Friends, ready to chase warm water and palm fringed points? Sri Lanka's coasts fire in opposite seasons, serving up long peelers for improvers and playful beach breaks for first timers.

Below you'll find when to go, what it costs, how to get there, and where to sleep—so you can spend more time in the lineup and less time guessing.

Season Guide

Southwest, Hikkaduwa to Mirissa, November to April brings offshore mornings and consistent swells.

East, Arugam Bay, May to September is prime, with glassy lines and dry days. Shoulder months can work, dawn patrol is your friend year round.

Quick Costs

- Surfboard rental 12 to 18 dollars per day, or six to ten per hour. Rash guard three to five per day.

- Group lesson 90 to 120 minutes, 20 to 35 dollars, private 35 to 90 dollars.

- Tuk tuk hops 1 to 3 dollars, day hire with driver 20 to 35 dollars.

- Guesthouses near breaks 25 to 60 dollars per night, boutique stays 80 to 150 dollars.

- Scooter rental 8 to 12 dollars per day, ask for a board rack plus 2 to 4 dollars per day.

Hiriketiya

A small horseshoe bay on the far south coast offers two reliable options. The west side is a forgiving beach break with multiple takeoff spots, ideal for soft top sessions and longboard trims. The east point serves up longer lefts over reef on mid to high tide, the takeoff can be steep, so booties help with urchins.

Stay in leafy lanes set back from the sand, 40 to 90 dollars per night. Boards are readily available on the beach, 15 dollars per day. Cafés dish out fruit smoothies and veggie rice plates for 3 to 6 dollars.

Ahangama

Sri Lanka's hip surf hub strings together coves and reefs for every level. Marshmallows is a mellow deep reef roller perfect for students stepping off the sand. Sticks and nearby reefs are punchier, with wedgy peaks for shortboards when the period jumps.

Base yourself along the coastal road, 30 to 70 dollars per night guesthouses. Most breaks are a 5 to 10 minute tuk tuk, 2 to 3 dollars. Morning offshores are common, pack reef safe zinc and reef booties.

Hikkaduwa

Close to Colombo, Narigama Beach is a long teaching ground with user friendly whitewater and small green waves. Up the sand, Benny's wakes up on solid swells, offering a stronger left over reef for confident riders on higher tide.

Expect the most surf schools per mile here, shop around for lessons, twenty to thirty group. Accommodation spans simple seafront rooms 25 to 50 dollars to polished resorts 100 to 150 dollars. Handy first stop after landing, transfer time is typically two to three hours by car, 50 to 80 dollars.

Kabalana

Two for one conditions make Kabalana a must. The beach break rolls steadily for learners and foamies. Out front, The Rock turns on with mid size swells, a powerful A frame that offers fast rights and punchy lefts, best on mid tide with light winds. There's no real town center, just a relaxed ribbon of stays and board hire shacks.

Expect 12 to 18 dollars per day for rentals, sunrise coffees 1 to 2 dollars, and rooms 35 to 80 dollars within walking distance of the peak.

Arugam Bay

On the east coast, May to September brings the goods. Main Point is the headline right point, a long runner that links sections for one to two hundred meters on a decent pulse. Beginners can cut their teeth at Baby Point inside, while tuk tuks 3 to 6 dollars reach playful satellites like Peanut Farm, expect mellow walls on mid tide.

Stays line the sand from budget huts twenty to forty to modern suites 90 to 140 dollars. Book boards in advance for peak months, 15 dollars per day. Dawn and late afternoon offer the cleanest faces, midday winds often ruffle the bay.

Weligama

A sweeping curve that might be the island's best learner bay. Wide exposure invites regular but softened swell, so you'll find endless whitewater for first pop ups and knee to waist high runners outside for your first green wave rides.

Schools dot the beach, and multi lesson packages can drop per session costs to 8 to 25 dollars. Stay in town, 25 to 50 dollars per night, or in calmer corners near Cape Weligama, 60 to 120 dollars. The bay is large, walk upwind and drift back.

Midigama

Quality jumps here with a clutch of famous reefs. Coconuts breaks off a small harbor wall into a rippable right, deeper at high tide. Lazy Left and Lazy Right are well named, friendly slower shoulders that suit mid lengths and longboards, especially when the period drops.

Most surf stays include board storage and sunrise coffee. Budget private rooms run 25 to 45 dollars, chic surf villas 80 to 140 dollars. Bring booties for reef entries, and always note where locals paddle out, there's usually a sand gap.

Mirissa

A pretty cove with a right hand reef at the northwest end. Aim for mid to high tide to keep it forgiving, low tide exposes more rock and can end sessions early. When it's crowded, hop a 15 to 20 minutes tuk tuk to central Weligama, 2 to 3 dollars, for uncrowded learners' peaks, then return for sunset walks and street food dinners three to seven.

Accommodation leans boutique, 70 to 150 dollars, though simple rooms a block inland hover around 30 to 50 dollars. Many hotels can arrange transfers from the expressway exit, 25 to 40 dollars.

Conclusion

Two coasts, opposite seasons, and eight welcoming breaks—Sri Lanka makes scoring waves simple, whether you're learning in Weligama or linking walls at Arugam Bay. Which bay matches your style, and when will you time your trip for clean morning peelers?