Lucky's Surf Camp

The camp

Lucky was Sri Lanka's national surf champion, and he keeps his camp small on purpose: eleven double rooms, three four-bed dorms, three buildings in a quieter corner of Weligama, thirty metres from the water. A few steps across the sand and you are on the beach break.

Mornings belong to the lesson, one a day, no more than five students to an instructor. Half the students have never stood on a board, and the bay suits them: sand underneath, a left that starts well out, standing depth far from the beach, and a wave that works at every tide. If one session is not enough, afternoon lessons can be added when you book. Experienced surfers are not who this is for, and the camp does not pretend otherwise.

The rest of the day happens on the roof. The After Surf café serves breakfast there looking over the bay, yoga happens there at sunset, and in the evening the cocktails and the seafood carry on long after dark. Five shared dinners a week; on Wednesday and Saturday you eat in town, and the camp lends bikes to get there.

You arrive on whatever day suits you, and the price grid starts at three nights. Private rooms come with king beds only. For a couple learning together who want their afternoons free, this is the one.