Kuma Surf Camp

The camp

Kuma belongs to Kumara, an ISA-certified instructor, and sits on Weligama's surf beach by the bypass road. There is a second Kuma at Arugam Bay, on the coast that works in summer.

The package that sets it apart is called soft board to hard board: ten lessons over six nights, two a day, to get you off foam and onto a hard board, then off sand and onto reef. You can see the route from the beach. First the inside of the bay, where you stand a long way out and the left starts without any violence; then the reefs, picked for your level. If you have never surfed, the beginner package keeps the same ten lessons on Weligama's sand, board included, and it is the lowest price on the grid, 245 USD for six nights in the dorm.

The surf packages also slip in something you would not expect in a surf price: a three-hour river safari. Add a barbecue, photos and video of your sessions, and rides to other beaches. You sleep in an air-conditioned dorm or an air-conditioned private room in a newer building.

Beyond that, little is written down. Breakfast every morning, three dinners across six nights, and nothing about what goes on in the evenings, so the other dinners happen in town. For getting from foam to fibreglass in a week, with the instructor's own name over the door, Kuma does the job. For a lively group, other houses on the bay give you more.