Dickwella Surf – The BEST Place to Stay for Surfing in Hiriketiya
Dickwella surf isn’t really about Dickwella. Stay here on the lovely town beach and venture to Hiriketiya to surf.
An introduction to Dickwella surf
The Dickwella region was once a slowly rising star on the Sri Lankan surf scene. Now, it’s very much a known entity.
The fame isn’t really down to the urban beach in Dickwella itself, or any surf spots around the town.
There’s no doubt that it’s a lovely stretch of sand – golden, shaded by low stooping palms, dotted with very nice beach hotels. However, the surf there is unreliable at best and usually totally unsurfable. It’s really all light shore breaks that roll over shallow sand.
So why are so many board-holding travellers now making for Dickwella? One word my friends: Hiriketiya.
That hidden bay with its duo of interesting breaks is just around the corner from the town. It’s got the feel of being a totally separate little surf village, but they’re really joined at the hip.
You can walk from the beach in Dickwella and be surfing in Hiri in less than 15 minutes – we know, because we did it loads of times back during our last visit in January 2022 and again when we returned in 2024.
Actually DIckwella is starting to embrace its role as a sort of suburb of Hiriketiya. It’s got fantastic cocktail bars like Smoke & Bitters and some great surf hostels and surf hotels. It offers a quieter, more chilled place to stay while surfing in Hiri.
Let’s take a closer look…
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This is a part of our greater guide to Sri Lanka surf
Dickwella surf at a glance
The good…
The bad…
What will I find in this guide to Dickwella surf?
Where is Dickwella?
Roughly midway between the towns of Tangalle and Matara, Dickwella is one of the secondary transport hubs of the Sri Lankan south coast.
A single main street that runs parallel to the coast is where most of the action is. That’s known as Tangalle Road or the A2, and it links up all those awesome surf spots that you get in the region.
How to get here will depend on where you’re coming in from.
We’ve come by bus from Ella, which takes about five hours and cannot be done with surfboards. Local Sri Lankan buses are super-cheap but usaully very crowded and a bit of a rough ride!
We’ve also come direct from the airport. For that, we went for a private transfer, which was pricier but by far the simplest option for getting boards to Dickwella/Hiriketiya straight off a long-haul flight.
Pre-book those if you can becuase then you’ll have a driver waiting for you right outside the airport in Colombo. We’ve done it 3-4 times now and it’s worked a charm. Just be sure to let them know you’re bringing boards in advance.
You can book a transfer from the airport right here – expect to pay around $80-90 total, but then it is nearly a 3-hour drive.
Where to surf in Dickwella?
Get a feel for the top Dickwella surf spots of all. This guide runs through the urban beach in the city itself, and a few of the local breaks within easy reach by tuk-tuk.
Tangalle
We mention Tangalle here because it’s the name for a whole string of beaches to the west of Dickwella.
The drive down will take roughly 25 mins in a tuk-tuk but you’ll get to explore some of the south’s most gorgeous bays.
There are a few to get through, some of which do have some undiscovered surf breaks that are usually nowhere near as busy as the ones in Hiriketiya.
They include:
- Goyambokka – Pretty beach with lux hotels. No surf of its own but still worth considering for chill time.
- Unakuruwa – There’s a half-decent right point here that’s only just starting to get noticed. One or two hotels in the bay. Very chill. Not so crowded. A decent option for 2025.
- Mawella – Hardly any waves but a good chill vibe and almost equal distance to surf in Unakuruwa and Hiriketiya. A good base for couples looking for nice coast hotels in the middle of nowhere.
Read our full guide to Tangalle surf right now
Dickwella Beach
You’re not likely to find too many surfers on Dickwella Beach itself. That’s not to say this stunning run of golden sand can’t be surfed. It kinda’ can but it’s just not great.
Basically, you’ve got a wide, open bay that stays very shallow for a long way into the ocean. The result is lots of peaks, but none that really have any punch.
It’s a decent place to get a local surf instructor to show you the ropes on a foamy. In fact, there are a few start-up surf schools doing their thing on Dickwella Beach these days.
Just don’t expect long or challenging rides. Instead, there’s lots of whitewash and less-than-shoulder-high waves to get started on. A beginner ride.
99% of people who stay here will walk around to Hirikeitya to surf.
Hiriketiya
Hiriketiya is a stunner of a surf destination. It’s actually the main reason that Dickwella is on the map these days.
The spot is located around five minutes by tuk-tuk from the bus station in Dickwella (pay around 400 LKR, no more).
Alternatively, you can walk there from Dickwella Beach in about 15 minutes, through lovely tracks lined with cafés and coconut trees and palms climbed over by macaques.
The reward? Two breaks that suit two very different levels.
A sand-bottomed beach break with some nice peaks and crystal-clear water is on the western end of the bay. A hardcore reef with some pretty quick left-hander walls comes into the eastern side of the bay.
The downside is that Hiri is now busy AF. Get in the water early or expect flying boards and bodies.
To be honest, this is where you will be surfing day to day when you stay in Dickwella.
Read our full guide to Hirketiya Bay for more info
Talalla Bay
Talalla Bay surf is another of the south coast’s handsome bays.
