A Tale of Two Coasts: Living that Good Spice Trail Life, Ahangama or Arugam Bay

Image left: Toby Buttler

The south and east coasts of Sri Lanka may share the same island, but they couldn’t feel more different. That’s the fun of it. When you spend time in Sri Lanka, you might hear some folk say they’re South Coast kind; where the weather is balmy and nice, palms sway tall, the waves are many and easy, and the sunsets are killer every time. The folk who say they’re more East Coast will tell you about those long and glorious right-hand waves, the wild jungles, and how every day comes coated with the East's blazing sunny brilliance. Well, they’re both right, and we made a home on each of these coasts because both are full of discoveries you won’t make anywhere else; days you can’t live anywhere else. Our two spaces on the south and east were designed to honour the distinct nature of these two coasts while maintaining the same services and standards our guests love about the Spice Trail. Because, as a wise old Sri Lankan proverb says, live as the place lives (දේසේ හැටියට වාසේ), meaning life is best made in tune with the locality. So, in both the east and the south, we set out to create spaces for lifestyles that have no friction with the ways of each place. Here’s how Spice Trail Ahangama and Arugam Bay are designed differently to let you really lean into the best of each coast, and where they remain consistent in giving you the good life we’re known for.

South Coast with Spice Trail Ahangama: Calm, Connected, Comfortably Close

On the south coast, the Spice Trail life leans into the region’s classic, easy convenience, and we made spaces for staying within a mental zone of calm focus and contemplation. Mornings start slow. You might see yoga mats spread in the garden, someone scribbling in a journal, or quietly typing on their laptop. Cruising into breakfast with just the perfect amount of work, wellness, or both is very South Coast. Order breakfast from our resident restaurant, Little Bang Kitchen (LBK) and coffee from our sister café Kāffi and have it poolside or at the garden tables. Rather have it surrounded by a seaview and the gentle hum of a café buzzing around? Both LBK and Kāffi are just a walk down a leafy village road from the Spice Trail. LBK shares a beachfront space with Kāffi here. It’s a neat corner where the day flows easily from slow-pour coffees and breakfast bowls to late-night drinks and ramen. With one of the best coffee spots on the south coast and LBK’s cult-status vegan ramen, this is a classic Ahangama hotspot for work meets as much as dinner dates and big old family lunches.

What a lot of us love about our location, Ahangama, is that it’s just a drive from Galle, Matara, and even Colombo if duty calls. That’s why the South Coast Spice Trail is favoured by weekenders, remote workers, working couples, families tied to school calendars, entrepreneurs, and wellness seekers who like their peace with a side of convenience.

Image: Toby Buttler

East Coast with Spice Trail Arugam Bay: Wild, Kinetic, Untamed

Now head east. This coast wakes up with the sunrise and pulls you outside before you know it. Dawn patrol surf, long walks, and even an impromptu beach hang, all before breakfast. Surfboards lean on sun-warmed walls, and the air smells of salt and jungle, inviting you to explore. Distance from the cities only sharpens the energy. Here on the East Coast, Spice Trail Arugam Bay hosts both LBK and Kāffi on the same resort stretch, making it ridiculously convenient to snag breakfast, coffee, lunch, and dinner between all the ambitious plans involving everything between elephant-watching treks, national park safaris, evening surfs and beach picnics to historical site trails. Early breakfasts are a thing here, and you’ll see solos, duos and little groups sitting around tables laden with coffee and cookies or delicious food. Meanwhile, you might spot the fish-uncle showing up with the fresh catch from that morning, triggering mental notes all around to order something-seafood that night. Throughout the day, being an all-in resort makes Spice Trail Arugam Bay a melting pot of activity with pool action, garden paths, and a game station that keeps both kids and adults busy. Come sunset, Little Bang Kitchen here transforms into a nighttime super-club of noodles, dumplings, and sake and wine, featuring live music by local artists.

This raw electricity of the East Coast is what makes it the place for nomadic families, adventurers, wildlife lovers, explorers and wave worshippers who appreciate being somewhere far removed from everyday realities. The Spice Trail Arugam Bay is designed as an all-in resort that allows you to chase all the plans that this wild coast calls you towards, without struggling to line up your meals, drinks, and kids' play time; it’s all right here.

Two coasts; one Spice Trail standard 

Our two Spice Trail homes let you live these contrasts without ever dropping the standard you came for. LBK Arugam Bay means the same beloved ramen line-up and fresh catch, but the flavour of the evening is pure East Coast; while the same chefs and ingredients sourced from the fishermen down the road are presented at a softer tempo at Ahangama LBK with south coast beach ease. The same beans and baristas in the south coast Kāffi induce slow pours and quiet conversation, but east coast Kāffi may call for a quick double shot before paddling out.

Both locations offer our Spa Therapy full menu, with surf recovery massages, reflexology, and rejuvenating facials by trained and certified therapists. In both Ahangama and Arugam Bay, the Spice Trail rooms are designed as suites, family units, and double rooms that you can pair and connect with private gardens for families or friend groups who want to alternate between privacy and community. It’s the same Spice Trail spirit and quality, carried consistently through different pulses. 

Built with the Land

Neither property is a transplant. Our Ahangama Spice Trail grew in collaboration with the family who lived there for generations; their old family-home style shaped the build, and you can still see its remnants carefully preserved with the new elements. Spice Trail Arugam Bay rose with input from local surf instructors, guides, fishermen, and carpenters who know every current and sandbank.

Across both coasts, we work with the people who are from these seas and soils, sourcing fish directly from nearby boats, and hiring local gardeners, masons and woodworkers, partnering with communities who live and breathe the place. And, it’s not just in how we develop Spice Trail, it’s also in how we contribute and integrate into those localities by playing our part in their safeguarding and sustenance; from the mangrove restoration in the south to the grey-water reuse and recycling in the east to conserve water, and ‘teaching the teacher’ surf programs for future surf instructors on both coasts, we don’t just operate in these places, we become part of their story.

Inquire now and we’ll help you lock in the perfect room, coast, and dates.