A quiet beach near Hiriketiya for a slow day

If Hiriketiya feels too busy, the quiet beach nearby is Turtle Beach in Dikwella, less than five minutes away by road. It is a calm bay sheltered by a reef, and at Ohana quiet means soft music, no party, space and shade.

Why look for somewhere quieter than Hiriketiya?

Hiriketiya is a small horseshoe bay that surfers made known, and it is loved for good reasons. It is also small. From December to March the middle of the water fills with boards by mid-morning, the cafes are close together, and in the evening there is music.

Many people want that. Some do not, or not every day. If you have come to read, to rest your back, to talk to the person you travel with, or to let children play without watching for boards, you want the other kind of beach. It is close.

What does quiet mean at Ohana, honestly?

It does not mean silence. Here is what you will and will not find.

What there is:

• A calm round bay. The reef is on the horizon and the bay behind it is sheltered. This is not a surf beach.
• Space. Ohana has its own private stretch of beach inside its grounds, in front of the public bay. We are away from tuk-tuks, noise and crowds.
• Shade. Under the palms, in the cabanas and in the lounge.
• Soft music, not a sound system.
• No alcohol. We serve none, so there is no party in the afternoon and no loud table at night.

What there also is:

• Families. They are the heart of Ohana. Children use the two swings and the sand, and you will hear them.
• Five beach dogs, who live here.
• A kitchen that cooks to order, and the sea, which is never fully quiet.
• Classes and circles in the shala, and some evenings a bonfire on the sand. They are gentle things, but they are people.

The quietest hours are the mornings and dinner time. Then there is no noise at all, only the sea and the animals.

What does a slow day look like?

Nothing here has to be done. This is only one way.

• Morning. Come after 08:00. Breakfast is served until 11:00: Tomato, Labneh, Soft Eggs, 2,950 LKR, or a Papaya Curd Bowl, 2,300 LKR, with a pot of Ceylon Tea, 700 LKR. Then choose a sunbed or a hammock and open the book.
• Late morning. A swim while the sun is still kind. Walk in where the sand is clear, because sea urchins live in the rocks. Wild sea turtles often feed on the reef, and we lend masks free.
• A long lunch. The Grilled Catch of the Day, 7,900 LKR, is a whole snapper cooked on the bone, and it is made for sharing slowly. The Ceviche Limeño, 5,700 LKR, is lighter. Food is not spicy unless the dish says so.
• Afternoon. The second half of the book. A Ceylon Cinnamon Iced Tea, 1,200 LKR. A sleep, if it comes.
• An early dinner. The sun sets at about six all year, and the kitchen serves until 21:00. Eat at half past five with the light, and you are home before you are tired.

Filtered water is on the house all day.

Who is it for?

Older couples. Most of what makes a day comfortable is here: shade, a table, a short menu of fresh things and nobody hurrying you. The entrance is wheelchair accessible, our car park is right in front of it, and the tables are a few steps away, on a gravel floor with a hard path, so there is no soft sand to cross. We have chairs with arms and a firm back.

Readers. A hammock, a sunbed, and Wi-Fi if you need it. Nobody will ask what you are working on.

Families. Calm water, swings, a menu for the little ones, served all day, and a private beach garden. More is on our families page.

People who liked Hiriketiya and need a day off from it. It is less than five minutes back.

How do you come from a hotel nearby?

• From Hiriketiya: less than five minutes by road, or 10 to 20 minutes on foot.
• From Dikwella town: a short tuk-tuk ride. The town is about 2 km from Hiriketiya.
• From Tangalle: 18 to 25 minutes along the coast road.
• From Matara: Dikwella is about 22 km to the east, and we are 18 to 25 minutes away by road.

The simple way is to ask your hotel's reception to call a tuk-tuk and to agree on the fare before you get in. Ask the driver to come back for you at an hour you choose. If you stay at a hotel nearby, we can also send a tuk-tuk for you, for 300 to 1,500 LKR depending on the distance: write to us on WhatsApp, +94 76 016 4768. A car or a scooter stays in our own car park, free, in front of the entrance.

The pin and the road are on Find us. The garden, the sunbeds and the cabana are on our beach club page.

Good to know

• Ohana is at Turtle Beach, Dikwella, less than five minutes by road from Hiriketiya.
• 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.
• Breakfast is served from 08:00 to 11:00, lunch and dinner from 11:00 to 21:00.
• No alcohol is served. Filtered water is on the house.
• Prices are in LKR, plus a 10% service charge.