The island’s beach villas are spread all the way around the island. Some are set further back from the water than others, so it’s worth bearing this in mind when you book. On top of that, some of the villas sit on a side where there is a great deal of coral right at the water’s edge. And even at high tide, swimming there simply isn’t possible – not even with water shoes. You’re also not allowed to step on the coral, so you’d have to walk further along the beach.
We were a little unlucky with our beach villa, as it was located where there was coral.

Nowhere near as much as at the villas before ours, but still enough that we couldn’t swim in front of the villa. The house was also set far back, so we could hardly see the water from the terrace.

So on the second day we decided to ask whether we could move to the other side of the island. It came at an extra cost, as only a two-bedroom villa was available, but we chose to do it – so we could swim in the crystal-clear water we had dreamed of and have a view of the sea.

So if you’re going to Angsana Velavaru and staying on the beach, I would really recommend booking a beach villa facing the water villas – the water there was nothing short of spectacular.

On the other side of the island the water was certainly beautiful too – but impossible to swim in at one end because of the coral, and at the other end water shoes are a necessity.

At the beach villas facing the water villas, water shoes are in no way necessary – the water is simply breathtakingly beautiful.