Soul & Surf Cove is a boutique hotel positioned on a dreamy, secluded little waterfront cove in Ahangama, Southern Sri Lanka. Hidden from the road, the beach is dotted with palm trees, and there is a wave right out front with safe swimming and the odd turtle in our lagoon. Right there! We can walk to it, what a treat.
In fact, if the hotel was any closer to the ocean, it’d be a boat.
Due to Covid we were forced to leave the Sri Lanka property we’d called home since 2015. We used the time wisely and re-evaluated what we offer and… pivoted. And we found our perfect location for a surf & yoga-focused retreat with a bar – and set up our little cafe, Canteen.
Our eight rooms are all sea-facing, simple yet stylishly presented and we have an on-site cafe, bar & restaurant and all with a sea view. You get too hot, hop in the sea. You get too lazy, jump in the sea. You get bored with your friends, plop in the sea.
We offer a particularly special and, well, erm, soulful surf, yoga & therapy experience for our guests. Come, meet new people, or hang with your loved one, or the family. Or, of course, to just laze by the beach with a drink. From October we become pretty much all-inclusive (booze, some drinks, some meals and massages are extra) and run from Saturday – Saturday each week.
We’re not too serious and definitely not too worthy… But we do have a whole heap of life-affirmingly brilliant people on our team making it happen who you might like to get to know while you’re here.
For more details, head over to our What’s Included page
Click read more to learn more about the hotel accommodation.
It’s unusual to be on this part of the coast without being wedged in next to the busy coast road. But that’s definitely not the case here – we are set away from the road, tucked into a tropical paradise cove. We’ve got a great cove for swimming right here, and another couple in walking distance and a range of surf breaks for different levels all within minutes plus our own little break on the reef past the lagoon – with an easy, rolling wave out front shared with just a few others.
Our beach-front boutique hotel is right on the shoreline in our little cove. Interested in knowing more about the area? Download our Sri Lanka guide >
Do as little or as much as you want to, no pressure. Some guests surf and spend the rest of the day hanging out, having coffees, chats and putting the world to rights; some just come for the yoga, meditation or massage; some surf as much as they possibly can; some come to just hang out, eat, drink coolers, sunbathe and enjoy the welcoming community Soul & Surf vibe.
All the details of what’s included in your stay with us here can be found on our What’s Included page, but below is a little more insight into how your days might play out…
| A TYPICAL DAY | |
|---|---|
| 6.30am | Meet for coffee, tea & fruit, yawn, stretch, wake up |
| 7.00am | Leave for your surf lesson. |
| 9.30 – 11am | Ice-cold, fresh coconut & a hearty, healthy communal breakfast in our cafe, Canteen |
| 11.00am | Soul surfing workshop |
| 11.45am | Video Analysis |
| 1.00pm | A healthy, hearty lunch from Soul & Surf’s cafe, Canteen |
| 2.00pm | One to one yoga, massage, swim, chat or snooze |
| 3.00pm | Yoga |
| 4.30pm | Optional free surf |
| 6.30pm | Watch the sunset with a cocktail then meet for dinner, a drink and a good yarn. |
The day’s events will change depending on the season, the surf conditions, your energy levels and the day of the week. And if you want to spend the day drinking cocktails in our ocean view garden we won’t bat an eyelid. Or… if you’d like to spend the day careering from yoga to surf to massage and back again we’ll make that happen too. It’s a broad church we run here.
Read more to learn about surf seasons, covid policies and bringing the kids.
Read MoreAs we are near to the southern tip we escape the full monsoon that rages elsewhere in Sri Lanka which means we’re open all year round. But be prepared, in the wetter season of May to November we do experience some heavy tropical showers mixed with bright sunshine, and some wilder seas making this time of year more suitable for either beginners (on our sheltered beaches) or experts (at the few reefs and points that handle the swell). In the drier season from November to May there are more sunshine days and cleaner surfing conditions but bigger crowds. We love both but the choice is yours.
We very much welcome families coming to stay with us and do what we can to make it affordable and workable with the kids. But we have to be realistic too. So if we can add extra beds or a cot to your room we can keep things very reasonable, if the kids need their own room we have to charge the normal rate.
We’re not allowed to recommend or offer baby-sitting or childcare as a service because our UK insurers advise us not to as the local mums from the village aren’t qualified, registered or insured. But we can introduce you to some of the Sri Lankan ladies from the local village that look after Ed & Sofie’s and our friends’ kids, and if you feel comfortable you can arrange child-care directly with them at very reasonable rates whilst you surf or practice yoga.
We love the kids to join in with whatever we can reasonably allow them to do. Surfing is an inherently dangerous activity so we have to have some limitations. Talk to the yoga teacher when you arrive if you’d like your kids to try yoga. It has the be at the yoga teachers discretion and not to the detriment of our other yogis experience.
Read LessA glimpse into life at Soul & Surf. A tranquil, tropical break from the norm and a recharge for mind, body and soul.
