New to Surfing? Here's the best place in Sri Lanka to give it a start

Subtle waves, beautiful waters and enough & more surf schools

Sri Lanka has a set of picturesque beaches (which many tourists already know!) specially along the Southern coast of the country starting from Galle and then moving onto Unawatuna, Dalawella, Mirissa and Matara. While most visitors tend to spend their beach time at a few of the above mentioned places, many miss some hidden gems even if they travel further down towards Tangalle. If you've always wanted to try surfing or else improve on your existing skills, Hiriketiya Beach is the place you have been looking for all this time. The most obvious reason for this beautiful beach to be missed by many, is because only a true traveler who tends to take the off beaten path is lucky enough to stumble upon this treasure.

Getting There and Location

Hiriketiya Beach is situated in the small town of Dikwella, located about 22km to the South of Matara. Take the Tangalle road and the ride will take about 40 minutes, give or take. The beach won't be visible from the road in this section therefore, don't be surprised if you don't see it. There are two main by roads among a bunch of accessible roads which will lead to the beach and you can take either as it will meet each other right in front of the beach. Some parking spaces are available along the area but it will be easier if you take a tuk-tuk from the main road to get here considering the bad condition of the road.

The concave shape of the beach slows down the rough seas which is perfect for beginners

Surf Scene

The first thing you will notice is the multiple number of surf schools and restaurants from left to right. Even though the beach is not visited by many compared to other beaches down south, it has turned into a rather touristy area. Therefore you can spend the entire day here whether you want to take a dip, a tan or a surf as all facilities such as a food truck, juice bars, restaurants and surf schools are abundant.

When multiple options are available, it might be tricky to pick a surf school. Specially if you are a beginner and you are in need of a good start with some coaching. While almost all of them provide a competitive price for lessons, Kudawella Surf School is a definite win. They provide both, surf board rentals and coaching for beginners.

While a beginner lesson which includes the surf  board and a personalized coaching session which lasts about an hour can cost you about $15-20. If you take more than one lesson you’ll definitely be able to negotiate for a discounted price. You can also rent only the surf board for a much lesser price. Even though we have given surfing a few tries before, we opted for the lesson. The lesson started with everyone laying their boards on the sand and then getting a thorough description about the design of the surfboard and it’s functions, which was followed by some practice runs on land. Specially pedaling and standing up on the board with correct foot positioning. We were also advised on the do's and don’ts while in the water for everyone’s safety as it is easy to get injured during surfing. The first part of the lesson was concluded with some warm up exercises to ease our muscles and avoid any unexpected sprains or injuries while in the water. 

Best part of the lesson is without no surprise, getting into the water. After some struggling we managed to maintain our balance without flopping over like whales. Then the coach helped each one individually by aligning the board and giving a push to catch the waves. Even though it was a massive fail in the first few attempts, ultimately managed to go a few successful meters which was very exciting. In conclusion it was a very tiring yet interesting session of learning thanks to the peeps at Kudawella Surf School. If you are planning to join them for a lesson or a rental they are located towards the right hand side when you face the beach with a bunch of extremely colourful surf boards which will be easy to spot. You can contact them on Facebook or Instagram @kudawella_surf_school and let them know in advance to avoid any disappointment due to other bookings. 

Food and Accommodation

Hiriketiya beach has a few relatively fancy restaurants, specially catering western dishes, so grabbing something to eat won’t be an issue. Also, there are a bunch of guest houses and small hotels in the area but booking one in advance will be a good idea, especially during the tourist season which runs from August to late January.

You can watch the related vlog by Tales of Gigi where almost everything mentioned about the surfing experience is in video.

Now that you know where to go, grab yourself a board and catch some waves.

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