Last Updated on July 6, 2024
SK Town Beach is a small community on the southern coast of Sri Lanka, near Matara. Although it’s known for being a popular surf spot, there’s much more to SK Town.
It’s the perfect place to relax, swim in the ocean, enjoy beach time, eat delicious Sri Lankan food, and day trip to other parts of the southern coast of Sri Lanka.
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Why Visit SK Town in Sri Lanka
SK Town isn’t as popular as some of the other beach towns on the southern coast of Sri Lanka. Weligama and Mirissa, for example, have way more going on: restaurants, nightlife, and busy beaches.
What makes SK Town special is how quiet and serene it is. It’s a small community of guest houses, hotels, and a few restaurants right on the edge of SK Town Beach.
The beach is long, sandy, and perfect for surfing – regardless of how experienced you are. There’s shacks on the beach where you can rent a surfboard for a few dollars, and you can hire a local for a surf lesson.
Along the beach are a couple simple restaurants that make delicious drinks and sell cold beers, which you can enjoy in a beach chair, under an umbrella.
If you don’t love to spend whole days on the beach, you can rent a moped, or hire a tuk tuk to visit nearby towns.
The magic of SK Town is that it isn’t busy. It’s easy to find an empty part of the beach to have all to yourself, which can’t be said for most beaches in Sri Lanka.
And because SK Town is small, it’s easy to make connections with other travelers as well as locals who live there. In our weeklong stay in SK Town, we got to know many of the local restaurant and guesthouse owners.
How to Visit SK Town
Ready to add SK Town to your Sri Lanka itinerary? Here’s the basics you need to know: Where it is, how to get there, and where to stay in SK Town.
Where is SK Town Beach?
SK Town Beach is a beautiful beach and adjacent surf town on the southern coastline of Sri Lanka. This small community is a 10 minute drive east of Matara, which is the closest city.
SK Town is about 5.5 hours from Sigiriya, 2.5 hours driving from Colombo, and it’s a 40 minute drive east of Mirissa, another popular beach town.
You can get to SK Town easily by public bus, tuk tuk, or taxi. If you go by bus, you will get off at the stop “Janaraja Mawatha.” From there, SK Town is a ten minute walk.
If you go by taxi or tuk tuk, you’ll want to provide your driver the address of your guesthouse or hotel in SK Town, because some might not be familiar with the name of the town.
Where to Stay in SK Town
Since SK Town is small, there’s not many hotels and guesthouses to choose from. And, finding one to book can be a bit confusing, because when you search “SK Town” on booking sites, it will typically serve you options in Matara.
Given this, In your search, be sure to view the map of the hotel or guesthouse to check that they are located at SK Town Beach.
During our week in SK Town, we stayed at Guillet Beach Home. It’s a family-run guesthouse that feels like a homestay. When we checked in, the owners Lucky and his wife told us to feel free to use the whole house.
We love staying in small, family-run guesthouses like this because you have the chance to get to know the family. And, supporting locally owned guesthouses versus large hotels is a great way to practice responsible tourism, and it helps to reduce economic leakage. These are just some of the benefits of staying in a homestay versus hotel.
Guillet Beach Home has just a few rooms. Ours had two beds, a private bathroom, fan, and air conditioning. Our room, and the whole guesthouse, was super clean!
For a small fee, you can have a home-cooked breakfast or dinner at Guillet Beach Home. We ate a few meals made by Lucky’s wife, and all of them were delicious!
I highly recommend staying at Guillet Beach Home. Lucky and his wife were very kind, welcoming, and helpful in arranging activities and onward travel. And, this guesthouse is just 100 meters from the beach!
Getting Around SK Town
SK Town is small, so you can get around just by walking. However, there are a few nearby sites and towns that are worth visiting. To reach them, you can hire a tuk tuk (there’s always plenty of them available around SK Town), or rent a moped to drive yourself.
You can ask your guesthouse to arrange a moped rental, or go to SK Town Surf Shop (which is on the beach) and ask the guys working there to arrange one. A rental typically costs $10 to $15 per day.
There is a gas station (in Sri Lanka they are called “filling stations”) on the main road, A4, just outside SK Town.
8 Things To Do in SK Town, Sri Lanka
For a small beach town, there’s a surprising amount of
1. Learn to Surf on SK Town Beach
SK Town Beach is the perfect place to learn to surf. I speak from experience! Before arriving in SK Town, my partner and I had only surfed once before.
During our stay in SK Town, we rented surfboards once a day. By practicing every day we made huge progress throughout the week – and had tons of fun.
The surf on SK Town Beach is great for beginners and experienced surfers. If you’re a beginner, you’ll stick to the surf closer to the beach. The waves are small and the water isn’t deep, which is perfect for learning.
If you’re more experienced, you can paddle back to the larger surf, out in the deeper water. We didn’t attempt this, but saw many impressive surfers out there.
While in SK Town, you need to surf at least once, for the experience! You can rent a surfboard for about 3$ an hour, and a private lesson costs about $20 an hour.
There are shacks all along the beach where you can rent a board and book a lesson. We always went to SK Town Surf Shop, which is on the east end of the beach.
2. Visit Buddha’s Statue
On the outskirts of SK Town is a beautiful temple you can visit, where you’ll find a large, golden Buddha statue. It’s located on the A2 (the main road that goes along the southern coast of the island), near Isipathanarama Road.
