A Night Spent on Sober Island Resort

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Sober Island is one of the most unique Islands in Sri Lanka. Being situated in the Trincomalee harbor its unique positioning gives the Island to be used as a 360 degree observation point. Trincomalee Harbor is considered as one of the best Natural harbors in the world. Due to its positioning in an Island facing the Bay of Bengal makes the harbor easy to defend. The large size of the harbor coupled with the topographic features makes the harbor excellent to maintain large fleets amidst the changing weather patterns in the region. This had made Trincomalee a target for colonial rulers from ancient times. 

Sober Island's positioning has rendered the Island more valuable in defense of the harbor. French were the first to identify this and they acquired the Island in 1672. The island went to British in 1784 after the treaty of Paris. However French, Dutch and British have all shown interest to the Island from time to time.The Island has been named after a British Lieutenant S. Sober. While the French called the Island "Isle du Soleit" meaning Island of the Sun. 

Due to its ancient role in defense, the Island still has ruins that are reminiscent of the Colonial rule like graves, world war II gun positions, underground ammunition storage complexes and many abandoned  buildings. It being declared property under Sri Lankan Navy, the Island have been preserved and is blessed with good forest cover with animals being present on the reserve. This Historic Island is around 175 acres in extent and today has been converted in to a resort under Sri Lankan Navy.


This Island has been in bucket list for years and finally I visited here in 2020. Sri Lankan Navy allows visitors to access Island by use of the ferry service from Trincomalee harbor. You can either opt for a one day visit or an overnight stay at the hotel depending on your preference. We were fortunate to spend a night at the hotel and it was a truly unique experience. You can walk the Island and a Sri Lankan Navy official will guide you and educate about the history and the importance of the Island. Being a large Island you can see and experience a lot of things in the Island. We visited places like

  1. Observation point in the highest point of the Island which gives you panoramic views of the surrounding Harbor. 
  2. World war II gun points ( spread all around the Island)
  3. Ammunition Storage Complexes
  4. Orlando Cove Beach
We were also had the chance to experience some wild life like birds. There were signs of wild hogs being present and Navy officers also told us about the other animals present in the Island. Further the Tricomalee bay's calm waters are ideal for Kayaking which we did and the Hotel is also equipped with a gym, volleyball court and a swimming pool. Only downside was the food which lacked in variety but was very tasty. My advice for you is to skip holidays and weekends if you plan to visit here. Weekdays are the best since very few visits on weekdays and the Island will be all yours. 
































Location: Sober Island, Sri Lanka

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