Day 1 · Negombo
Arrive in Negombo
You are met at the airport and driven to Negombo, a town of churches and a well-known beach, to rest by the sea. Dinner is seafood at the hotel.
- Meals
- Dinner
- Travel
- 8 km, about 30 minutes
11 days · 10 nights
Five national parks by jeep and boat, from sloth bear country to leopard country.
Choose your dates when you enquire
Ask about datesA private journey built around Sri Lanka's national parks. Begin with a night in a camp at Wilpattu, cycle through ancient Anuradhapura, and spend two nights near Minneriya and Kaudulla for the elephant herds. Two nights at Gal Oya bring boat safaris to Bird Island, then two near Yala for its leopards, before a last day through Galle to 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 to Negombo, a town of churches and a well-known beach, to rest by the sea. Dinner is seafood at the hotel.
Wilpattu National Park
Day 2 · Wilpattu National Park
Start at Negombo's busy morning fish market, then drive north to Wilpattu, a park of willus, the sand-rimmed natural lakes that draw its wildlife. An evening jeep safari looks for sloth bears and leopards, followed by a barbecue dinner at your camp.
Anuradhapura
Day 3 · Anuradhapura
An early drive in Wilpattu, when deer and birds are most active, before breakfast back at camp. In Anuradhapura, cycle for two to three hours past rice paddies and reservoirs to the ancient city and the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, the sacred bo tree, then dine in your hotel's garden.
Hiriwadunna and Minneriya
Day 4 · Hiriwadunna and Minneriya
Walk through the village of Hiriwadunna and its old reservoirs, share a traditional meal with local people and cross the water by catamaran. In the afternoon, a jeep safari in Minneriya National Park, known for its large elephant herds.
Minneriya and Kaudulla
Day 5 · Minneriya and Kaudulla
An early safari in Minneriya to look for purple-faced langurs, sambar deer and slender loris, with breakfast in the park. After lunch at the hotel, a second safari in Kaudulla, home to around 200 elephants and hundreds of bird species.
Gal Oya National Park
Day 6 · Gal Oya National Park
Cross the island to Gal Oya, with lunch on the way. Safaris here are by boat and jeep, and on the great Senanayake Samudra reservoir you may see elephants swimming between islands.
Day 7 · Gal Oya National Park
Set out early with breakfast on board for a boat safari to Bird Island, at its best in the morning. Then a jeep safari from the Nilgala entrance through rugged country rich in birds and butterflies, with lunch along the way and a stop where an underground river begins.
Tissamaharama
Day 8 · Tissamaharama
A slow morning around the lodge and the village, then a drive south via Monaragala, with lunch at a local restaurant, to your hotel near Yala.
Yala National Park
Day 9 · Yala National Park
Leave early with a packed breakfast for a full day in Yala, which has one of the highest densities of leopards in the world, as well as old temple ruins hidden in the forest. Lunch can be taken on the beach inside the park before the afternoon drive.
Galle and Colombo
Day 10 · Galle and Colombo
Follow the coast past the stilt fishermen of Ahangama to Galle Fort, with its Dutch church and museum. Continue to Colombo for a tour of the city, from Gangaramaya Temple and the Red Mosque to Pettah Bazaar, and a farewell dinner of Sri Lankan food.
Colombo
Day 11 · Colombo
Check out and transfer to the airport for your flight.
The hotels for each stop. Your advisor confirms them, or something just as good, for your dates.
Negombo · 1 night
Or similar
Wilpattu · 1 night
A camp close to the park. Or similar
Anuradhapura · 1 night
Or similar
Habarana · 2 nights
Or similar
Gal Oya · 2 nights
Or similar
Tissamaharama · 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.
A private journey built around Sri Lanka's national parks. Begin with a night in a camp at Wilpattu, cycle through ancient Anuradhapura, and spend two nights near Minneriya and Kaudulla for the elephant herds. Two nights at Gal Oya bring boat safaris to Bird Island, then two near Yala for its leopards, before a last day through Galle to 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 · Habarana · 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
