I spent a lot of time researching as I planned the Wandering Kiwi Sri Lanka trip. I looked online, read a Sri Lanka travel guide book, and talked to friends who had been recently.
Most of our Sri Lanka itinerary fell into place fairly easily, with a list of places to visit in Sri Lanka quickly identified. But one item dominated my travel research – which beach to go to in Sri Lanka?
I was searching for that elusive thing, the perfect beach on Sri Lanka’s popular south coast. A beach that was not over developed, or thronged with tourists and bars and rubbish.
A proper beach: stunningly beautiful, serenely quiet, unspoilt and almost undiscovered. After all I did want some accommodation and maybe a place to enjoy a sundowner.
At one point I thought I had hit the jackpot reading a travel blog post about the perfect quiet beach in Sri Lanka. It went on and on about this secret beach that was so unspoilt etc. etc. and then right at the end it turned out to be just a tiny extension of Mirissa.
I’d already talked to my friends who were in Mirissa less than a year ago and they said it was totally over developed.
So it was back to the drawing board with my research on where to go in Sri Lanka. There’s plenty of information about the best beach resorts in Sri Lanka but that’s not what I was looking for…
Finally I found a few references to the Sri Lankan south coast beach I eventually chose for our holiday: Talalla Beach.
It often feels a bit risky planning travel based on what you read/see on the internet, and there was about one sentence in the Sri Lanka guide book on this location, but Talalla Beach lived up to all my expectations!
It is gentle curve of golden sand lapped by gentle surf. It has lush vegetation and bendy coconut palms surrounding the beach. It is quiet and uncrowded at all times of the day. It’s everything a beach should be and about an hour’s drive from the historic town fortress in Sri Lanka – Galle.
I loved it that local people were here on their holidays, especially on a Poya day (every full moon is a sacred holiday in Sri Lanka), bringing their kids to play on the beach and in the sea.
There is a small fleet of wooden oruwa catamaran fishing boats pulled up on the shore, their nets spread to dry and made with simple rock weights. I simply could not stop taking photos of them…
A tiny shack offers cheap cocktails at the eastern end, which is where I recommend staying by the way, mainly because it’s quieter. Up the other end of the beach you can hear traffic on the coast road.
This is not a big surf beach (although there is a beach about a 10 minute drive away where you can get surf lessons if that is your thing) and swimming is safe at all times of the day. The beach does drop away fairly quickly so, while I was happy for my seven-year-old daughter to swim there, obviously we were always swimming with her. The water was just gorgeous.
The Sri Lanka accommodation we stayed at was good – it’s one of the original places built here at Talalla Beach. The rooms are nice, with balconies, and it is set in a lush garden, although as we often found when travelling in Sri Lanka, they charge an extra $10 per night to use the air conditioning.
The Sri Lankan food in the rooftop restaurant is excellent, they’ve got a really good cook! It’s called Talalla Secret Bay Hotel. Make sure you try the hoppers for breakfast.
One word of warning. I talked to another guest at Talalla Beach and they had visited five years ago when there were only three accommodation options. Now there are ten and another being built along the beach.
It is all very subtle development, kept behind the tree-line so the beach keeps its beauty but it’s probably only a matter of time before it will be necessary to move on to find the next perfect beach in Sri Lanka…
In the meantime, this is one of the best places in Sri Lanka in my view and an absolute recommendation for the south coast section of your Sri Lanka vacation itinerary. Hopefully my photos speak for themselves!
By Natasha von Geldern
Where are the best beaches in Sri Lanka in your opinion?
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Nice work getting in there quickly!
Thanks Natasha, very useful!!!
I hope so Joanna, thanks for stopping by 🙂
Hi Nathasha!
Love your beautiful photos!Thalalla is one of my favourite beaches on the south coast.Perfect for a relaxing beach vacation!
Hey Natasha, it is nice to read about Sri Lanka beaches. As of the island, Sri Lanka has more beaches to explore and rock & roll in the golden sand, enjoying the Sun set. Have you checked out the beaches in North as well? There are some popular beaches in North which become more popular these days. Cheers,
I’m having trouble finding the secret beach hotel – would it be the secret bay hotel ?
Yes I just checked and it is called the Talalla Secret Bay Hotel!
Hi, are there any restaurants around the beach? Walking distance …And what is the price range? Thanks! Lea
Hi Lea, a number of other hotels along the beach have restaurants you can walk to and into, with everything very reasonably priced. We ended up eating at Secret Bay Hotel restaurant most of the time because the food was so good and good value. Try the hoppi’s for breakfast!
It’s lovely that you found a beautiful beach, and you’re meaning well by sharing it with everyone, but by posting this information on the internet, you’re guaranteeing that it won’t be a peaceful idyll for much longer!
Hello,
Thank you for this post, I am really trying to find a quiet south coast beach for that seclusion. I am wondering which other beaches you visited for comparison? For example I am also considering Hiriketiya or staying nearer Tangalle itself. Would you have any thoughts on this?
Hi Laura, thanks for your comment, I’m afraid I didn’t travel any further along the coast so can’t offer an opinion. I’d say go for it though – and let me know how you get on!