Much of Sri Lanka is a surfer’s paradise. There are many beaches with great breaks suited to any level of rider, especially along the southern shores from Galle to Arugam Bay. So let’s go surf Weligama.

Surf Weligama Bay

We spent our time in Weligama, which is a wonderful town on the southern tip of the Matara district. The town sits on a neat half-moon bay, with nice sandy shores and consistent waves. There are also a few large rocks within the water, but few if any reefs. It is primarily just a beach break.

Due to the nature of the bay, the waves tend to not be quite as big as they may at be some of the other beaches, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The bay protects the waves from being blown out during high winds, but also allows in decent swells. This allows for ideal conditions for a beginner or intermediate rider, with waves ranging from 4 – 9 feet on a typical day.

The high season is during the winter months from October to February, however, you’ll find that some areas are able to be surfed year-round.

This was good for me because I am a beginner surfer. I’m quite comfortable in the water and have gone before at Cocoa Beach in Florida, USA. My experience here was quite different though.

Surf Weligama at Surf’n Lanka

If you want, you can get surf lessons for around 1200 LKR (~$8) or you can opt for the route I went and just rent a board by the hour. Because it was the off-season here (June), I was able to just walk up to the beach, look for a guy with a surfboard and rent it for 250 LKR (~$1.70). Not a bad deal (usually it’s 300 LKR / $2). They offered advanced or beginner boards, I decided to just go with a beginner board.

Then I went off into the water to give it a shot. Briana stayed behind on the beach to photograph and read – she wanted to see how I fared before giving it a shot herself.

Lots of waves

The current was pretty strong, but not too difficult for me to fight. What I found most difficult however was actually paddling out. I kept fighting the waves, as soon as I ducked under one wave, another one was atop me. I spent quite a few minutes before I managed to get to the first break and try to actually catch the waves. The waves themselves were around 4 feet that day.

Once I got into position, however, the waves were perfect to ride. They were long, had a slight curl, and decent size and power. If you were better than me, you could certainly ride them pretty well. I managed to catch a half dozen, and miss a dozen or so more. My biggest issue was paddling out, which would exhaust me and then I’d get impatient and try to ride the wrong waves.

Managing to surf Weligama is harder than it looks

I’ve since learned you should look for the outflow of water and follow that so that you don’t have to fight against the waves. Rip currents = bad for swimming / good for surfing. Lesson learned. Towards the end of the hour, exhaustion was getting to me and I was getting quite sloppy with my riding and thrown around by the waves.

At one point, I somehow got rolled by a wave and then came up facing the beach to see another huge wave crashing atop me from the beach. I’m really not sure how a wave came from the shore, but it did.

When I came back, I had to take a rest before going on with the day. Briana decided she didn’t want to fight the waves that much. I would have liked to go again on a different day, but my arms were so sore I was out of it for a few days, and then things just didn’t work out with all the other things we did.

But for surfing, you should definitely head to Weligama and give it a shot. For those looking for bigger waves, just head a few miles down the road either way. Mirissa, Matara, Koggala, Unawatuna, Dikwella, and Tangalle all have great breaks. There are waves for all kinds of riders here. If like me, you don’t really know how to surf but you’d like to learn, you can book a day lesson.

Surf Weligama Bay Sri Lanka – Pin It!