Classic Sri Lanka
The complete first visit: the cultural triangle, the hill country by train, two drives in Yala and three nights on the south coast.
Where you sleep,
in order
- Stop 1NegomboA fishing town with a Dutch canal running through it, twenty minutes from the airport — where most trips honestly should begin.
- Stop 2SigiriyaA 200-metre granite plug carrying the ruins of a fifth-century sky palace, and the best sunrise climb in Sri Lanka.
- Stop 3KandyThe last royal capital, holding the Buddha's tooth relic in a lakeside temple and the gateway to the hill country line.
- Stop 4EllaA small hill town in a mountain gap, with the Nine Arch Bridge below it and the best walking in the country around it.
- Stop 5YalaThe best odds of a wild leopard sighting anywhere on earth, in dry scrub jungle that runs to an empty coast.
- Stop 6MirissaA palm-hooked crescent of sand, and the departure point for blue whale watching off the continental shelf.
- Stop 7GalleA walled Dutch trading port on a headland — the most complete colonial fortification in South Asia, and still lived in.
Every drive, with the
hours it really takes
Published so you can see where the long days are before you book, rather than discovering them in the car.
- Day 1
Arrive Colombo, sleep by the sea in Negombo
25m drivingYour driver-guide meets you at arrivals with a cool towel and a king coconut. Twenty-five minutes later you are at a beachside guesthouse, jet lag permitting.
Overnight · Negombo
- Day 2
North to Anuradhapura
3.5h drivingA morning on the road with a stop at the Yapahuwa rock fortress, then the great stupas of Anuradhapura by bicycle in the late afternoon light.
Overnight · Anuradhapura
- Day 3
Mihintale at dawn, on to Sigiriya
1.8h drivingClimb Mihintale before the heat, then a short drive south to the Sigiriya area. Afternoon free by the pool.
Overnight · Sigiriya, two nights
- Day 4
Lion Rock and the elephant gathering
50m drivingSigiriya rock at first light, before the coaches. Late afternoon jeep safari at Minneriya or Kaudulla, wherever the elephants are that month.
- Day 5
Dambulla caves, then Kandy
3h drivingThe painted cave temples at Dambulla, a spice garden stop if you want one, and into Kandy for the evening puja at the Temple of the Tooth.
Overnight · Kandy
- Day 6
Up into tea country
2.7h drivingClimbing all day. A tea factory that still uses its 1930s machinery, a walk between the bushes, and a planter's bungalow for the night.
Overnight · Nuwara Eliya
- Day 7
The train to Ella
40m driving· plus 3 h 20 by trainReserved seats on the hill train, one of the great rail journeys. Your driver meets you at Ella with the bags already at the hotel.
Overnight · Ella
- Day 8
Down to Yala
3.2h drivingLittle Adam's Peak before breakfast if you are up for it, then south past the Rawana falls to the dry-zone scrub around Yala.
Overnight · Yala
- Day 9
Dawn safari, then the coast to Galle
4.3h drivingLeopard country at first light, then the longest drive of the trip along the south coast. We break it at a beach for lunch.
Ask us to add a night in Tangalle if you would rather split it.
Overnight · Galle Fort
- Day 10
Galle Fort, then the airport
2.5h drivingA slow morning inside the fort walls, then the expressway to the airport. If your flight is late we add a farewell lunch in Colombo.
What is in it,
and what is not
- Nine nights in the hotel tier you choose, breakfast included
- Your own air-conditioned vehicle and licensed driver-guide for ten days
- Reserved hill-train tickets, Nuwara Eliya to Ella
- Minneriya or Kaudulla jeep safari, and a Yala jeep safari
- All fuel, tolls, parking and the driver's own costs
- Airport meet and greet, and a local SIM card
- A 24-hour support line while you travel
- International flights and the Sri Lanka ETA
- Entrance fees, roughly $130 per person on this route, paid at the gate
- Lunches and dinners outside the hotels
- Travel insurance
- Tips for your driver-guide and hotel staff
If this one is not quite it
Change anything about Classic Sri Lanka.
Longer, shorter, different month, different hotels. Tell us what is wrong with it and a consultant will send back a version that is not.