Surfing in Sri Lanka in March

March is the last full month of the north-east monsoon on the south coast. The swell is the same one that ran all winter and the mornings are still offshore, but the wind starts to arrive earlier in the day. In a week, count on four days out of seven at Plantations in Midigama and three in Weligama bay. The days that go are blown out, not flat: a third of the month at Plantations, twice January's share.

The sea climbs to 29°C, and March into April is the hottest stretch of the year on land too. That changes how long you stay in. A session ends when your arms are done, not when you start shivering, so a long morning in the water is realistic as long as you are out of the sun by late morning.

Plan the day around the wind. Be in the water soon after sunrise, when it is cleanest, rest through the middle of the day, and treat the late session as a bonus rather than a certainty. From April the offshore becomes a dawn affair and the season starts to close.

It is still high season, so rooms cost what they cost in February and the camps fill. For the waves, base yourself at Ahangama or Midigama, a few minutes apart: The Rock off Kabalana beach is a both-ways reef peak that works at any tide, and Midigama has four reefs across two kilometres. For a first week, Weligama and its sand remain the place. If a morning is blown out on the open coast, Hiriketiya is the fallback, about an hour east of Weligama: its two headlands wrap the swell into the cove and keep a wave when the beaches close out, and the village is lanes, flip-flops and early nights. Take the first half of March if you can: the wind gains ground as the month goes on.

If you already surf, March on the south coast is the last full month of the season and still one of its best. Plantations in Midigama comes up clean four days out of seven, one fewer than in January, and what it loses goes to wind rather than to swell: a third of the month is blown out, against about one day in seven in January. The mornings hold, which is what matters, so the whole week is organised around the dawn session.

Base yourself at Ahangama or Midigama, a few minutes apart on the coast road. The Rock, off Kabalana beach at Ahangama, is a reef peak breaking both ways at any tide, with urchins on the bottom. Midigama has four reefs across two kilometres on the same swell and the same offshore: Lazy Left peels, Plantations goes both ways, Rams Right is short, hollow and shallow and strictly for experts, and Coconuts closes the run at the eastern end. With that many options inside a short walk or ride, a blown-out peak costs you ten minutes, not a morning.

The heat is the other change and it works in your favour. March into April is the hottest stretch of the year and the sea follows it to 29°C, so a long morning in the water ends when you are tired, not cold. The practical limit is the sun, so be out by late morning and back for the evening if the wind drops.

It is still high season on the south coast and rooms are priced like it. Take the first half of March if you can: the offshore loses ground through the month, and from April it becomes a dawn-only affair. Ahangama is also where the evenings are, with rooftops and cocktail bars facing the sunset, while Midigama is dark by nine.