Surf season in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is located in the middle of the Indian Ocean at the southeast tip of India and attracts year-round with 28°Celsius water temperature, tropical climate, paradisiacal nature and year-round wave guarantee. Which European season is best for surfing in Sri Lanka? This is not easy to answer with a rigid seasonal statement. Why? We will explain it to you in this blog.

Sri Lanka has two main zones where there are numerous surf spots and constantly good conditions for surfing. The southwest coast, where it is possible to surf all year round and the east coast around Arugam Bay, where there are constant good surfing conditions mainly from May to September. This is mainly influenced by the different sized waves that roll towards the island from the south. These are smaller in the time from October to April and bigger from May to September. In addition, despite its small area of just 65,610 km², Sri Lanka lies exactly in two different monsoon regions. The monsoon border runs practically once across the island. The monsoon brings not only precipitation, but also wind. This influences the waves and thus also the surf conditions on site.

The waves we surf in Sri Lanka are not generated by the local wind, as often mistakenly assumed, but by storms raging far away somewhere in the Indian or Antarctic Ocean. A rough rule of thumb here is: The farther away from the coast, the better the waves! Just imagine a stone that you throw into a lake. Where the stone hits the surface of the water is where the storm is, whose winds create the waves. The further the resulting waves subsequently travel through the ocean, the more orderly and perfect the circular lines form until, after a long journey, they finally hit the shore. The waves we surf in Sri Lanka always roll towards the island from the south.

Since in the European summer there is winter in the southern hemisphere of our planet, the storms that occur at this time in the Indian and Antarctic Oceans are much stronger and the waves that arrive in Sri Lanka from there are correspondingly larger and more powerful. Important information to know: When waves hit the shore head-on, they arrive there in their full size. The more the shore is turned away from the approaching waves, the smaller are the waves that break there. We are familiar with the concept of waves from other areas, for example when we talk about sound waves. The concept becomes a little clearer if you imagine that you are having a conversation in the same room. If your conversation partner is standing directly across from you, you can hear each other loud and clear. If you go around a corner into the next room, you can still hear each other, but not quite as loudly.

Since the south coast of Sri Lanka is directly facing the waves, every little wave arrives directly here and we have surfable waves 365 days a year (Yay!). The eastern part of the island around Arugam Bay is a bit away from the frontal waves. Only the bigger and more powerful waves arrive here during the European summer, which is the stormy winter in the southern hemisphere. The wave quality in this period is very good for surfers who already have an advanced level of surfing and are able to make their way to the surf spots, as they are very crowded during this time. In the European winter, the smaller waves do not penetrate to the east of the island. That’s why only the months from June to August are called high season for the east coast. In the other months, unfortunately, there is rather a wave break.

We surfers on the south coast have it a bit better, because here, as I said, surfable waves arrive at the beaches and reefs 365 days a year.  In the European summer, however, the higher wave size also causes changes on the south coast. Therefore, we often choose other surf spots than in winter, which are mostly located in sheltered bays, because the resulting waves are sometimes just too big. But there are also surfspots, which run only from a certain wave size. On the other hand, there are other spots, especially reefs, which run consistently in the European winter months, but do not work in the summer due to the increased wave size. However, surfing can always be done somewhere and there is always the right wave for the different skill levels!

Our drivethru surf camps are located exactly between the two monsoon regions at the southernmost tip of the island. What advantages does this bring? The northeast monsoon, which prevails over the European winter, provides heavy rainfall in the northeastern part of the island and brings northeasterly winds, which – until they arrive down here on the south coast – are only a „lukewarm breeze“. Thus, we rarely have wind here and can surf perfect and clean waves most hours of the day. The southwest monsoon that prevails over the European summer provides constant west wind on the south coast. This means that some of the spots – as already mentioned – cannot be surfed here. The waves are simply too big for these spots and the sideways wind „blows“ the waves.  Other spots, on the other hand, which don’t work at all during the winter months, run all day at this time of year. Want to learn more about the island’s surf spots?

Our recommendations:

Sri Lanka – The best surf spots on the south coast.

So if you want to surf all the reefs along the south coast, you should definitely come here in the European winter. If, on the other hand, you are looking for relaxed waves to practice on, whether you are a beginner, already have your first surfing experience or are an advanced surfer – you will find good conditions in the south all year round. Advantage in summer: There are much less people on the island, both in the line-up and on land. Whereby the number of tourists has also increased here in recent years. More and more hotels and restaurants are now open all year round. After our first Sri Lanka season, we ourselves had actually planned to close our surf camp during the European summer months. But when summer came, just nobody from the team really wanted to leave the south. We are on the spot for you all year round and will always find the right wave and the right surf spot for you – no matter if it’s summer or winter! Want to surf with us in Sri Lanka?