Mirissa is a beautiful coastal town located on the southern coast of Sri Lanka. It is a popular tourist destination that attracts travelers from all over the world (primarily Russia). The town is known for its pristine beaches, stunning sunsets, and delicious seafood. We were originally staying here three nights then taking a five plus hour drive to another beach town on the east coast. After our first full day and while eating dinner at a beach front restaurant, we made a command decision and decided to stay for another three nights and skip Arugam Bay. We could spend months living here!
The main beach in Mirissa is a long stretch of white sand, lined with palm trees and dotted with beach umbrellas. The beach is perfect for sunbathing, swimming, and surfing. The beach is also a popular spot for whale watching. There is no shortage of beach front tiki bars and restaurants!
What did we do? Lots of walking the beach and lounging. One place was Petti Petti where we had lunch and spent the afternoon lounging by the ocean and pool.
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| Sharon's artistic attempt |
Parrot Rock - Parrot Rock is a small rocky outcrop located at the end of the main beach. The rock offers stunning views of the ocean and is a popular spot for sunset watching.
Coconut Tree Hill - Coconut Tree Hill is a scenic viewpoint located on a small hill near Mirissa. The hill is covered with coconut trees and offers stunning panoramic views of the ocean and the surrounding landscape.
Massage/Pedicure/Manicure - We found a beachfront spa that offered massages and pedicures. So I got a massage while Sharon got a much needed pedicure and manicure (her words).
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| Coffee mud rub |
Where did we eat?
Concept La Mer -- We ate here twice and would have eaten a third time but they were closed. Our hostess/server was from Sweden. She had met the owner when he was in Sweden and convinced her to come to Sri Lanka for several months to work. The food was excellent!
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| Espresso Martini and a Lion 🦁 |
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| Pomodoro e Basilico |
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| Spicy Prawn Pasta |
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| Crispy Chicken Burger |
DelTano's Wood Fired Pizza and Pasta - We ate here twice. Our server spoke perfect English and dreams of becoming a US Marine. He was fun to talk to. He didn't even have a Sinhala accent but more of a "John Travolta" accent. Pizza was very good.
Petti Petti Mirissa you could hang out and use the pool.
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| Ceylon Ice Tea |
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| Black Pork Curry |
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| Prawn Stuffed Roti Wrap |
W & D right on the beach what more could you ask for.
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| Curry 🍛 |
No. 1 Dewmini Roti Shop - No. 1 Dewmini Roti Shop is a small street-side eatery that serves delicious Sri Lankan roti. The roti is made fresh to order and is filled with a variety of savory and sweet fillings.
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| Seafood Roti |
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| Rice & Chicken Curry |
Turtle Bar & Restaurant I have to say this was the worst dinner we had in 5 months, but they had an amazing view and the service was good. I believe they just recently opened back up.
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| Fish & Chips |
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| Chicken Curry 🍛 |
Hotel Breakfast both hotels offered free breakfast.
Where did we stay? Sharon spends hours researching a place to stay. It's mind numbing. lol She researches the area. Checks out Booking.com, Agoda, Google, AirBnB, etc. Reads countless reviews. Looks for the best value/cost and finally picks one then second guesses herself and selects another. It's analysis paralysis at it's best but in the end, she almost always finds the perfect place. She is the best and I couldn't ask for a better 'travel agent'! Until Mirissa. We do not recommend Esprit Dici. The room was large but there were zero amenities: no safe, no fridge, no TV. Not even a hair dryer. Our room was never cleaned but the icing on the cake was a major Buddhist ceremony in the hotel that lasted ALL NIGHT LONG! Drums, nikko horns and chanting (over a loud speaker). We didn't even get breakfast after our night of little to no sleep. Surprisingly, this place was recommended in the Lonely Planet Sri Lanka Travel Book.
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| Building a temple in the main area |
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| Driveway |
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| Completed Temple |
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| Parade down driveway |
Beach Mirissa - We booked this for three nights and the moment we walked through the front door, we felt like family and not a guest. We were several hours early for check-in and I asked if we could store our luggage until 2. "Sir, your room is ready and you can check in now." What!?! We had a large room and huge balcony overelooking the pool and ocean. It was perfect. One of their employees, Krishna, just does it all. He is the go-to guy and simply takes care of you and everything. I tried refilling our water bottles and he took them from me. He seems to be everywhere all the time. One night, we took a tuk tuk back to the hotel because it was raining. There he was with an umbrella to walk us in so we didn't get wet. When we were checking out, there he was to carry our luggage down the stairs.
How did we get here? Tuk tuk. We were originally going to take a train but the tuk tuk driver we snagged to take us to the railway station talked us into letting him take us to Mirissa. Along the way, we stopped at a turtle hospital and "Safari" boat trip on Lake Koggala. The turtle hospital was very interesting. The safari was fun as well. We stopped at "Cinnamon Island" and got to see how cinnamon is made. The first layer of bark is stripped from a branch, then the second layer removed and dried. It is then ground into powder. The rest is used for firewood. The captain stopped at another island, made some weird sounds and called monkeys over for us to feed. They were very gentle when taking food out of my hand. We (the captain and I) both got a good laugh when Sharon shreiked when monkeys started jumping on the boat.
If and when we ever come back to Sri Lanka, Mirissa will be at the top of our list and probably rent a house for several months. It is one of our favorite beach towns in the world (so far).
"At The Beach Every Hour Is Happy Hour"
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