Sri Lanka
Wedding ring lost in the surf in Sri Lanka?
Arugam Bay is surfed from April to October, while the south-west coast, Bentota to Unawatuna, has its calm sea from November to March.
If your wedding band came off at Arugam Bay, or anywhere else on the south, west or east coast of Sri Lanka, a search is still possible. What counts most is where it went, on dry sand, in water you could stand in, or out where the waves break or the reef begins, and after that whether you can show us the spot on a map.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that works with experienced local metal detectorists to search for a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone lost in Sri Lanka. Tell us what happened and where. We choose an experienced detectorist who knows the beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
Which coast is calm depends on the month
Beach weather moves round Sri Lanka with its two monsoons. From November to March the north-east winds leave the south-western coast sunny and its sea calm. When the south-west winds come, it is the waters of the east coast that turn quiet, and the south-east has its own surf season at Arugam Bay.
Hikkaduwa and Unawatuna on the south-west coast, and Pasikudah on the east, have fringing coral reefs beside the shore, and sandstone reefs are widespread along the coast. So when you write, say whether you stayed on the sand, stood in the shallows or swam out over rock or coral.
Ring Seekers in Sri Lanka, plainly
Talking to the person who arranges it
Whoever answers your first WhatsApp message also finds the detectorist and reports back to you afterwards.
Your pin, unedited
Your map pin and your photos go to the detectorist exactly as you sent them, not as a summary we typed up.
When it went in the surf or over the reef
If the band went where the waves break or out over the reef, we say so plainly in the first few messages, along with what that does to the chances.
Town, beach, date
The town you stayed in, the beach, the date and whether you were in the water get a case moving faster than a long story.
You hear the figure before saying yes
We explain the costs before any search is booked.
The south-west, the south, the east coast and Colombo
We leave Pigeon Island National Park, Rekawa Sanctuary and Kumana National Park alone. Starting at Bentota, the cards follow the coast south, then up the east side to Trincomalee, and finish with Colombo and Negombo.
From Bentota round the south to Trincomalee
Bentota and Beruwala
Bentota is known for its golden beaches, and behind them lie a lagoon set in greenery and the Bentara Ganga, a river dotted with islets. Windsurfing, parasailing and snorkelling go on here, and water-skiing on the river and its estuary, so tell us whether you lost it on the beach or on the river. Beruwala is another of the southern beaches.
Hikkaduwa
The beaches at Hikkaduwa are wide, and a coral reef lies just offshore, visited by glass-bottom boats and by snorkellers and divers. A short way south of the centre of the reef, the reef decreases and a wider sandy beach begins, with waves good for board surfing and body surfing. Which side of that change you were on is the first detail we need.
Unawatuna and Galle
Unawatuna is a beach resort and a suburb of Galle, with a fringing coral reef off its shore and restaurants along the beach front. The restaurant you sat in front of is the quickest way to place you on the sand.
Koggala and Weligama
Koggala has a long beach, where a map pin matters more than usual. Stilt fishing can be seen at Koggala, and on the coast road east from Galle towards Weligama the fishermen's poles stand in the seabed close to the shore; one showing in your photo helps fix the spot. Weligama has a sandy bay, with an offshore islet called Taprobane that also makes a good marker in a picture.
Mirissa
Mirissa is a bay with a sandy beach, a laterite cliff at its southern end and Giragala island. Whale and dolphin trips set off from the fisheries harbour in the early morning. From May to October the sea gets a bit rough, and at weekends crowds come down from Colombo for the day.
Arugam Bay and Pottuvil Point
Arugam Bay is a surf beach on the south-east coast with a white, wide shore. Its surf points include The Point, Pottuvil Point, Crocodile Rock and Peanut Farm, which is reached through forest. At Peanut Farm and Pottuvil Point a long sandy beach is dotted with huge boulders at the water's edge. Buildings crowd the edge of the beach in the bay itself, so the building nearest to where you left your things is worth a photo.
Pasikudah and Kalkudah
Pasikudah and Kalkudah are coastal resort towns a few kilometres apart, each with its own bay. Pasikudah has one of the known fringing coral reefs of the east coast, and the water on this side of the island is quiet during the south-west monsoon.
Nilaveli, Uppuveli and Trincomalee
Nilaveli is a coastal resort town north-west of Trincomalee, with white sand and gentle waves. Uppuveli is a calm beach closer to Trincomalee. Trincomalee's beaches are used for surfing, diving, fishing and whale watching.
