Waypoint Arugam Bay

"Area: Arugam Bay. This is personally my top pick for Arugam Bay and one of my favourite places I stayed in Sri Lanka. The owner and manager of this place are amazing and so warm. They create a very welcoming communal vibe which feels open to anyone and they will happily sit, socialise and chat with you if you feel like it. The layout of property itself makes it perfect for meeting people and socialising- so I would say this is the best place in Arugam Bay for solo travellers, and also anyone who enjoys a friendly vibe and meeting new people. They have doorms and private rooms perfect for couple -all are comfortable, clean and well designed. I stayed in a private and the aircon was great. They also have a restaurant on site, offer yoga classes on the roof terrace, and have a lovely area to sit and chill. On the Friday night I was there, they had a live guitarist/singer until around 10pm -he was amazing and lots of people gathered around to sit and listen and it felt like a chilled festival area with all the pretty lights. I asked them to arrange a Tuk Tuk Safari (highly recommend) and they discussed who would do a great job for us, then called the old local Surfing Legend Jaya to come and pick us up. for decades Jaya was a surf instructor and one of the best surfers of Arugam Bay, now in his 60s/70s (or there-abouts) he knows everyone, speaks decent English and has a wicked sense of humour. It's also worth noting Waypoint didn't take a cut for the tour, they just wanted the money to go to Jaya to support him, and he charged less than anyone else we asked in the area (he was also fantastic and made the whole thing extremely fun). -You really get the impression they genuinely just want everyone just to have a great time here. Cannot recommend it enough. "