Do

Surf Sri Lanka's Best BreaksAragum Bay

View Map

The sleepy fishing villages of Sri Lanka's east and south coasts were ravaged by the infamous Boxing Day tsunami of 2004. The damage was extensive, but even in the most hard hit areas, the laidback strip of restaurants and hotels have bounced back, welcoming growing numbers of visitors.

Tourists from around the world are increasingly heading beyond the well-established tourist resorts of the west coast to discover places such as Arugam Bay on the east coast with its mesh of brightly coloured fishing nets and rows of shacks serving up freshly cooked seafood from bubbling metal pots, sourced directly from the fishermen that haul their nets back to the shore on their wooden boats each morning.

But keen surfers are also making up a large number of the visitors to these thanks to the bay’s break, highly regarded during the monsoon season which produces some consistent waves along the east coast between May and September.

love
not sure?

The beaches are stunning
The warm Indian Ocean
No Crowds!

Don’t expect the beast rental boards
Spicy apres surf food… real spicy!

get there

Bus services operate along the coastline or you can rent a car. Tuk Tuks are available for shorter journeys to the beach.

price guide

Cheap as!

difficulty

All depends on your surfing ability. They aren’t gnarly reef breaks so its well worth having a go.

contact

There are numerous local shacks to rent a board. Just hit the sand.

need to know

Surfers visiting outside of May- September are better off heading for the country’s south. Thanks to the country’s two monsoon seasons, the best time to surf the southern beaches such as Weligama and Hikkaduwa between November and March. On the beach at Matara, a shack rents out boards to the handful of mostly foreign surfers, giving a laidback vibe to the pretty much deserted stretch of sand.