WorldSri Lanka › Hambantŏṭa › Kingfisher

Kingfisher 77.5

#1541 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka · Hambantŏṭa · near Matara

Works almost every day, no off season, boardshorts water.

Works all yearWarm waterIntermediate
Kingfisher, Sri Lanka
Photo: Tuderna · CC BY 3.0 · source · photo taken 1.4 km from the spot
Surf score77.5 /100
Surfable days100% of the year
Clean days38% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell46% period 11 s+
Typical size1.2 m 3.9 ft median
Water29°C boardshorts

Best time to surf Kingfisher

The best time to surf Kingfisher is April, June, July. The season runs Apr to Oct. In July the water sits around 28°C, so pack boardshorts, and the typical wave is 1.6 m. The nearest airport is CMB (163 km) and the nearest town is Matara (30 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan100%28%1.0 m28°Cboardies
Feb100%27%1.1 m28°Cboardies
Mar100%16%0.9 m29°Cboardies
Apr100%49%1.0 m30°Cboardies
May100%44%1.4 m29°Cboardies
Jun100%57%1.5 m29°Cboardies
Jul100%58%1.6 m28°Cboardies
Aug100%49%1.5 m28°Cboardies
Sep100%41%1.4 m29°Cboardies
Oct100%40%1.2 m29°Cboardies
Nov100%24%1.0 m29°Cboardies
Dec99%26%1.0 m28°Cboardies

What is under Kingfisher

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor sits over 49 m. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 89 m against 49 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.

Depth 8 km out49 m
Depth 4 km out37 m
Channel beside it89 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 77.5

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
17.6
Best days 22.4%
8.9
Clean days 18.4%
17.5
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
6.1
Access 4.1%
2.6

The detail

Faces 150° with 36% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 84% of days. Mean peak period 11.4 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.7 m, with a peak period of 14 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 51%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 6.034, 80.802 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€612/ month
typically €539 – €685
Rent, one bedroom€319
Groceries€128
Eating out€72
Getting around€42
Phone + internet€47
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€1,190/ month
typically €1,050 – €1,330
Somewhere to stay€701
Eating out€251
Car, transfers, fuel€162
Data + extras€76
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Remote spot, so the local estimate is 15% below the country average. Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Sri Lanka (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

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Spots nearby

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