The 5 Best Matara Beaches for Surfing & Just Chilling

I have a bit of a soft spot for Matara city – it’s a burst of real energy and fun on the south coast, but also never too far from super-chill beaches and surf spots.

I tend to go in to buy fruit (from the market), get lunch (from one of the fantastic local curry kitchens), and restock on tea (at Mid mountain tea & spices – my favorite tea shop on the island!)

Anyway, once I’ve done any of those things, I often will head to a beach after for a swim/surf/sunbathe.

The below spots are the ones I love the most around town. All are little more than 10-20 mins in a tuk-tuk. Some have surf. Others are just for chilling.

Polhena Beach

You know when we said this guide was about Matara beaches that are for surfing and chilling. Well…Polhena is very much on the chilling side. It’s really good for that, though, and I’d argue one of the prettiest beaches in the whole region of Matara town.

It’s actually little more than just a 100-meter bump of sand that skirts behind a coral reef about 10-15 minutes’ tuk tuk from the town center. It’s got a couple of beach trees and some sea grape vines clambering out over the sand, and dips steeply into a little lagoon filled with coral pieces.

Most people come here for one thing: To see the turtles. They are known to hover around the reef area and are most common in the early morning.

I personally like to drop in after lunchtime to sit under the coconut palms and read. There are also a few good beer shacks poking over the coast a little to the west of Polhena where you can watch the stick fishermen as the sun sets.

>>Read our full guide to Polhena beach right now

Lakshawaththa Beach (SK Town)

Lakshawaththa Beach is best known as SK Town, and it’s almost certainly the best beach break in the Matara area. In fact, it would be one of the best beach breaks in the south were it not for Kabalana.

It’s essentially a kilometer of very exposed sand that runs underneath the rocks of Dondra Head. You get to it by turning off the main Matara coast road about 10 minutes after leaving town heading eastwards. First, you’ll pass through the area of SK Town, which is emerging as a bit of a cool surf enclave now – it’s got some lovely hotels (especially The Seascape!)

The surf here is good in the morning and in the evening. The wind kills it throughout the main part of the day – seriously even a light breeze messes things up. When there’s no wind on it, you can get some nice shapes, though SK is usually seen as a bit of an improver-intermediate wave, and a good step up from Weligama.

It’s nice enough for relaxing on, but definitely not the best in the Matara area. I would say that Lakshawaththa gathers a bit more rubbish than most spots, and it lacks that Sri Lankan white sand and pure reef-ringed water.

>>Read our full surf guide to SK Town

Wawwa Beach (Hidden Beach)

I don’t really like it when people name a whole beach Hidden Beach or whatever. It’s like – it can’t be hidden; you’re talking about it; people live there. It kinda’ makes sense with this one, though, because what’s important is that the tiny cove sits away from the main coast road, which is rare for many of the beaches in Matara.

If you jump in a tuk-tuk in the town and tell them you want to go to Wawwa, they should know where you’re aiming for. That’s the name of the village just behind the beach, and it’s really cool actually – a proper slice of old-school Lanka without the big surf resorts and beach bars.

The beach itself is really small. There’s not all that much space to spread out and sunbathe, but you can grab a coconut and watch the fishing boats.

The other main reason to come here: The Nook. It’s a resort with real style and real charm. It’s luxury as hell, has only a few rooms, and serves stunning food. It sits literally steps back from Wawwa Beach.

Talalla Beach

Talalla Beach isn’t a surf beach but it’s a gorgeous run of sand with a phalanx of high palms lining its back. Like Wawwa, it’s east of Matara, but a growing array of hotels here – including the utterly lovely and super-highly rated Talalla Bay Beach House – means that most tuk-tuk drivers will take you there without too much confusion.

My two cents: Get in early. You can grab a breakfast at one of the hotels/local bars that line the sand (MUTTS is my fav because all their profits help the local street doggos), and watch the fishermen doing their thing.

There is shed loads of space here, with like a mile between each end of the bay. The east end is less built up but the west end now has a few cocktail spots and more hotel options if you wanted to hang around a few days.

>>Read our complete guide to Talalla Beach right now

Madiha

Last but most certainly not least there is little Madiha. For more advanced surfers looking for those niche reef breaks away from the big crowds of the Mirissa right, this is a must-do. You basically navigate the narrow lanes through the houses just southwest of Matara and bingo: There’s a nice left-hander off shallow reef that offers some rare steep, semi-hollow sections.

Madiha also has a little beach. It’s best by big clunks of rock reef on all sides but there is some space to sit. Surfers use it as a paddle out spot for the aforementioned left, so just follow them if in doubt as to location.

The other great thing about Madiha: The accommodation. This area has emerged as a bit of an overflow spot for the booming scenes of Mirissa and Weligama, but it’s also taken on an air of luxury. Most of the stays are very nice, small-scale boutique hotels that are downright lovely, just like the small-scale Surf Lodge Madiha.

>>We have a full guide to visiting Madiha