Mirissa is in southern Sri Lanka.

Understand

Mirissa is a beautiful little village with a nice beach and two surfing points. One for advanced surfers, and one for intermediate ones.

Get in

By bus

Take a bus heading to Matara from Fort in Colombo and ask to get out in Mirissa. A/C costs 370 Rupees. Regular costs 250 Rupees. Depending on when you go, a trip will take between 3.5 and 5 hours.

By train

Alternatively, you can take the train from Colombo Fort to Weligama (7 km from Mirissa) and then go by tuk tuk to Mirissa. A 2nd class train ticket costs 220 Rupees. The train schedule is available here. Trips take between 2.5 and 3.5 hours (depending on the train).

Get around

Mirissa is a small village, you can basically get everywhere on foot or if you are travelling to another beach, by the local bus service which is very regular and inexpensive. Be warned, the local Tuk Tuk owners are renowned for attempting to overcharge you. Scooters are becoming more common to rent at most guesthouses.

See

• Buddhist temple.
• Fisherman harbour.
• Beach.

Do

• Surfing.
• Bodyboarding.
• Swimming.
• Snorkelling.
• Ayurvedic treatments.

Whale watching

In recent years blue whales have been spotted at Mirissa which has made it a tourist attraction. If you do decide to go whale watching please make it very clear to your guide / boat driver that you do not want to scare the whales by getting too close. Some of the guides are quite aggressive and it may cause the whales to go elsewhere.

• Raja & The Whales, Mirissa Harbour, ☏ +94 776953452. Great company, which provides sustainable whale watching in Mirissa. 
• Mirissa Water Sports, Harbour road, Mirissa, ☏ +94 77 359 77 32, mirissawatersports@gmail.com. The pioneers of whale watching in Sri Lanka and employs youth people who were affected by the tsunami in 2004. 
• Mirissa Moorings, Harbour road, Mirissa, ☏ +94 772220967, bookings@mirissamoorings.com. Mirissa Moorings is the premiere boat charter mooring facilities and services in Mirissa offering sailing trips on 6,5 m MiniBee boats (manufactured in Sri Lanka) to local and foreign tourists. You can rent boats with or without a skipper if you have a valid/international sail license. 

Eat

Many different restaurants on the beach. Cheaper but still very tasty options are the Roti shops more inland.

• Dewmini Roti Shop, ☏ +94 715162604. 7am-10pm. Very nice, quiet place to have a drink or taste the delicious fresh rotis. Little inland (follow small road next to internet place on the main street and look out for the signposting). 

Drink

In the beach bars around the beach.

Sleep

There is accommodation available for each type of traveller. You can find budget places starting from 1.000 Rupees in off season and 1.500 Rupees in season.

Budget

• 1 Hostel First Mirissa Beach, Hostel First Mirissa Beach, Beach Side Road (100 meters from the beach. If you come by bus from Colombo to Matara, ask the driver to let you off near Beachside Road in Mirissa. Follow the main road until you see Beachside Road and an ATM on the left side (there are 2 ATMs in Mirissa). Then walk along Beachside Road and you will soon see the hostel on your left hand side.), ☏ +94 (0)76 7986 788FORMAT, mirissa@hostelfirst.com. The hostel is currently (January 2016) refurbishing, which may cause occasional noise, and the dorm bathroom is currently shared by many people. However, they offer free WiFi. Dorm US $10, private rooms $30. (updated Jan 2016)
• Villa Sea View. Very nice place run by a local family. Claims to provide the best view in Mirissa. Rooms starting from about 1.000 Rupees off season. 3 minutes off the beach and surf point (very right side on the beach when you watch the sea - up the hill). 

Splurge

• Club Mirissa. This guest house is a few streets walk from the beach but is often double booked so if you do decide to stay here, recommend that you do not pay the full amount and only place a small deposit (that you are happy to lose) to attempt to secure the room. Many travelers have complained that they are refused the room and never get their money back. Rooms are $70USD/night or R9000.