Surfing in Sri Lanka in June

Conditions in June

Water temp. : 28 °C
Wetsuit : Shorty or 2 mm

June is the east coast getting into its stride. The south-west monsoon is established, the offshore is reliable, and the swell that has been building since May now arrives with enough size to run the length of the main point at Arugam Bay.

The rest of the island is on the other schedule. The south coast is wet and onshore and the camps around Weligama are closed or half empty, which is worth knowing if you land in Colombo expecting to drive south. Everything is a four to five hour drive east instead. The water is at 28°C and the crowds are still smaller than they will be in a month.

Learning in June

Possible but narrowing. Baby Point and Pottuvil are the manageable options; the main point is a right-hander with an audience.

Where a beginner goes in June

These spots are reachable all year. What the month changes is the size of the waves, not the access.

For an experienced surfer

Surf : Very good

The season filling in, before July doubles the number of people on it. A good compromise.

How June compares

All twelve months, side by side

Where these figures come from

Air, rain and sunshine: WMO / NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Agadir Al Massira, a station some twenty kilometres inland and so a little warmer than the coast in summer. Swell, period and share of workable wind: Swell Archive and surf-forecast. Water temperature: seatemperature.org and weather-and-climate. Crowds and prices are an editorial judgement, not a measurement.