Beyond the beach
From yoga to beach dining, from fishing, snorkelling to scuba diving, from temple walks to city tours.
The east coast is calling
Sink your toes into paradise with a luxurious, laid-back escape to Sri Lanka’s calm east coast.
- Planned with you
- Tell us what you love and our team will help plan your days around it.
- Season and sea
- Boat trips and wildlife sightings depend on the season, weather and sea conditions.
- Close to home
- Pigeon Island marine national park lies off Nilaveli beach.
Yoga, walks and slow swims
Nilaveli beach
Beachfront yoga
Unroll a mat on the sand beneath the palms while the sea is still silver and the day has not yet begun. Ask our team to arrange yoga by the water, on your own or together.
Walks at the water’s edge
The beach at Nilaveli runs long and wide. Walk it barefoot as the sun comes up or as the afternoon cools, with the cabanas behind you and nothing ahead but sand and sea.
Stay by the sandSwims in the shallows
A few steps from your cabana, the Indian Ocean is warm and clear. Take a slow swim before breakfast; the sea keeps its own moods, so ask our team about the day’s conditions.
Dates & ratesDinner on the sand
Some evenings deserve a little more time. Ask about a special dinner on the beach, with lanterns, the fresh catch of the day and the sea for company.
DiningHauling in the nets
Nilaveli’s fishermen still haul their nets in from the surf by hand. Watch the catch come ashore, and ask our team when the boats are going out.
On the water
The reef off Pigeon Island and the calm of an early paddle.
Pigeon Island reef
Snorkelling and diving at the marine national park off Nilaveli beach. Slip over the side into clear water and drift above the coral, with the coast waiting quietly behind you.
Paddle in the calm
Glide out while the water is still and the light is soft and gold. Ask our team about kayaking during your stay, and give yourself the quietest hour of the day.
Out with the fishermen
Head out with local fishermen for a morning on the water and come back with the day’s catch. Ask our team about fishing trips for your dates; they depend on the season and the sea.
Whales off Trincomalee
Ask about fishing, whale and dolphin trips in season. What rises from the deep depends on the season, weather and sea conditions, so every sighting is a gift, never a promise.
Plan your stayGo a little further
- 01
Temples by the sea
Discover Koneswaram and the spiritual history of Trincomalee, then sit a while with the sea spread out below you.
- 02
A little history
The old fort, spotted deer and the stories of the east coast, best taken slowly, with time to wander and nowhere to be.
- 03
An Ayurveda day
A gentler kind of day: ask our team about a treatment suited to your stay, or beach yoga by the water.
- 04
Home to the sea
However far the day takes you, it ends the same way: back at your cabana by the sea, salt on your skin and the tide coming in.
- On the sand
- Beachfront yoga
- The reef
- Pigeon Island
- Temples and history
- Trincomalee
- Whales and dolphins
- In season
Start planning your escape
Tell us your dates and we will shape the days around the tide.