Unlike other religious sites in Sri Lanka, this Budhha and temple is very quiet. It’s free to enter, just be sure to be respectful of the site.
Remove your shoes, and don’t take photos in which you have your back to the Buddha. It’s important to follow local customs and practices, and of course, avoid cultural appropriation of religious practices.
3. Watch Epic Sunsets and Sunrises
Watching the sunrise and the sunset on SK Town Beach was my absolute favorite thing to do during our week there.
These times of day were always really magical on the beach. Midday is very hot, and so sunrise and sunset is when most of the surfers are out.
During sunset especially, the beach would become busy with lots of local Sri Lankan families going for an evening walk, and kids splashing around in the water, other kids playing soccer.
It’s the perfect time to swing by one of the small restaurants on the beach, like Black Sand Restaurant, for an evening beer.
If you want more of a walk, walk down to the west end of the beach. There’s a rocky outcrop you can easily climb up for epic views of SK Town.
4. Eat in Local Restaurants
SK Town may be small, but it has a great selection of restaurants, most of which are owned by local families.
Black Sand Restaurant was our favorite breakfast spot. We had their vegetable roti almost every morning, along with a masala tea. This restaurant is right on the beach, and so we often came back in the evening to have a beer and watch the sun go down over the ocean.
Our favorite dinner restaurant was Uprising Restaurant. This spot is on one of the backstreets just off the beach, and it’s owned by a lovely family. They are big fans of Bob Marley, so you’ll know you’re near Uprising when you hear reggae music. We were obsessed with their rice and curry.
As much as we love eating local cuisine, every once in a while we crave a good pizza. And we found amazing pizza while in SK Town.
Papa Jeevz is a pizza joint in Matara, and they deliver to SK Town. You can call or Whatsapp them to order. We ordered their pizza a few times while in SK Town, it was the perfect meal to refuel after surfing.
5. Watch Baby Turtles Being Released
The family that runs Black Sand Restaurant, which is located right on SK Town Beach (on the west end of the beach) also runs a baby turtle hatchery!
Turtle nesting season in Sri Lanka takes place between November and May, and hatching season usually falls between January and June.
If you visit SK Town during hatching season, drop by Black Sand Restaurant to ask about turtle releasing. If you’re lucky, they may be releasing baby turtles while you’re there!
6. Shop Handmade Goods at SK Town Surf
SK Town Surf Shop offers more than just surfboard rentals and surf lessons. They’re also a small shop selling handmade goods like clothing, bags, and jewelry.
We popped by this shop every day to rent surfboards, and in chatting with the local guys who run it, we learned that everything in the shop is made by their sister.
You’ll find unique pairs of pants, shorts, and shirts, as well as swimsuits and beachwear. I really loved the sarongs that are hand dyed using a technique called “batik,” which is common in Sri Lanka.
7. Visit Matara Paravi Duwa Temple
Paravi Duwa Temple is a Buddhist temple in Matara, about a 10 minute drive from SK Town.
The temple is located on a beautiful island surrounded by the Indian Ocean. A steel bridge connects the island to the mainland, making it easy to access the temple.
For a small fee, which is used as a donation for the temple’s upkeep, you can cross the bridge to the island and wander through Paravi Duwa Temple. Aside from admiring the temple itself, you can enjoy really lovely views of the coast and of the ocean.
8. Day Trip to Mirissa from SK Town
Mirissa is a popular beach town on the south coast of Sri Lanka. It’s more developed than SK Town, with tons of hotels, restaurants, and nightlife.
While in SK Town, it’s an easy day trip to Mirissa to see some of the sights that Mirissa is famous for. It’s just a 40 minute tuk tuk or moped drive from SK Town to Mirissa.
I recommend heading to Mirissa early in the morning to visit one of the most Instagram-famous locations in Sri Lanka: Coconut Tree Hill. This is exactly what it sounds like – a hill on the coast that is covered with coconut trees.
Because Coconut Tree Hill is a popular photo opp, it’s always busy. This is why I recommend going early in the morning.
We went around 6:00 AM. At that time, there were very few other people there. We got great photos, but we also were able to enjoy this picturesque area without the bother of crowds.
Coconut Tree Hill is a beautiful spot to sit and watch the sunrise over the ocean. And if you’re lucky, you might see some early morning surfers!
After Coconut Tree Hill, head into Mirissa’s core to have breakfast and a coffee. Then, go for a stroll on Mirissa Beach, and walk out to Parrot Rock for beautiful views of Mirissa and the coast.
Final Thoughts: Is SK Town Worth Visiting?
Yes, SK Town is absolutely worth visiting while in Sri Lanka. This beach town has a distinctly different vibe than the others on the south coast because it’s much quieter. Although it’s a popular surf spot, it’s the perfect place to relax, even if you aren’t into surfing.
If this sounds like your vibe, be sure to head to SK Town for at least 3 days. That is enough time to go surfing, lounge on the beach, eat delicious coconut roti, and go on a day trip.
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Erin has been traveling for over a decade, both solo, and with her partner. She’s now traveled to countries across 6 continents, and has lived in 2 countries abroad. Erin also hosts the travel podcast, Curious Tourism, where she interviews travel industry thought leaders and experts about responsible tourism. Learn more about Erin, and get in touch with her, here.
