Sri Lanka's Beaches

A crescent beach paradise with world-class whale watching and surf breaks.

A UNESCO-listed Dutch fort town with cobblestone streets, boutiques, and ocean views.

Sri Lanka's surf capital - a laid-back east-coast bay with world-class waves.

A golden beach resort town known for water sports, ayurveda, and luxury hotels.

One of the world's finest natural harbours with pristine beaches and diving sites.

A long ribbon of white sand north of Trincomalee, with calm turquoise water and Pigeon Island offshore.

A famous banana-shaped bay minutes from Galle, with calm swimming, reef snorkelling, and a jungle-clad headland.

Beach town famous for coral reefs, diving, and a lively backpacker scene.

A tiny, palm-fringed crescent bay - the definition of a hidden gem.

A perfect crescent bay with fishing stilt boats, gentle surf, and a vibrant village atmosphere.

Bevis Bawa's flamboyant garden estate - five acres of romantic terraces, artworks, and jungle theatre near Bentota.

A historic Dutch fort city at the island's southern tip - star fort, island temple, and the end of the coastal railway.

A lively fishing city near the airport, famous for its lagoon, Dutch canals, and fiery seafood.

A sleepy fishing town flanked by some of the south's longest, emptiest beaches and rocky coves.

Trincomalee's laid-back village beach - golden sand, calm seas, and beach-shack dinners under the stars.

One of Sri Lanka's oldest ports - a golden beach, a busy fish harbour, and the historic Ketchimalai Mosque on the headland.

The Jaffna peninsula's favourite swimming beach - shallow, calm water fringed by whistling casuarina trees.

A river-mouth town crowned by the great white Kalutara Chaitya - the rare stupa you can walk inside.

Colombo's classic beach suburb, built around a grand colonial hotel and famous golden-hour views.

A laid-back lagoon city of Dutch forts, singing fish, and untouched east-coast beaches.

Remote peninsula famous for dolphin and whale watching in pristine lagoons.

A pristine, sheltered bay near Trincomalee whose glittering sand gave it its name - run by the Air Force and spotlessly kept.

A calm, shallow lagoon beach favored by families - rarely crowded.

One of Sri Lanka's two marine national parks - snorkel with blacktip reef sharks and sea turtles.

A hidden crescent of jungle-backed sand between Matara and Dickwella - one of the south's quietest beaches.

A windswept coral island off Jaffna where wild ponies roam among baobabs and Dutch ruins.

A coastal lagoon teeming with waterbirds - Sri Lanka's oldest sanctuary, explored by silent canoe.

A lake-and-beach town of literary fame - island temples, cinnamon gardens, and the childhood world of Martin Wickramasinghe.

The heart of Sri Lanka's turtle conservation coast - nurseries, night nesting walks, and hatchling releases.

Sri Lanka's most important sea-turtle nesting beach, where five species come ashore at night.

The Ramayana's fallen Himalayan hill above Unawatuna - jungle, hidden coves, and a white Japanese Peace Pagoda.

An eerie red-earth plateau above the sea, tied to Ramayana legend and unlike anywhere else on the island.

The south coast's coolest surf strip - consistent reef breaks, stilt fishermen, and a booming cafe scene.

The 'rice-sand' beach of the north-east - a remote cove near Pulmoddai where the sand grains look like polished rice.

Mirissa's famous palm-crowned headland - a grove of coconut trees above the blue Indian Ocean.

A white-sand cove with a natural swimming lagoon and the south coast's famous palm rope swing.

A temple on a rock above a wild beach, where Queen Viharamahadevi landed - and the gateway to Yala's coast.

A 2,000-year-old temple in the dunes of Pottuvil - where east-coast tradition says a queen came ashore.

The last beach before the wilderness - dunes, lagoons, and empty surf where the east-coast road ends.

The northernmost tip of Sri Lanka - a lighthouse, a fishing town, and the end-of-the-island marker.

The white sentinel of Galle Fort - Sri Lanka's oldest light station on the ramparts' most photographed corner.

The quiet stretch below Bentota - clean golden sand, turtle projects, and low-key beachfront ease.

Pasikuda's wilder twin - a vast, near-empty arc of east-coast sand backed by palm groves.

Jaffna's old port town - a colonial lighthouse, calm harbour beach, and the north coast reopening to the world.

A sandbar-tethered islet on the deep south coast - wade across at low tide to your own blue-water lookout.

A brand-new district rising from the sea beside Galle Face - promenades, events, and Colombo's future skyline.

The easternmost tip of Sri Lanka - an empty cape of surf and light where the island's day begins.

A tiny private island with a 1920s villa, wading distance off Weligama - Sri Lanka's most storied address.