Bentota Surf – A Complete Guide
Bentota surf isn’t the best on Sri Lanka, but there are some okay beginner spots on the beaches here that you can hit on your way to the more famous south coast surf towns.
An introduction to Bentota surf
Bentota is the first place as you head south out of Colombo that offers proper R&R. Hotels but up to a blonde shoreline here, wide rivers bend into the sea through thickets of coconut trees, and the pace of life slows into a rhythm of morning swims, afternoon sunbathing, and evening sundowners.
Because it’s midway between Hikkaduwa – the first real surf town in the Sri Lankan south – and the big city of Colombo, Bentota is often seen as a stepping stone between metropolis and manicured beaches.
It’s true that it’s easy to get to. The drive is under 1.5 hours from Colombo or you can lake a languid coast train with pretty views in three hours.
Sadly, Bentota is probably better for lazing around and enjoying lux hotels than it is for surfing. There are spots here but they’re not a jot on what you’ll get in Hikka, the more immediate Galle region, and around Matara and Ahangama; spots that require an extra one or two hours’ travel.
Still, if you did want to bag yourself a surf session here then there are chances. Specifically, you can score an easy left point break at the south end of the Bentota Beach Park and loads of mushy beach peaks up and down the main beach.
The good news is that the hotels here are real quality and you can stay literally seconds off the beaches.
Let’s dig a little deeper…
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This guide is just one part of our complete guide to surfing in Sri Lanka
Bentota at a glance
The good…
The bad…
What’s in this guide to Bentota surf?
Where is Bentota?
Bentota is a small town on the southwest shoreline of Sri Lanka. It’s almost exactly midway between the historic – and gorgeous – city of Galle and the capital in Colombo, which is home to the main international airport for the island.
Bentota itself is split in half by the mouth of the Bentota River, which flows through the north side of the town.
The region’s main coast road cuts right through the heart of Bentota. That links Colombo to the surf towns of Hikkaduwa, Ahangama, Midigama, and Weligama further south, so it’s always busy.
If we’re just arriving in Sri Lanka, we’ll often get a pickup direct at the airport and drive straight to our hotel in Bentota (that’s like 1.5 hours). It’s a good choice because it means you can bring your board without any hassle, though you need to clear the large luggage with your driver beforehand. You can pre-book taxis on Intui to have someone waiting to collect you at the airport.
The alternative is the famous coastal railway, which goes direct from Colombo’s Maradana station to Bentota. We’d recommend pre-reserving seats for that as it can sell out and then you can be stuck standing for the full three hours. Use 12Go to purchase tickets and try to do it at least 30 days in advance.
Surfing in Bentota
iStock.com / smilingsunrayWe won’t lie – Bentota is THIN on the ground when it comes to surf spots.
It all has to do with the shape and angle of the coast here. The beaches and bays north of the rivermouth have flat sand shelfs or sit behind a line of reef that kills pretty much all S-SW swells.
The only spots that work are an exposed left hander near the main beach and the main beach itself.
Some people also talk about the rivermouth but we wouldn’t surf that for other reasons we’ll get to below…
Bentota Rivermouth
The Bentota Ganga enters the Indian Ocean on the north side of town. It’s a wide estuary with mangroves on both sides, a long sandy beach to its north and a rocky outcrop to its south. There can be a long, log-worthy left on the rock there that will peel kinda’ nicely.
We don’t surf this spot though. Rivermouths in Sri Lanka are notorious hangout spots for crocodiles. Plus the water gets super murky after literally any rain. It’s never a pleasant place to be paddling around if you ask us.
Bentota Left
The best spot in town is the super beginner friendly Bentota Left. It’s a point break over sand that works on the far south end of Bentota Beach Park.
You’ll see a little lip of rock arcing out like a bent finger. S-SW swells hook in there and give weak little left walls that run from the headland to the beach across 50m or so.
It’s not a wave to write home about by any stretch but it’s surfable, much more so on a high tide. Good for learners and groms. Terrible in the wet season.
Bentota Beach
Long Bentota Beach runs down past the area of Robolgoda, which is home to many of the town’s finest shoreline hotels. It’s about 2.4km long and has peaks of varying quality up its length that can change almost daily as the banks shift with the tides and the storms.
Again, this isn’t a great place to surf and it’s nowhere near Lanka’s best beach break (SK Town and Hiri claim that crown). It can be decent for practicing, though watch out for shifty currents – the rips can be a bastard around here. What’s nice is that there are hotels right along the shore, so you can go from bed to beach in a matter of seconds.
Where to stay in Bentota?
Right on the beach! Or like half a minutes’ walk away!
Seriously, one of the great pulls of Bentota is that you can score a hotel right on the shoreline. Many sit on the beach-facing side of the main road to offer fantastic views of the Indian Ocean and walking access to the waves mentioned above, or just the coconut-shaded sands for your sunbathing sessions.
There are quite a few about town, some rather dated. We have our favorites though…
- Taj Bentota Resort & Spa – One of the most famous hotels in Bentota. This luxury resort is the one to go for if you like largescale chain hotels with all the bells and whistles. Cracking location for getting on the waves and the beaches. Stunning pools. A bit of a White Lotus vibe.
- The Villa Bentota by KK Collection – Only the railway line separates this gorgeous villa hotel from the main Bentota Beach. It’s grand and glorious, built like an old colonial lodge, with grassy gardens and a big pool. The rooms are spacious and lux, service second to none, and the breakfast is one of the best around. It’s pricy but it’s lovely. The only downside is no sea view, though you are about 20 seconds’ walk from the beach.
If you’re not convinced on Bentota becuase it has a lack of surf spots, be sure to check out our guide to the best surf hotels in Sri Lanka. These are great accom options that sit near to some of the island’s best surf towns and spots.
When to surf in Bentota?
The best time to surf in and visit Bentota is during the dry season. That runs from November to March on this side of the island (it’s the opposite on the other side of the island, around Arugam Bay and Batticaloa).
The dry season brings the calmest seas but also the most reliable SW groundswells, which are perfect for firing up the reefs and points of south Sri Lanka.
The weather is characterized by hot days that regularly hit over 95 F but also plenty of dry weather. There’s usually some rain in the dry season, but it’s typically just short bursts that come in the later evening and afternoon.
Try to surf early or late; before or after the wind gets up.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
