The best places for swimming is mostly on the west and south coasts where the southwest monsoon is less strong than being on the east coast. The best time to get soaked in the water is from around December to March in the west coast and from November to Aril in the south coast. In wet season, April/May to October/November, is when you should be more careful as the seas likely to be bigger, according to the records, many people have indeed been drowned every year. Being alert at all time of swimming is a tip for your safety. Some naive swimmers who have a little knowledge about the sea condition may underestimate the danger or even unaware of it. In Sri Lanka, you should be more careful as there are a few life-saving patrols and there would be no-one to jump in and rescue you like some other country's popular beaches.

Watch out for currents as some kind of currents, called rip, is dangerous. When water brought onto the beach by waves is sucked back to the sea, it formulates current that is strong enough to drag you out with it. Therefore, watch where people are swimming or check with reliable people where is safe to swim. The most important thing is not to panic, a rip will weaken eventually.

Pollution is another deterrent to swimming is some places, for alternative, most luxury hotels in Colombo or other west and south-coast cities offer a very good swimming pool with abundance of facilities like spa and sauna.