Unawatuna is a fishing village blessed with a beautiful sandy bay fringed with palm trees. Science-fiction author Arthur C Clarke was so enchanted by the “exquisite arc of beach,” that he once made it his second home. To many visitors, Unawatuna is simply Sri Lanka’s best, a view endorsed by the Discovery Channel, which has rated the beach one of the ten best in the world.

Unawatuna is protected by a double reef and is therefore one of the safest beaches in Sri Lanka for swimming. You can snorkel in the clear blue waters of the bay. It is a great place for surfing and diving. Or you can go fishing or snorkelling out to sea by using the traditional catamarans dotting the beach.

Many restaurants line the whole curve of beach with sun beds enticingly placed outside. Because there are no big hotel complexes here, and no busy road, it is a favourite of tourists staying a few months. With welcoming villagers and an unforgettable ambience, it is easy to see why.

Arugam village is situated in the bay of the same name on one of the nicest stretches of the south east coast with many miles of pristine beaches, It was once occupied by the Dutch as a military post and had a small mud fort. For the past quarter-century, however, it has been seasonally occupied by cosmopolitan surfers attracted by the waves and discerning travellers who appreciate the splendour of its isolation.

The curved sandy bay is wide and long. There are no big hotel complexes towering over the beach, which at many places is lined with a multitude of brightly coloured fishing boats. That there are empty spaces between restaurants and guesthouses is striking when you have been used to seeing how crowded and developed most west and southern coast beach spots are.

During May to October, which is dry season on the east coast, the bay becomes safe for swimming, and best for surfing. There are some beautiful coral reefs and an unbelievable number of tropical fish to be seen in and around the area where the best snorkelling, on a calm day, is on the southern tip of the bay.

The adjacent beaches of Nilaveli and Uppuveli north of Trincomalee, together 6km in length, are the most favoured by visitors to the region. Nilaveli, especially, has one of the finest beaches in Sri Lanka - the expansive stretches of the island’s typical soft white sand are an ideal location for swimming and sunbathing. From here you can hire a boat to take you to nearby Pigeon Island – so-called because it is home to the rare Blue Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) - which is good for diving and snorkelling.

A more attractive alternative is Coral Island, a few kilometres north of Nilaveli, which unlike Pigeon Island cannot be landed on, but which has a well-preserved reef containing the beautiful cabbage coral and a marvellous variety of dazzling tropical fish. Coral Island is considered by many to be Sri Lanka’s best snorkelling spot. However, the water over the reef becomes quite shallow at low tide, so precautions must be taken not only to avoid cuts and scrapes but also ensure no coral – nowadays so vulnerable – is damaged.