Cabins in Arugam Bay

Private location, extremely helpful and polite owner and staff, authentic Sri Lanka beach life vibe, everything was clean and tidy, Iroshana helped us with just about anything we could think off from arranging breakfast, barbeque dinner, recommending surf bays and trips to conversations about Sri Lanka ways of living. Thank you for everything, we will always remember and hope to come back one day.

This is THE place to stay if you are interested in safaris within Kumana NP. We had an exceptional driver (as good an animal spotter as our guide!). We were lucky enough to have Sam as our guide. He is a BBC wildlife videographer and knew so much about the animals and their behaviours. It gave us the best chance of having so many great leopard/animal encounters. The food and hotel staff was also fantastic. If I come back to Sri Lanka I would skip Yala and come here for a few nights more. There is no mobile signal in Kumana to alert other drivers to where wildlife is so usually the leopard encounters are just yourself and no-one else. Just note - the national park is still about 45 min drive away from the hotel and Panama is a quiet place (more peaceful than Arugum Bay). Its def not a party place like Arugum bay. Safaris are from 5am until about 6.30pm. I would also recommend maybe bringing a neck buff and protection for expensive camera equipment (towel to cover). There is a lot of dust that kicks up off the road.

Close to a wild beach. Amazing food and really welcoming owner.