Culture, hill country, safari and the south coast in ten days
If you are coming to Sri Lanka once, this is the shape the trip should take. It runs the classic loop — north from the airport to the Cultural Triangle, south through Kandy and the tea estates, out to Yala for wildlife, then west along the coast to Galle.
Ten days is enough to do it without rushing. Drives stay short where the map allows, and the last two days are deliberately unstructured so the trip ends on the sand rather than in the van.
The same itinerary runs in Standard, Comfort and Luxury versions. The route does not change; the hotels do.
Day 01
Negombo
Met at Bandaranaike airport and driven twenty minutes to the coast. Time on the beach, then a welcome dinner.
Beach hotel, Negombo
Day 02
Sigiriya
Transfer inland, stopping at the Dambulla cave temple and its painted ceilings. Check in at Sigiriya and rest.
Hotel, Sigiriya
Day 03
Sigiriya
Sigiriya Rock Fortress at gate-open, then a village tour and a traditional Sri Lankan lunch cooked in a home kitchen.
Hotel, Sigiriya
Day 04
Kandy
An optional elephant experience on the way south, then Kandy: the city, the Temple of the Tooth, and a cultural dance performance in the evening.
Hotel, Kandy
Day 05
Nuwara Eliya
Up through the estates on mountain roads. A working tea plantation and factory, then the colonial town itself at 1,900 metres.
Hotel, Nuwara Eliya
Day 06
Ella
The famous hill-country rail leg through tea and cloud forest. Your driver meets you at the other end; the afternoon is yours.
Hotel, Ella
Day 07
Ella
Little Adam’s Peak, the Nine Arch Bridge, and a waterfall — all walkable, none of it rushed.
Hotel, Ella
Day 08
Yala
A scenic transfer out of the hills to the dry south-east, then an afternoon game drive in Yala National Park.
Hotel, Yala
Day 09
Unawatuna
West along the coast road to Galle. The fort in the afternoon, and sunset at Unawatuna.
Beach hotel, Unawatuna
Day 10
Galle
Free time on the beach in the morning, then the transfer to the airport.
Offered in three versions — Standard, Comfort and Luxury — so the same route can be run at the level you want. Breakfast is included throughout.
Private air-conditioned vehicle with your own chauffeur guide throughout, plus the reserved rail leg into Ella.
See more in the full gallery.
Culture & Heritage
Culture, tea country, the scenic train, safari and the south coast
Everything most first-time visitors come for, in a single week: the rock fortress, the Temple of the Tooth, the tea train, a Yala safari and Galle Fort.
Culture & Heritage
Culture, wildlife and beach — ten days, nine nights
Two UNESCO cities, the tea estates, the scenic train, a Yala safari, whale season at Mirissa and three days working down the south coast.
Culture & Heritage
Four days through the ancient capitals
Dambulla, Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura, Mihintale and the Temple of the Tooth — the whole Cultural Triangle in four days.
