Best Time To Visit Galle > Weather, Temperature & Season

What is the best time to visit Galle?

The best time to visit Galle is December to April, when rainfall is at its lowest and the sea is calm. Days run 25°C to 31°C, and January to March is the most settled stretch.

Those are also the months for the beaches either side of the fort, Unawatuna and Hikkaduwa, and for whale watching out of Mirissa.

May to September is the southwest monsoon, and October and November bring a second wet spell in the inter-monsoon. The fort itself is walkable in either, so Galle handles rain better than the beaches do.

Colombo is two hours up the coast and shares the same window.

Monthly Weather in Galle

Month	High/Low (°C)	Rain
January	31°/ 23°	10 days
February	32°/ 23°	9 days
March	32°/ 24°	8 days
April	32°/ 25°	22 days
May	31°/ 25°	23 days
June	30°/ 25°	25 days
July	30°/ 25°	17 days
August	29°/ 25°	30 days
September	29°/ 24°	27 days
October	29°/ 24°	27 days
November	30°/ 24°	25 days
December	30°/ 23°	23 days

Galle Travel Packages

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7 Nights / 8 Days

Culture, Hill Country, Wild life & Beach Escape - Discover Sri Lanka

Sigiriya(1N) → Kandy(1N) → Nuwara Eliya(2N) → Yala National...

$490/person

7 Nights / 8 Days

7 Nights 8 Days Ramayana Special with Trincomalee & Katharagama

Sigiriya(1N) → Trincomalee(1N) → Kandy(1N) → Nuwara Eliya(1...

₹48,800/person

8 Nights / 9 Days

9-Day Sri Lanka Adventure: Beaches, Heritage, Wildlife, and Scenic Train Ride

Colombo(1N) → Dambulla(2N) → Kandy(1N) → Nuwara Eliya(1N) &...

₹47,900/person

7 Nights / 8 Days

Sri Lanka Highlights: 7-Night Cultural, Wildlife, and Beach Adventure

Habarana(1N) → Kandy(2N) → Ella(1N) → Tissamaharama(1N) &ra...

$400/person

5 Nights / 6 Days

5 Nights 6 Days Ramayana Special with Katharagama

Kandy(1N) → Nuwara Eliya(1N) → Kataragama(1N) → Galle(1N) &...

Sold By: Sign Of Lanka (pv...(4.0 )

₹50,725/person

8 Nights / 9 Days

The Twilight Escape in Sri Lanka: 8 Nights / 9 Days Tour

Kandy(1N) → Nuwara Eliya(1N) → Dambulla(2N) → Yala National...

₹34,500/person

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More about Best Time to Travel to Galle

Galle in Dry Season (December to April)

Temperature: 25°C to 31°C.
Weather: The driest and calmest stretch, with clear skies and gentle surf. February is the driest month; April is the hottest and the last dependable one.
Crowds: The busiest and most expensive months, peaking over Christmas and New Year.
Tip: Walk the fort ramparts at sunrise or sunset rather than midday, and this is the window for Mirissa whale trips and the beaches.

Galle in Southwest Monsoon (May to September)

Temperature: 26°C to 30°C, humid.
Weather: The southwest monsoon, heaviest around May and June. Sharp bursts of rain rather than all-day cover, but the sea turns rough and swimming gets unsafe at the open beaches.
Crowds: Lowest of the year, with the steepest discounts on the fort’s boutique hotels.
Tip: Galle Fort is the reason this season still works: the ramparts, museums, cafes and shops carry on. If you want a beach in these months, the east coast is dry.

Galle in Inter-monsoon (October to November)

Temperature: 25°C to 30°C.
Weather: The second inter-monsoon, and a wet one, with thunderstorms and some cyclone risk off the Bay of Bengal. It eases through late November.
Crowds: Low, and rates stay soft until mid-December.
Tip: Often assumed to be a shoulder season on this coast, but it is not dry. Late November is the turn into the good months, and prices have not caught up yet.

Beaches and Whale Watching near Galle

Galle is the base for the south coast, and everything on the water is seasonal.

Unawatuna, Hikkaduwa, Jungle Beach: December to April, when the sea is calm.
Whale and dolphin watching, Mirissa: December to April, about 40 km east. Boats do not run reliably outside it.
Surfing, Hikkaduwa and Weligama: November to April.
Diving and snorkelling: December to April, best visibility February and March.

From May to September the surf is up and the currents strong, so swim only where there are flags.

Best Time to Visit Galle by Interest

Galle Fort, the ramparts and the museums: any month. It is the one part of the south coast that works in rain.
Beaches and swimming: December to April.
Whale watching at Mirissa: December to April.
Surfing: November to April.
Galle Literary Festival: usually late January.
Lowest prices: May to November.
Wettest months: May, June and October.