Soul & Surf Sri Lanka

Soul & Surf Cove is a nine-room boutique hotel on a small waterfront cove in Ahangama, set back from the main coast road with a lagoon for swimming and an easy rolling reef wave out front. Every room faces the sea, and the hotel has its own cafe, bar and restaurant. Soul & Surf has been based on this stretch of coast since 2015.

Coaching is led by ISA-qualified instructors at the breaks around Ahangama, Kabalana, Weligama and Midigama, a mix of mellow beach breaks and more challenging reefs chosen by the day's conditions. Two-hour group lessons at a 1:5 ratio cost 16,000 LKR per person, private one-to-one lessons 25,000 LKR, and a pack of three group lessons 40,000 LKR, all with board, leash and rash vest. Premium and standard boards are available to rent, and lessons are open to surfers staying elsewhere.

From October the hotel runs largely all-inclusive Saturday-to-Saturday surf and yoga retreats from around £156 per night, with lower green season and bed and breakfast rates outside the main south coast season. It suits beginners and improvers, couples and solo travellers looking for a sociable, design-led base, and children can join lessons with conditions.