Pigeon Island: Is It Still Worth Visiting in 2026?

The island is fringed by a coral reef comprised of more than 100 species of coral, making it unmatched by any other live coral reef in Sri Lanka.

This diverse array of corals has created the perfect breeding ground for over 300 types of tropical reef fish. 

The breadth of live coral and the diversity of fish make a trip here the best snorkelling you can find in Sri Lanka.

If you’re interested in Sri Lankan wildlife pursuits on land, be sure to check out Wilpattu National Park – we think it’s the top pick for a safari in Sri Lanka!

After reading so much online about this damage, we were unsure about going snorkelling at Pigeon Island.

We decided to give it a go anyway, but had pretty low expectations. In the end, we were so glad we did.

Related: 21 Amazing Places to Visit in Anuradhapura

We were impressed with the abundance of fish, turtles and sharks on the main side of the island and the beautiful corals on the ‘other side’ of the island (to find these corals, read our pro tip below). 

The amount of sharks we saw in a short period of time was pretty cool, and something that we haven’t seen many other places (and we snorkel a lot).

Pigeon Island snorkelling trips are one of the most popular things to do in Trincomalee. The snorkelling trips are thus very easy to arrange.

Various guesthouses, tour operators or random fishermen operate boat trips out to the island.

If you spend any time on either Uppuveli or Nilaveli Beach, you’ll most likely be approached by someone offering a tour before you even get the chance to inquire. 

Our tip: unless you’re already staying on Nilaveli Beach, start your tour from Uppuveli Beach. It’s not worth making the extra trip to Nilaveli to start from there. Plus, it’s a beautiful ride and nicer to spend more time on the water than on the road. 

All companies in the area are pretty much the same in what they offer.

A Pigeon Island tour usually includes getting you there and back (30 minutes each way), 3 hours of island time, a snorkel set and some light snacks (cookies, bananas and water). 

All the boats arrive and anchor at the ‘front’ of the island, where the safe zones are. There is another small beach and area to enter the water at the back of the island. 

If you have enough time and energy you can swim around the whole island. It should take around 2-3 hours.

It now costs $42 USD just to enter the Pigeon Island National Marine Park, and most operators charge an additional 8000 LKR on top of this for the trip.

That makes the current price of a snorkelling trip around 20,000 LKR. This is much, much more expensive than when we visited!

The tropical fish you can expect to see include ragged-fin parrot fish, melon butterflyfish, black-wedged butterflyfish, titan triggerfish and different varieties of angel fish. 

One of the biggest highlights for visitors is the sheer abundance of black tip reef sharks in the area.

It is easy to see anywhere from 5 – 20 of them at a time. Don’t worry, these sharks are not dangerous. 

You can also see different varieties of sea turtles including loggerheads, leatherbacks and the hawksbill sea turtle. 

If you look very closely you may also see cuttlefish, moray eels or lobsters hiding between rocks. 

Pro tip: the best coral is on the ‘other’ side of the island (opposite where the boats dock). Most people stick to the main side, but if you just swim around the island, you will be amazed at the vibrant and exquisite coral on the other side. 

Can You Scuba Dive at Pigeon Island?

If scuba diving is more your thing, you might be wondering if you should go diving at Pigeon Island rather than snorkelling. We love diving and considered the same.

While you can go scuba diving at Pigeon Island, we don’t recommend it.

The best marine life is on the south side of the island, where it is shallower. The water is so shallow, in fact, that snorkelling is perfectly sufficient.

Most diving trips to Pigeon Island go to the north side of the island (where the coral is better). However, at depth, visibility isn’t great here and there’s not a lot to see.

We’ve only heard reports of disappointment from diving at Pigeon Island. Stick to snorkelling!

Whilst it’s undoubtedly a stunning area to visit, the high cost is now a very real consideration when deciding whether to go snorkelling at Pigeon Island. It’s around 5x more expensive than when we originally visited!

For the same price, there are so many other things you can do in Sri Lanka.

However, there’s no question that the snorkelling on Pigeon Island is the best not just in the Trincomalee area, but probably the entire country.

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