Beach & Coastal
East Coast & Surf
Fifteen days via Trincomalee and Arugam Bay
The route most itineraries skip: Trincomalee and Pigeon Island, the surf at Arugam Bay, then over the hills and down the south coast to Galle.
East Coast
Trincomalee
One of the great natural harbours, and the finest water in the east.
- Region
- East Coast
- Best time
- May to September
- How long to stay
- 2 to 3 days
Trincomalee has a deepwater harbour that has been strategically coveted for two thousand years, a clifftop temple at Koneswaram, and beaches at Nilaveli and Uppuveli that stay flat and glassy through the southern monsoon.
Pigeon Island, a short boat ride offshore, holds the best accessible reef snorkelling in the country: blacktip reef sharks, turtles and living coral.
The east runs on the opposite season to the south. If you are travelling between May and September, this is where the beach part of your trip belongs.
What not to miss
- Pigeon Island snorkelling
- Koneswaram Temple
- Nilaveli and Uppuveli beaches
- Whale watching off the harbour
Journeys including this place
Tours that visit Trincomalee.
Adventure
Grand Island Circuit
Seventeen days: east coast, hill country and the whole south
The longest route we run: Trincomalee, Arugam Bay, the hills, Yala, and then five separate stops working west along the coast to Colombo.
Start here
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