Welcome to the jungle
We’ve got fun ‘n’ games
We got everything you want
Honey, we know the names
We are the people that can find
Whatever you may need
If you got the money, honey
We got your disease
Ok, so it is a bit nerdy to use this headline to a blog post and quote the lyrics to the Guns N`Roses song “Welcome to the jungle”, but hey we are the Nerd Nomads. 🙂
The real Jungle Beach Unawatuna, however, is a small isolated beach close to Galle and Unawatuna Beach in Sri Lanka. We drove here with a tuk-tuk, on a narrow and steep path through the…..yep you got it…….Jungle!
The first part of the beach, when entering the bay, is the most crowded one with sunbeds and a small cafe/ restaurant serving some Sri Lankan dishes as well as sandwiches, drinks, and snacks. It is however far less crowded than the main Unawatuna Beach.
But if you walk just a little further, away from the first bay with all the sunbeds, you will soon come to an almost deserted bay with hardly any people.
We really enjoyed our day out at Jungle Beach in Sri Lanka! Such a peaceful and quiet little beach, with great swimming. It is, however, a rather small beach, and it is a bit of hassle to get there. It is a nice break from Unawatuna Beach though if you are staying in this area or in Galle. We did like Mirissa Beach and Tangalla Beach better than Jungle Beach.
We took a tuk-tuk there and back, but it is also possible to walk. Below is a long and rather boring video of how it is to walk from Unawatuna to Jungle Beach 🙂
Where To Stay In Unawatuna
Unawatuna offers a wide selection of accommodation for all budgets, and you will have plenty of choices when it comes to finding the right place to stay. Below are some of our favorite accommodation options in the Unawatuna area.
Sergeant House
This small luxury boutique guesthouse is getting rave reviews right now. The hotel is in a colonial-style building with stylishly decorated rooms in a modern style. The pool and garden area is lovely and the chef serves up a delicious mix of Thai, Sri Lankan, and western specialties. It's wonderfully secluded and quiet yet Unawatuna beach with all its restaurants is just a short walk away. The staff is friendly and helpsome. There is a Spa offering some fantastic Ayurvedic massage.
Click here for latest prices
Gloria Grand Unawatuna Hotel
This brand new hotel is close to Unawatuna beach, but still a bit away from the town's busy main street. So you can get a good night's sleep, and still be close to the beach.
Click here to check the latest prices
Ocean Crest Hotel
This is a brand new hotel. The swimming pool looks amazing and its located right by the sea.
Click here to check the latest prices
Kingfisher Hotel
If you want to stay in Unawatuna Beach/ center, this seems like a very good deal with excellent service and location. It does not have a swimming pool, but the sea is right outside your hotel room. Each room has a balcony with an awesome view of the ocean.
Click here to see the latest prices
Budget
Thaproban Beach House
You can't get closer to Unawatuna beach than this hotel located just steps from the shore. Rooms are large, clean, and comfortable with private bathrooms, air-con, minibar, and a flat-screen TV. You can enjoy fresh seafood served in the beachfront restaurant every evening. The staff is great and serves a tasty breakfast.
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Damith Guest House
We stayed here for one week and liked it a lot. It is one of few budget hotels in the Unawatuna/ Galle area with a swimming pool. The hotel is relatively new, and the owner Damith is a great guy that can fix and book everything for you. He has worked in the tourist industry in Unawatuna for a long time, so he knows everything there is to see and do in Sri Lanka.
Make sure to try the Sri Lankan curry and rice - it is delicious! The hotel is located on the hillside a fair bit away from the rather overly touristy Unawatuna Beach. We walked to the beach a couple of times, and it took about 30 minutes. With a tuk-tuk or taxi, both Unawatuna beach and Galle are about 10 minutes away. There is free wifi in the restaurant/ by the pool.
Click here to check the latest prices
Would you like to visit Jungle Beach? Please share your comment in the comment area below, thank you! 🙂 If you like this blog post, or find it useful, please share it on social media! 🙂
That beach (or should I say beech – haha) looks right up my alley. I love beaches that still look they might have before man found them – with the trees and connection to nature. Plus it provides natural shade. Love your “Nerd Beach” Scale, super helpful! 🙂
Thanks Katie! So glad to hear that you like our nerdy beach scale rating. 🙂 We also love beaches that are less developed, and not so crowded. We even had some monkeys visiting us at the beach in the afternoon. 🙂
I love the idea of a less populated beach. Many of our favourite spots tend to be where the crowds aren’t so thick! We may be able to squeeze Sir Lanka into our trip this fall (I really REALLY want to go) so should we make it there, I think Jungle Beach is on the itinerary!
Totally agree with you Emily, the less populated beaches are the best!
We have written a travel guide for Sri Lanka (we traveled around there for 5 weeks):
https://nerdnomads.com/guide-to-sri-lanka
Hope you like it! 🙂 Hopefully this guide will be of help if you do go to Sri Lanka this fall, which I hope you do because we absolutely LOVED it! 🙂
Looks excellent! Especially the more deserted bit. Love that they call it beech haha. Great blog guys!
Thank you so much Laura! We got a good laugh when we saw that “Jungle Beech” sign, LOL! 🙂
This looks so pretty. Thank you for your tips.
I’m heading to Sri Lanka on the 5th Feb, but only for 2 weeks (which now seems really short!). We have been deciding whether to stay in Mirissa or Unawatuna for our few beach days planned and you’ve just added another beach to visit in Unawatuna. If you could only go to one, would you choose Mirissa or Unawatuna?
Kind regards,
Jess
Hi Jess,
Thank you so much! This is a small beach but nicer than the Unawatuna beach in my opinion. We liked Mirissa much better than Unawatuna! Mirissa is a longer beach, with a more relaxed vibe, and in the evening they put out tables so that you can head down to the beach for delicious fresh sea food dinner. Very charming! At Unawatuna beach they actually built houses on top of the sand in a rush after the tsunami, so parts of the beach are actually gone, very sad. It is also very crowded at least in high season.
So I would definitely choose Mirissa if I were you 🙂
Have a great trip to Sri Lanka in the beginning of February! I’m sure it will be awesome!
-Maria-