The best time
to visit Bentota.

Best time: November to April.

Weather: Hot 27–32°C; calm clear sea in the dry monsoon.

Bentota is the long-established West Coast beach town — wide pale sands, the brown Bentota River behind, and the Bawa-designed estates and hotels that made this stretch famous in the 1970s. It is the most family-friendly beach within easy reach of Colombo.

• · Hire a private boat for the Madu River — group tours are crowded.
• · Stay south of the river mouth — quieter, longer sands.
• · Pair with Galle (1h south) for the design-and-fort week.