We have put together several holiday itineraries incorporating whale and dolphin watching and turtle night safaris in Rekuwa. Take time out to go snorkelling or scuba diving and explore the reefs that surrounds the island where fascinating reef fish and colourful coral gardens are found in abundance.

The Beach Hopper: Travel along Sri Lanka’s beautiful palm fringed coastal belt covering the North West town of Negombo with its Colonial influences all the way to the South East fishing village of Tangalle. This is an easy-paced holiday that lets you enjoy the sun and surf along with a glimpse into the lifestyles and ancient cultural heritage, as well as the fascinating marine life in the deep seas around Sri Lanka. Click Here

Wildlife & Beach Explorer: Experience Sri Lanka's magnificent wilderness and the south coast beaches in luxurious comfort. An adventurous safari ends with five days of relaxation on the beautiful south coast beaches. Click Here

Adventurous Sri Lanka: Designed for those wanting something more than just a beach holiday. Trek through mountainous villages, cycle past ancient ruins, camp in the wilderness, climb a sacred mountain at night, raft down the white water rapids of the Kelani River and observe the fascinating marine turtles, whales and dolphins in the Deep South. Click Here

From the endangered marine turtles to exotic reef fish and the mighty blue whales - Sri Lanka’s diverse marine life can be observed on the beaches and the deep seas that surround this tropical island.

Marine turtles: The beaches of Sri Lanka offer year round opportunities to observe the endangered marine turtles as they come ashore to nest. Of the seven species of these large marine turtles, five species can be found in the island's waters, most commonly the Olive Ridley, Hawksbill and the Green turtles. These turtles come ashore to the West and South coasts of Sri Lanka. They can be seen all year round with March to December being the peak period. The Turtle Conservation Project (TCP) in Rekuwa provides guided night walks on the beach to view female turtles nesting, clumsily hauling themselves up the sand before picking their spot and labouriously digging a nest for their clutch of eggs. Once a female starts laying eggs she enters a trance like state until she is done, after which she covers the eggs with sand before returning to the sea. The TCP in Rekuwa protects the nests until the hatchlings emerge and make their dash for the oceans. Staff from the Department of Wildlife Conservation also stands guard at Rekuwa beach throughout the night in order to protect the eggs and hatchlings from poachers.

Whales & dolphins: Take a boat trip to view the largest animal on earth - the Blue Whale. Keep an eye out for sperm whales and dolphins. Also fascinating are the antics of the flying fish which upon the approach of your boat, take to the air and skim over the surface of the sea for surprisingly long distances.

The prime location for whale watching is off Dondra Head, the southernmost point of the island. Mirissa is the launching pad for whale and dolphin-watching excursions. Though better known for dolphin sightings, Kalpitiya in the North West is another area that offers the chance of sighting whales though with much less consistency than the Mirissa area. The best months to go on a whale and dolphin watching excursion is during the months of December to April when the seas on the west and south of the island are relatively calm. During April to October an increasing number of whale and dolphin watching trips launch from Trincomalee in the north east.

Blue Whale: The blue’s tiny dorsal fin is often your first sighting of this immense creature, which can grow over 25 metres in length and 180 tons in weight. Being mammals they have to come to the surface to breath, emitting a vertical column up to nine metres in height. Typically, a whale will breathe a few times before diving, the last breath will be followed by a distinctive arching of its back as it dives before it slides back into the deep.

Sperm Whale: Sperm whales at up to 20 metres in length are formidable creatures. The true story of a sperm whale attacking and sinking a whaling ship - the Essex in 1819 -- was the inspiration for Herman Melville’s classic, Moby Dick. Sperm whales, in contrast to the more solitary Blue whales, are more often seen in small groups known as pods and dive up to two kilometres in search of food.

Spinner Dolphins: A pod of Spinner dolphins, up to a hundred at a time, can set your adrenalin pumping. It can be difficult at first to figure out where to look, as the sleek creatures spin out of the water, cork screwing and tail-flipping in all directions. Spinners may sometimes join your boat to ride its bow wave, but your boatman should never attempt to drive into a pod for a closer look as this will cause them to dive and disappear. A smart boatman will let the pod acclimatize to the boat which will allow you a great opportunity to observe the spinners’ behaviour, predict their travel paths, and set yourself up for some excellent photo opportunities.

