South Coast
Mirissa
A crescent beach with a headland at one end and the deepest water close to shore anywhere on the south coast — which is why the whales are here.
- From Colombo
- 3 hours
- Good for
- Whale watching · Surf · Doing nothing
The continental shelf comes within about six nautical miles here, which puts blue whales in reach of a morning boat trip. Sightings run around eighty per cent from December to April.
Choose the operator carefully. Some boats chase. The good ones cut the engines and wait, and you see more that way.
Routes that include Mirissa
6 daysSouth Coast & Whales
Galle Fort's Dutch ramparts, blue whales off Mirissa, stilt fishermen at Koggala and enough unstructured beach time to make the rest of it land.
from$780pp
See the route
12 daysSri Lanka End to End
The full circuit in twelve days — ancient cities, the mountain railway, a proper safari and the south coast — without the 5am departures that usually come with it.
from$1480pp
See the route