old Dutch moniker Delft. It's a windswept place beyond the end of the road and wild ponies roam seemingly deserted streets.