Galle Face Green and Negombo
In Colombo, Galle Face Green is the stretch between Galle Road and the Indian Ocean that serves as the city's playground. North of Colombo, the beaches at Negombo, beside its lagoon, have long been a favourite with local and foreign visitors alike.
Places we cover in Sri Lanka
- Unawatuna
- Galle
- Hikkaduwa
- Bentota
- Beruwala
- Koggala
- Weligama
- Mirissa
- Tangalle
- Arugam Bay
- Pottuvil Point
- Pasikudah
- Kalkudah
- Nilaveli
- Uppuveli
- Trincomalee
- Galle Face Green, Colombo
- Negombo
Lost between the surf and the tuk-tuk
Bands, chains and earrings
- Wedding bands, and engagement rings with stones
- A gold chain, with or without its pendant
- Bracelets
- Stud and hoop earrings
Smart rings, surf watches, scooter keys
- An Oura ring worn for a surf or a swim
- A surf watch or smartwatch
- A phone slipped from a shorts pocket
- Keys to a hired scooter or a guesthouse room
- Sunglasses or glasses with metal frames
Where Sri Lanka trips lose things
- Paddling out at The Point, Arugam Bay
- Climbing aboard a whale-watching boat at Mirissa harbour
- Water-skiing on the river at Bentota
- Body surfing on the wide sand south of the reef at Hikkaduwa
- Lunch at a beach-front restaurant in Unawatuna
- An evening on Galle Face Green
From a WhatsApp message to a search on the beach
Most of it happens in the chat, wherever you are by then.
One message: item, beach, date
Send it on WhatsApp, and if you were surfing, snorkelling or on a boat when it went, add that too.
A pin where you were sitting
Put a map pin where you were sitting or went into the sea, and send your own photos from that beach along with a picture of the item.
Finding someone who can get there
We ask around for a metal detectorist able to travel to that part of the coast, and brief them with everything you sent.
The day of the search, and what you hear after
The search goes ahead on a day agreed with you, and afterwards we tell you which ground was covered and whether anything turned up.
Questions about Sri Lanka
Does it matter which surf point at Arugam Bay I was at when my wedding band came off?
A great deal. Arugam Bay has several surf points, among them The Point, Pottuvil Point, Crocodile Rock and Peanut Farm, and Peanut Farm is reached through forest. Name the point you surfed and tell us whether the band was still on when you paddled out, as that decides which stretch of sand the detectorist starts on. A band lost in the break itself is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
Can a watch lost while body surfing at Hikkaduwa be narrowed down?
The body-surfing waves at Hikkaduwa are on the wider sandy beach that begins a short way south of the centre of the reef, so that narrows it straight away. Pin the spot where you went into the water, and say how long you were out.
What should we send about a phone dropped while boarding a whale-watching boat at Mirissa?
The trips leave from the Mirissa fisheries harbour in the early morning. Give us the name of the trip or the boat, the time you boarded and which part of the harbour you boarded from. Say too if the phone fell once the boat had left, as that is a different search.
Where do we start if an engagement ring went missing after lunch at a beach-front restaurant in Unawatuna?
Restaurants line the beach front at Unawatuna, so the name of yours, and where your table or sunbed stood in front of it, puts the detectorist on the right stretch of sand. A fringing coral reef lies off the shore, so mention whether you swam out towards it before or after lunch, or stayed on the sand.
Is an Oura ring lost in the water at Pasikudah worth looking for?
It can be looked for. Pasikudah and Kalkudah are separate bays a few kilometres apart, so check which you were on. Pasikudah has a fringing coral reef, so tell us how far out you went and roughly how deep the water was where you last felt the ring on your finger.
We stayed at Uppuveli but spent one day at Nilaveli. Which beach should we name for a missing bracelet?
Both, if you cannot tell. Uppuveli is the calm beach closer to Trincomalee, and Nilaveli, north-west of the town, has white sand and gentle waves. Scroll back through your pictures: the last one with the bracelet on your wrist usually settles the day, and often the beach.
Sunglasses gone while water-skiing at Bentota: is that a beach search?
No, that is a river search. At Bentota the water-skiing is on the Bentara Ganga and its estuary, and the river is dotted with islets, so name an islet you passed if you can, where the boat set out from and roughly how long into the run you fell.
Sri Lanka
Tell us the coast and the day first
Name the coast, the beach and the day in your first WhatsApp message, then add a map pin on the spot where you last had the item.