Nilaveli and Uppuveli

Nilaveli and Uppuveli run on the east coast calendar. From roughly May to September the south-west monsoon soaks the other side of the island while leaving the east dry, hot and calm, and these beaches enter their best months. June and July are the peak: flat water, clear skies and the best snorkelling visibility of the year at Pigeon Island.

From around November to February the north-east monsoon reverses everything. Rain, wind and rough seas make the beaches unusable, many places close, and the Pigeon Island boats stop. March and April are a transition, improving through April but not yet reliable. If your trip falls between November and April, go to the south or west coast instead.

Nilaveli is the wider and quieter of the two, a long straight beach about 16 kilometres north of Trincomalee with pale sand and shallow, exceptionally calm water in season. You can wade a long way out, which is why it is one of the best beaches in Sri Lanka for families with young children.

The beach is backed by casuarina and coconut rather than by a strip of development, and although the number of hotels has grown, it still feels open. This is a place to spend days rather than to sightsee: swimming, reading, an early boat to Pigeon Island, and a long walk at either end of the day.

Uppuveli sits closer to Trincomalee, roughly 6 kilometres north, and is the more social of the two. It has a greater density of guesthouses, restaurants and beach bars within walking distance, which suits travellers who want to eat somewhere different each night without a tuk-tuk.

The beach is narrower than Nilaveli and the sea is generally still calm, though slightly less flat. Its proximity to Trincomalee makes it the better base if you want to combine beach days with the town: the Koneswaram temple on Swami Rock, the Dutch-era Fort Frederick, and the hot wells at Kanniya are all short trips.

Pigeon Island National Park is the single biggest reason to choose this coast. A short boat ride from Nilaveli takes you to a small island with a shallow lagoon on its sheltered side, where living coral sits a few metres from the sand and blacktip reef sharks patrol the shallows. They are small, harmless and unforgettable.

It is a national park with an entry fee, boat regulations and daily visitor limits. Take the first boat of the morning: by mid-morning the lagoon is busy and the water less clear. Do not stand on the reef, which is shallow enough that people constantly do, and use a rash vest rather than chemical sunscreen.

Trincomalee's whale and dolphin season runs roughly from May to September, matching the beach season. Blue whales and large spinner dolphin pods are seen offshore, and the trips are generally shorter and less crowded than at Mirissa. Choose an operator who keeps a proper distance and does not chase.

Diving is good here too, with wrecks and reef sites accessible from Uppuveli and Nilaveli. In town, Koneswaram Kovil on Swami Rock is one of Sri Lanka's most dramatically sited Hindu temples, standing on a cliff above the harbour inside the walls of Fort Frederick, where spotted deer wander the roads. The Kanniya hot wells are a curiosity worth half an hour.

Trincomalee is roughly five to six hours from Colombo by road, or around three hours from Sigiriya and Habarana, which is why the Cultural Triangle and the east coast pair so naturally in an itinerary. There is also a train from Colombo to Trincomalee, which is slow but scenic.

Facilities are more limited than on the south coast. There are fewer ATMs, less reliable card acceptance and a smaller choice of restaurants outside the hotel strips, so carry cash. Both beaches are largely unlit at night. The sun on this coast is fierce and there is little natural shade on the sand.

The natural shape is Cultural Triangle first, then the coast. Sigiriya, Dambulla, Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura, then three hours east to Nilaveli or Uppuveli for four or five nights, then back through Kandy. That route follows the dry weather across the whole trip between May and September.

Lankan Stays & Trails books Pigeon Island on the first boat and pairs these beaches with the Cultural Triangle rather than trying to combine them with the south coast, which never works in the same season.