Unawatuna: The Bay Next Door to Galle That Still Delivers

Unawatuna sits five kilometres east of Galle Fort and it has one of the most naturally beautiful bays on the south coast: a horseshoe of pale sand with a headland at each end, calm water protected by an outer reef, and coconut palms behind the beach that have been there long enough to lean at genuinely photogenic angles. The bay has been popular since the 1970s and the level of development reflects this. It is busier than it once was. It is also still beautiful.

The best time to be at Unawatuna is early morning before the restaurants have set up and before the tour groups arrive from Galle. The water at this hour is clear and calm and the beach has a quality of the undiscovered that it does not maintain past 9am. Swim in the protected inner bay. The snorkelling at the western headland, around the submerged Japanese war memorial, is good in clear conditions.

For food, Unawatuna has a better restaurant selection than its reputation as a budget beach town suggests. There are places here doing genuinely good seafood, good wood-fired pizza, and good Sri Lankan food at prices that are fair for what you receive. Walk the full length of the main beach road and pick on the basis of what looks fresh and busy rather than which has the most aggressive tout at the entrance.

Use Unawatuna as a base for Galle Fort, which is a short tuk-tuk ride away, rather than staying inside the Fort itself where the options are more expensive. The combination works well: quieter and cheaper accommodation at Unawatuna, and the Fort for morning walks, good dinners, and the ramparts at sunset. This is the practical approach that most people arrive at eventually.