Day 1 · Negombo
Arrive in Negombo
You are met at the airport and driven a short way to Negombo, at the mouth of its lagoon. Dinner is at your hotel by the beach.
- Meals
- Dinner
- Travel
- 8 km, about 30 minutes
11 days · 10 nights
Rock temples and an ancient fortress, then two beaches with slow days built in.
Choose your dates when you enquire
Ask about datesBegin in the Cultural Triangle with the cave temples of Dambulla, the climb up Sigiriya and an evening elephant safari at Minneriya. Two nights on the east coast at Trincomalee come next, then Kandy, the tea hills of Nuwara Eliya and a rafting stop at Kitulgala on the way to two quiet nights at Bentota before Colombo.
The same person from your first question to the flight home, with a wedding or vow renewal planned alongside if you like.
How the days unfold. Your advisor tailors the pace, the hotels and the extras to you.
Negombo
Day 1 · Negombo
You are met at the airport and driven a short way to Negombo, at the mouth of its lagoon. Dinner is at your hotel by the beach.
Dambulla and Habarana
Day 2 · Dambulla and Habarana
Drive inland, stopping at Ridigama, the silver village, for the small cave monastery of Ridi Vihara beneath a boulder hung with wild bees' nests. Continue to the Dambulla cave temple, five caverns of paintings and more than 150 Buddha images, including a 14 metre reclining figure carved from the rock.
Sigiriya and Minneriya
Day 3 · Sigiriya and Minneriya
Climb the fifth-century rock fortress of Sigiriya, past the painted cloud maidens, the Mirror Wall and the great lion paws, to the palace ruins on the summit. In the evening, a jeep safari in Minneriya National Park, where elephants gather on the reservoir shore in large numbers around October.
Trincomalee
Day 4 · Trincomalee
A short drive to Trincomalee on the east coast, a multicultural town set on one of the world's largest natural harbours, with beaches close by.
Day 5 · Trincomalee
A day to rest at the hotel and on the beach.
Kandy
Day 6 · Kandy
Cross the island to Kandy for the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, then a walk along the shaded paths around Kandy Lake and through the local market. In the evening, a performance of Kandyan dance before dinner.
Nuwara Eliya
Day 7 · Nuwara Eliya
Walk the Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya, begun as a royal pleasure garden and expanded under the British. Climb into the hills to a tea estate and factory to see how tea is graded and packed, with a fresh cup at the end, then on to cool Nuwara Eliya.
Kitulgala and Bentota
Day 8 · Kitulgala and Bentota
Descend past the St Clair's and Devon waterfalls to Kitulgala, where you can raft the white water of the Kelani River through the forest. Continue to the south-west coast and your hotel in Bentota.
Bentota
Day 9 · Bentota
A free day on the beach or by the pool.
Colombo
Day 10 · Colombo
Drive up the coast to Colombo, where the old clock tower and colonial buildings stand among newer towers. Independence Square, Pettah Bazaar and the city's restaurants are all close at hand for your last evening.
Day 11 · Colombo
Breakfast, then a transfer to the airport for your flight home.
The hotels for each stop. Your advisor confirms them, or something just as good, for your dates.
Negombo · 1 night
Or similar
Habarana · 2 nights
Or similar
Trincomalee · 2 nights
Or similar
Kandy · 1 night
Or similar
Nuwara Eliya · 1 night
Or similar
Bentota · 2 nights
Or similar
Colombo · 1 night
Or similar
Tell us when you would like to travel. Your advisor confirms dates and hotels, tailors the trip to the two of you, and stays with you until you are home.
Sri Lanka
10 days · 9 nights
Colombo → Habarana → Kandy → Ella → Tissamaharama → Galle → Bentota → Colombo
A private loop of the island with your own driver-guide. Head north to the cave temples of Dambulla and the ruined royal city of Polonnaruwa, climb Sigiriya and see Kandy, then take two nights in the hills at Ella. Safaris in Yala and an afternoon in Galle Fort lead to two free days on the beach near Bentota.
Sri Lanka
7 days · 6 nights
Colombo → Kandy → Nuwara Eliya → Tissamaharama → Bentota → Colombo
Go straight from the airport into the hills for two nights in Kandy, with the botanical gardens at Peradeniya and the Temple of the Tooth. Then climb through the tea estates to Nuwara Eliya, drop south for a safari in Yala, walk Galle Fort on the way to a beach night, and finish with a tour of Colombo.
Sri Lanka
8 days · 7 nights
Colombo → Habarana → Kandy → Nuwara Eliya → Tissamaharama → Koggala → Colombo
A full private circuit of Sri Lanka in eight days with your own chauffeur-guide. After a Colombo city tour, head north to the cave temples of Dambulla, Sigiriya and the ruins of Polonnaruwa, then through the spice gardens of Matale to Kandy and the tea country. A safari in Yala and a coastal drive past the stilt fishermen to Galle Fort finish at a beach hotel.
Begin in the Cultural Triangle with the cave temples of Dambulla, the climb up Sigiriya and an evening elephant safari at Minneriya. Two nights on the east coast at Trincomalee come next, then Kandy, the tea hills of Nuwara Eliya and a rafting stop at Kitulgala on the way to two quiet nights at Bentota before Colombo.
Every trip can be shaped around you before you book.
Arrive early or stay on at the end, in the same hotel or somewhere new.
Your travel expert books flights that fit the first and last day.
Choose a better room or a hotel with a view for the nights that count.
A honeymoon, an anniversary or a birthday, planned into the trip.
Other ways to see Sri Lanka, closest in length first.
Private tour | 11 days | Negombo · Wilpattu · Colombo
Private tour | 10 days | Colombo · Kandy · Galle
Private tour | 10 days | Negombo · Habarana · Colombo | Price on enquiry.
Private tour | 10 days | Colombo · Habarana · Bentota
