Surfing in Sri Lanka in June

The south-west monsoon is established by June, the offshore on the east coast is reliable, and the swell that has been building since May has enough size to run the full length of the Main Point at Arugam Bay. That is the wave that made the name. It breaks over reef, and it is the only one of the four points with a crowd on it.

The other three are the reason to stay rather than visit. Whiskey Point is north of the bay, Peanut Farm and Elephant Rock further along the coast, and Elephant Rock is a right-hand point gentle enough for a beginner on the days it has enough swell. Almost nobody rides past the first point they reach, and that is the whole opportunity: twelve kilometres of coast, four waves, and one of them absorbing everybody. A scooter or a tuk-tuk turns a week here into four options instead of one.

The rest of the island is on the other schedule, and it catches people out every year. The south coast is wet and onshore, Weligama has almost no clean day in a typical week, and the camps around it are closed or half empty. Anyone landing in Colombo planning to drive south has booked the wrong month. Arugam Bay is six to eight hours from the airport across the interior, so treat the arrival as a travel day.

What June buys is the last quiet month of the east coast season. The town is running, the bars are open, somebody arriving alone is not alone by the first evening, and crowds and prices are still a step below July and August, when the main street fills with surfers from everywhere. The sea is 28°C and a rash vest is the whole kit. If you already surf, June is the month to have the points with room on them; if you are learning, read the beginner note first, because the gentle breaks rarely get enough swell yet.

If you already surf, June at Arugam Bay is the east coast season finding its feet, and the last month you get the points with room on them. The south-west monsoon has settled, so the offshore holds on almost every morning, and the swell that has been building since May now runs the full length of the Main Point. Pottuvil Point, the long right north of the bay, gives five days out of seven in May and again in July, and June sits between the two.

The Main Point made the name, breaks over reef, and has the crowd to match. The other three are why you stay rather than visit. Whiskey Point is north of the bay, Peanut Farm and Elephant Rock further along the coast, and almost nobody rides past the first point they reach. That habit of other people is worth more to your week than any forecast: twelve kilometres of coast, four waves, and one of them absorbing everybody who came.

So rent a scooter on the first morning. On the south coast the reefs are a walk apart; here they are a ride, and the week you get depends on being willing to look at two points before committing to one. Watch the swell height rather than the wind: on this coast the wind almost never spoils a day, and what you lose, you lose to a sea that is too small.

The rest of the island is on the other calendar, which catches people out every year. The camps around Weligama and Midigama are closed or half empty, and everything worth flying for is six to eight hours from the airport, across the interior. Treat the arrival as a travel day and land in the morning. June is the compromise month, a working season with room in it, with crowds and prices still a step below July and August, when the town fills and the main street becomes a row of bars full of surfers from everywhere.