Relaxation is extremely important during a backpacking trip. Of course you want to see and experience as much as possible, but relaxing is also necessary, and if you can do this on one of Sri Lanka’s most beautiful beaches, with a cocktail in your hand, this is just that little bit more fun.
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Before further highlighting all the beautiful beaches here, it is useful to know that there are two monsoons in Sri Lanka. The monsoon which causes high rainfall in the east runs approximately from October to March. The monsoon which causes high rainfall in the southwest runs approximately from early April to late September. This means it is then “rainy season,” so there may be a fair amount of rain.
Beaches on the southwest coast of Sri Lanka
Best time to travel here is between October and the end of March. If you go after this period, hotels and restaurants will be closed a lot and there is little to do. If possible, visit the east coast instead.
Weligama / Mirissa
Weligama and Mirissa are close to each other and are great places for a beach destination in Sri Lanka. There is a bit more to do in Weligama, but Mirissa’s beaches are a lot nicer. We recommend staying overnight in Weligama and occasionally taking a motorbike – or a tuktuk cab – to Mirissa.
Hiriketiya
In our opinion, Hiriketiya is the cutest beach on the south coast of Sri Lanka. The bay is super cozy and the streets feel lovely. It’s nice and small, but you’ll find everything you can think of. From Hiriketiya, you can also easily visit some beautiful beaches like Silent Beach. Read our 15 tips for Hiriketiya here.
Galle and Unawatuna
Galle is an old Dutch fortress which today is best known for its many quaint streets at night. Nearby Unawatuna is a perfect beach destination to combine Galle with. Located a bit more on the west coast, this is perfect to start, or end your trip in Sri Lanka. Depending on how you travel the round trip.
Beaches on the east coast of Sri Lanka
Best time to travel here is between April and late September.
Trincomalee (Uppuveli and Nilaveli)
In short, do not go to the village of Trincomalee as a backpacker. After all, there is nothing to do here at all. We spent 2 days in a hostel in Trincomalee, and both days we traveled by bus to Uppuveli to relax on the beach. In Trincomalee itself, you cannot lie on the beach in bikini because there are almost only locals and you have to cover up. Therefore, it is recommended to go to Uppuveli or Nilaveli. (This is in 2025)
We ourselves chose Uppuveli because we heard it would be a little more lively there. You have a few small streets with hostels here, right on the beach. There is also a well-known restaurant/bar on the beach: Fernando’s bar. This is where almost every traveler has breakfast, lunch and dinner at least once, followed by a few beers by the campfire while gazing up at the stars. A very relaxed place to meet people.
Arugam Bay
Arugam Bay is known as the surf spot of Sri Lanka. You can surf in many other places too, but this is still the place that is most popular. For both beginners and advanced surfers, there are several good spots to catch waves. We ourselves had 4 mornings of lessons here together with an instructor and already on the first day we managed to catch a wave independently. What a great feeling that gives!
As mentioned, there are several spots to surf. A tuktuk makes it easy to get to all the different spots. Most beginners do get taken to the same spot (Peanut Farm Beach) because the waves here are fairly calm, making it easy to get used to the feel of surfing. When you’ve mastered it a bit you can ride a tuktuk to another spot to try it out there.
When you no longer feel like surfing, you can also just lie on the beach. The beach at Arugam Bay itself is not very special, but it is fun to see all the surfers. The beach surrounded by Elephant Rock, on the other hand, is very beautiful. Although when we were here it was far too warm to lie down, as there was no wind at all. If you climb Elephant Rock you will also have a nice view of the area but make sure you leave early: many crocodiles live here and they come out especially in the evenings.
Furthermore, Arugam Bay consists of a long street with stores selling surf gear and restaurants. The atmosphere here is very relaxed and you will find that you will be carried away by that as well. We actually planned to stay here for 3 days, which ended up being 6.
These are only the beaches and cities we visited ourselves. There are many other beautiful beaches in Sri Lanka such as Tangalle and Hikkaduwa but we did not visit these (yet).
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