November is the island turning back. The north-east monsoon establishes itself through the month, so the offshore returns to the south and west coasts and the run of breaks from Hikkaduwa to Mirissa starts working again after five months off.
It builds rather than arrives: the first two weeks can still look like October and the last two like January. That makes November the quiet end of a season that gets busy fast, with camps reopening, prices still low and Weligama bay far emptier than it will be at Christmas. The water is at 29°C and the east coast is done until May.
