April is the handover month. The north-east monsoon that has groomed the south coast since November is letting go, so the offshore mornings grow patchy, and the south-west monsoon that will run the east coast has not arrived. In a week, count on two days out of seven at Plantations in Midigama and two in Weligama bay. What takes the rest is wind: at Plantations two days in three are blown out, while the swell itself has not gone anywhere.
That shapes the week. The good hours come at dawn, before the breeze fills in, and they come more often in the first fortnight than the second. By the last week you check the wind before getting up rather than assuming it. The reefs at Midigama hold their shape a little longer than the open beach, so if you already surf, stay near them.
The sea reaches 30°C, its highest of the year, and the air is just as hot. A rash vest is the whole kit and the sun is the real limit on a session. The winter crowds have thinned and prices have come down from their peak, so April costs less than March for a coast that still works in the mornings.
Book the south coast and book the first half of the month. If a morning is blown out, Hiriketiya is the fallback at the eastern end of the coast: two headlands wrap the swell into its cove, so it keeps a rideable wave when the open beaches go to pieces. Arugam Bay is the wrong answer in April. Pottuvil Point, north of the bay, gives about two days in seven this month and its season is still weeks away, while the drive from the airport takes six to eight hours across the interior. The east is a trip for May onwards.