It runs for nearly 2,000 meters around an inlet to the west of the town of Dickwella. It’s just a short ride of 10-20 minutes in a tuk-tuk to get here.
The waves are generally lighter than in Hiriketiya, with some super-chilled breaks for beginners (hence the regular lessons), though to be honest no one really surfs here.
Talalla is for chilling in nice coast hotels and enjoying the gorgeous beach. You take a tuk-tuk out whenever it’s time to surf. Not a bad option if you want to bed down somewhere super pretty and quiet though.
A hotel we love: Garden Villa Talalla has flower-blooming gardens and a stunning pool just back from the sea.
Read our full surf-travel guide to lovely Talalla Beach right here
Where to stay in Dickwella?
The backstreets between Dickwella and Hiriketiya host some fantastic surf camps and eco lodges.
They’re never more than 10 minute’s walking to the breaks in Hirikeitya but have the upside of being a bit quiter and chill than Hiriketiya town itself.
You can also find some very nice hotels strung out along Dickwella beach. We won’t list them here because we’re assuming you’ve come to surf and staying in those will add 10 mins to the walk to Hiriketiya’s breaks.
That said, you can stay in a more distant hotel, but you’ll just have to get tuk-tuks into Hiri for surfing, which is never hard in Sri Lanka.
- The Saffron House – Absaloutely on point with the aesthetics, The Saffron House is a gorgeous home with double rooms overlooking the ocean on the headland between Dickwella and Hiriketiya. Five mins’ walk to the surf, a gorgeous pool, beautiful design.
- Kaas Villas – These are one of the newest additions to Dickwella going into 2025 and boy are they stunning. A whole villa to yourself with a private pool and dining-kitchen space. Yes pleeeeeasse.
- Eton Villa – In the quiet backstreets behind Hirikeitya and Dickwella, Eton Villa is an oasis of calm and chill. Laze by the pool and listen to the birds and the tuktuks purring by. Great for families and couples who want to relax.
If you want more inspiration when it comes to stays for surfing, check out our complete guide to the top surf hotels in Sri Lanka, which we update every season.
When to surf in Dickwella and Hiriketiya?
Like most of the other spots in Sri Lanka, Dickwella’s surf season follows the monsoon pattern. Come between November and March to get the best conditions.
Dry season (November-March)
Lovely stuff. The rains drop away. The sea gets calmer. In all, the Sri Lanka south coast is perfect for surfers at this time of the year.
Thanks to the more tranquil ocean, you’ll find sets rolling in way more uniform, so periods of about 10-16 seconds are normal.
Unfortunately, the sandbanks on Dickwella Beach mean that this bay rarely benefits from that, because the waves are almost always chopped up. Head to Hiri if you really want to make the most of it.
Monsoon season (April-October)
The wettest and roughest part of the calendar for this south-western corner of Sri Lanka comes with the monsoon.
Most surfers will hop over to Arugam Bay, but a few do stick around. You’ll almost certainly never catch them on the waves of Dickwella, though.
There’s basically no shape to the water when there are storms out at sea. Much better – but still rough in the monsoon months – are the reefs and points in Hiriketiya and nearby Tangalle.
Wear: Rash vest/swimwear. Nothing else needed. Maybe some solid surf booties for the reefs if you plan on heading around the area to Midigama and Mirissa..
One thing we wouldn’t skip on is sunscreen.
I use Suntribe’s blocks because they’ve made a real effort to strip out any unneccessary chemicals.
Plus, they offer Surf Atlas readers 10% off orders with code Surfatlas10.
Where to eat & drink in Dickwella?
There are now two sides to Dickwella: The main town and the kinda touristy area around the beach.
The first is a great place to sample real Sri Lankan cooking. The latter is better for those fancy sourdough breakfasts and flat whites and things.
Here’s where we love to eat…
Jayantha Restaurant – Do not miss this place. It might not look like much from the outside, but it’s got a glorious selection of Sri Lankan staples. Spicy dal soups, fragrant race packed with jasmine and clove, okra curries, and samosas – it’s the perfect buffet for a long post-surf sesh. What’s more, prices are super-duper low. Just a few LKR and you’ll be full until evening.
- Smoke & Bitters – Smoke & Bitters has been ranked among the top 100 cocktail bars in Asia! We can vouch that it is EPIC. The food is very meaty, so not brill for us veggies but we go back for a house cocktail every time we are in Dickwella and you should too.
- Jayantha Restaurant (or CS Restaurant) – Do not miss this place. It might not look like much from the outside, but it’s got a glorious selection of Sri Lankan staples. Spicy dal soups, fragrant race packed with jasmine and clove, okra curries, and samosas – it’s the perfect buffet for a long post-surf sesh. Update: We’re not 100% sure Jayantha is still going. It looked like it was being refurbed in 2024 and we didn’t get to vist :(. Still, check it out as you pass through town.
- Verse Collective – Makes its home right on the edge of Dickwella Beach. Its big, airy garden faces straight out across the waves. You’ll be able to score smashed avo and gaze out the waves to see if there’s anything on. It’s a stylish venue with polished concrete and even a co-working space just inside. Great coffee, healthy brunches, and some enticing juice drinks made with coconut milk are the order of the menu.
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!
