At a glance
- Days here
- On the 15-day tour: Days 12–14
- On the 21-day tour: Days 6–7, Days 17–20
- Nights in
- On the 15-day tour: Unawatuna, Weligama or Mirissa, Colombo
- On the 21-day tour: Trincomalee, Unawatuna
- Pace
- On the 15-day tour: two travel days and one easy day.
- On the 21-day tour: two travel days and four easy days.
- Temperature
- 27–34° by day, 24–27° at night, through the year
- Best months
- Unawatuna: January (120 mm), February (70 mm), March (100 mm)
- Trincomalee: March (50 mm), June (20 mm), July (40 mm)
Highlights
The south coast
Unawatuna
On both tours
A sheltered bay inside an offshore reef. The 21-day tour stays here for four nights. On the 15-day tour it is one of the three beaches we choose from with you.
Mirissa and the whales
On both tours
Blue and sperm whales are regularly seen on the continental slope off Mirissa. The whale-watching boat trip is included on both tours when the whales are there.
Galle Fort
On both tours
A UNESCO-listed old town inside its ramparts on a headland, with a lighthouse and old streets. The 15-day tour walks it on day 14, on the way to Colombo; the 21-day tour gives it a day of its own, 15 minutes from Unawatuna.
Koggala
On the 15-day tour
Instead of the whales, the 15-day tour's beach day can be a boat trip on Koggala lake with a cinnamon visit. Stilt fishermen perch on poles in the surf at Koggala.
The east coast
Trincomalee and Nilaveli
On the 21-day tour
On the 21-day tour the road runs east from Habarana to Trincomalee, for two nights on this coast. At Nilaveli, fishing boats rest on white sand beside a turquoise sea.
Pigeon Island
On the 21-day tour
A boat takes you out to Pigeon Island to snorkel over the reef. The national park is two islands, and the larger one is fringed by coral.
In pictures
Unawatuna beach 
Watching dolphins from the boat 
Galle lighthouse on its bastion 
Stilt fishermen at sunset 
Galle Fort 
Nilaveli beach
Weather by month
| Month | Unawatuna | Trincomalee | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Night | Rain, mm | Day | Night | Rain, mm | |
| Jan | 29° | 24° | 120 mm | 27° | 24° | 140 mm |
| Feb | 30° | 25° | 70 mm | 28° | 25° | 70 mm |
| Mar | 30° | 25° | 100 mm | 30° | 26° | 50 mm |
| Apr | 30° | 26° | 160 mm | 32° | 27° | 60 mm |
| May | 29° | 26° | 340 mm | 33° | 27° | 90 mm |
| Jun | 29° | 26° | 220 mm | 34° | 27° | 20 mm |
| Jul | 28° | 26° | 180 mm | 34° | 27° | 40 mm |
| Aug | 28° | 25° | 190 mm | 33° | 26° | 50 mm |
| Sep | 28° | 25° | 230 mm | 33° | 26° | 50 mm |
| Oct | 28° | 25° | 270 mm | 31° | 25° | 200 mm |
| Nov | 28° | 25° | 290 mm | 28° | 25° | 390 mm |
| Dec | 29° | 24° | 170 mm | 28° | 25° | 240 mm |
Modelled from ERA5-Land climate reanalysis (about 9 km grid), not a single weather station.
- Plan for
- Galle Fort's ramparts at sunset. Whale-watching boats leave from Mirissa in season, roughly December to March. On the 21-day tour, a boat to Pigeon Island to snorkel over the reef.
- Heat
- Hot, but a sea breeze makes it easier than inland. Trincomalee runs hotter: up to 34° by day on average in its warmest month.
- Safety
- The sea changes with the monsoon. Unawatuna's offshore reef keeps its bay calm; at Weligama and Mirissa, your guide checks the conditions with you before you swim. If you're caught in a rip current, swim parallel to the shore until you're out of it, then swim back in. Watch for sea urchins near the rocks. On the east coast, Pigeon Island is a national park with some of Sri Lanka's best remaining coral reefs, and heavy tourism has already damaged them: look at the coral, never stand on it or touch it. The east coast's rainy months are not the south's; the weather table shows Unawatuna and Trincomalee side by side.
- Food
- Fresh fish and coconut curries. Galle has good cafés and restaurants too.
Which days go here
15 days · 14 nights
21 days · 20 nights
- Day 6 · Habarana → Trincomalee
- Day 7 · Trincomalee — Pigeon Island (boat trip)
- Day 17 · Kataragama → Unawatuna
- Days 18–19 · Unawatuna beach
- Day 20 · Galle Fort
Getting there, visa, health and money: see Before you go on the tour page.