A day trip to Dikwella from Mirissa, Weligama, Tangalle

Dikwella is an easy day trip: about 35 to 50 minutes by car from Mirissa, 45 minutes to an hour from Weligama, and 18 to 25 minutes from Tangalle. Leave after an early coffee, see one thing on the way, and be on a sunbed at Turtle Beach by late morning.

Why come for the day?

Because the mood changes. Mirissa and Weligama are lively: surf schools, whale boats, music on the beach at night. Dikwella is the slower stretch of the same coast. A day here gives you a calm bay behind a reef, shade under palms and a long lunch, and returns you to your own bed in the evening.

Families come to let the children play in gentle water. Couples come to read. Some people bring a laptop and call it work.

How do you get here and back?

• By car with a driver. The simple way. Ask your hotel for a driver for the day, and agree the price, the waiting time and the hour of return before you leave. From Mirissa and Weligama the road runs through Matara, so allow a little more at busy hours. We have our own car park in front of the entrance, and it is free.
• By tuk-tuk. Fine from Tangalle. From Mirissa or Weligama it is a long, slow ride. Agree the fare, with the return, before you get in.
• By bus. The cheap way. From Mirissa or Weligama, take a bus east to Matara, then one going on towards Tangalle, and ask the conductor for Dikwella. From Tangalle, take any bus towards Matara.
• By train. From Weligama, some trains go east to Wewurukannala, the small station about ten minutes from Dikwella. It works only when the timetable agrees with your day.

For the way home, do not count on a late bus. Arrange the return in the morning.

What can you see on the way?

Choose one. A day trip with three stops is a tour.

From Mirissa and Weligama:

• Matara fort. The road passes through Matara, and its old fort sits on a tongue of land between the river and the sea. The Dutch built the ramparts in the 1640s. Inside there is a restored gate, a clock tower from 1883 and a Dutch church with old gravestones. Half an hour on foot is enough.
• Dondra Head lighthouse. About 6 km south-east of Matara, on the southernmost point of Sri Lanka. The lighthouse is 49 metres tall and has stood since 1890.
• Wewurukannala temple. About 1.5 km inland from Dikwella, with a seated Buddha about 50 metres tall and rooms of bright paintings. Cover shoulders and legs, and take off shoes and hats. Allow about an hour.

From Tangalle:

• The Hummanaya blowhole, at Kudawella, lies between Tangalle and Dikwella. The sea shoots up through a crack in the rock, on a strong day 25 to 30 metres. It is strongest in the rough months, roughly May to September. There is a small entrance fee and a climb of steps.
• Hiriketiya, the small surf bay, is on your way just before Dikwella. Stop for half an hour to watch the surfers.

What does the day at Turtle Beach look like?

We are Ohana, a beach club and restaurant at Turtle Beach, on the west side of Dikwella. Here is a day that works.

• 10:00, arrive. If you left early, breakfast is still served, until 11:00. An Avo Toast, 2,900 LKR, on our own sourdough, and a Flat White, 1,100 LKR.
• 10:45, settle. A sunbed, a hammock or a cabana under the palms. A sunbed is free for the whole day, one for each person, when each person spends 10,000 LKR on food and drinks; otherwise it costs 1,000 LKR an hour, towel included.
• 11:15, the reef. Ask us for a snorkel mask. We lend them free. Wild sea turtles often feed on the reef. Float, keep your distance, and never touch, chase or feed one. Walk in where the sand is clear, because sea urchins live in the rocks.
• 13:00, a long lunch. The Grilled Catch of the Day, 7,900 LKR, is a whole snapper cooked on the bone, 25 to 40 minutes on the grill, so order it when you sit down. The Seafood Trio, 9,900 LKR, puts three things from the sea on one plate. Food is not spicy unless the dish says so.
• 14:30, the shade. A book, a sleep. Filtered water is on the house.
• 16:00, something cold. A Karapincha Mojito, 2,200 LKR, our mocktail with curry leaf in the place of mint. We serve no alcohol.
• 17:30, the light. The sun sets at about six. Eat early by the water, or set off for home with the sky still pink.

If you would like it arranged before you arrive, look at the passes page. Snorkel & Lunch holds a mask, the rules of the turtles, a sunbed after your swim, the Grilled Catch of the Day and a fresh juice. The Ohana Day holds the whole day, from breakfast to dinner, with your sunbed.

When should you start for home?

That depends on how you feel about the road in the dark. The coast road is busy, and the official British travel advice notes that accidents in Sri Lanka are frequent, especially at night. Two honest choices:

• Leave at about half past five, and be back in Mirissa or Weligama soon after dark.
• Stay for dinner, which we serve until 21:00, with a driver you trust waiting. On Sundays the Bonfire Circle begins at 6 PM on the sand, and it is free.

Is one day enough?

For Turtle Beach, yes. For Dikwella, not quite. If the day goes well, come back for longer: we planned it in three days in Dikwella. The routes from further away, from Colombo, Galle and Ella, are in how to get to Dikwella, and everything else is in our Dikwella and Hiriketiya travel guide.

Good to know

• Ohana is at Turtle Beach, Dikwella, less than five minutes by road from Hiriketiya.
• We are open every day. Breakfast is served from 08:00 to 11:00, lunch and dinner from 11:00 to 21:00.
• Sunbeds are free for the whole day, one for each person, when each person spends 10,000 LKR on food and drinks; otherwise they cost 1,000 LKR an hour each. A towel comes with every sunbed.
• Snorkel masks are lent free. No alcohol is served.
• Prices are in LKR, plus a 10% service charge.