Risso’s Dolphins : Though less commonly seen than the Spinner dolphins, Risso's dolphins are often encountered in the Kalpitiya area in small groups of 10-50. They are easily recognised by their larger size and bulbous heads, as distinct from the typical tapered dolphin 'nose'.

The Bar Reef in Kalpitiya on the North west and the fringing coral reef on Pigeon Island in Trincomalee on the North East, are the best examples of coral reefs to be found in Sri Lanka. Though these reefs were heavily bleached during the late nineties, they have recovered well.

About half an hour's boat ride off Kalpitiya, the Bar Reef is one of the best places to see various reef fish species during the west coast season without donning scuba gear. Similarly, Pigeon Island which is a few minutes boat ride from Nilaveli Beach, is the best location for a similar experience during the east coast season. The best time of day to visit both is during the early morning when the seas are calmer, the sun is low in the sky and there are fewer people about.

Reef fish: While snorkelling, keep an eye out for the clown gobies flitting through the coral branches while you hover above them. Brightly-coloured butterfly fish roam in small groups on the healthiest portions of the reef, while the more stately Moorish idols drift around in pairs trailing their long dorsal fins. If you are an experienced snorkeller, take a deep breath and skin dive down to look below the coral ledges and you will spot sleeping soldierfish or even a shy octopus.

Sea slugs: Scuba diving provides an unparalleled opportunity to get a fish eye perspective of more of Sri Lanka's marine inhabitants. Macro life abounds in Sri Lanka with over 64 species of nudibranchs - soft bodied, slow moving, bottom dwelling sea slugs that positively glow with colours on their often fantastically shaped bodies.

Marble Rays: If you are lucky, you will see marble rays up to three metres in length on wrecks in the deep seas off Colombo and the reefs in Negombo in the North West.

Trevalley and Tuna: During the narrow window from March 15 to April 15, visit the historic Basses Ridge off the deep south of the country. Divers have seen large schools of Trevalley and Tuna shooting past overhead.

Red Dot has a deep affection for Sri Lanka and we hope that you will join us in encouraging the development of a tourism industry that is socially responsible, fair for its local communities, and is environmentally sustainable. Following are some ways in which you can help to protect Sri Lanka’s marine life.

• Do not purchase any souvenirs made of coral or turtle shell.
  
  

• Protect the reefs that surround this paradise island and their inhabitants. While snorkelling or diving, do not touch or break any coral and marine animals you see such as the marine turtles. Some shells may even be poisonous.
  
  

• Protect the endangered marine turtles. You may be lucky enough to see a turtle nesting at night on the beach. Do not flash a torch light or create noise which will disturb the turtle when laying her eggs. Do not touch turtle eggs or hatchlings.
  
  

• Protect the whales and dolphins. When going on a whale and dolphin spotting excursion, please use a reputed tour operator such as Mirissa Watersports that keeps to internationally accepted guidelines. Cut-price operators can also mean unprofessionalism, irresponsibility and poor safety precuations.
  
  

Being smart with your food choices can go a long way towards helping marine life. Avoid grouper and shark - especially shark fin soup, blue fin tuna, swordfish all of which are either fished to unsustainable levels or are caught with extremely destructive fishing methods.

Mirissa Water Sports - Click Here
Information on whale and dolphin watching, river cruising, sailing, and snorkelling

Alankuda Beach - Click Here
Information on whale and dolphin watching in Kalpitiya

Eco Team - Click Here
Information on whales species, whale spotting and shipwrecks found in the deep seas around Sri Lanka.

American Cetacean Society - Click Here
Information on whales and dolphins

Sri Lanka Diving Adventures - Click Here
Provides information on marine life found in the waters of Sri Lanka, PADI instructors and training courses, snorkelling and dive sites, short video clips on scuba diving in Sri Lanka

Dive Sri Lanka - Click Here
Information on snorkelling and diving sites by region, ship wrecks, marine species.

Sri Lanka Sub-Aqua Club - Click Here
Information on dive training, upcoming activities.

'Best for Blue - is Sri Lanka the best for seeing Blue Whales?'
by Gehan de Silva Wijeyratne, Ceylon Daily News, July 2008 Click Here

'An Abundance of Whales'
by Andrew Kittle, Travel Sri Lanka, Vol 3 No 12