Lighthouse Beach is the longest and liveliest of Kovalam's three beaches, stretching north from the rocky southern headland where the red-and-white striped lighthouse stands. The beach is around 400 metres long, backed by a dense strip of restaurants, massage parlours, souvenir shops, and guesthouses climbing the cliff behind. In peak season (November to February) it fills with a mix of foreign tourists and domestic visitors from Thiruvananthapuram, and the water is dotted with swimmers and the occasional kayak.
Lifeguards patrol from towers at intervals during daylight hours and fly flags indicating safe swimming conditions — the undertow here can be strong, especially outside the calm season, and the flags are worth paying attention to. The seafood restaurants along the cliff offer the same fresh catch across most menus; the difference is the view. Tables perched on the upper terraces look out over the whole sweep of the beach and are worth waiting for.
The lighthouse itself (Kerala Lighthouse, operated by the Directorate General of Lighthouses) opens to visitors in the late afternoon. The climb is a standard spiral staircase with about 142 steps, and the reward is the panorama from the top — all three beaches visible in one sweep, the fishing boats of Vizhinjam to the south, and on clear days the new Vizhinjam port construction on the horizon.