Sri Lanka Travel Itinerary

Sri Lanka

When is the best time to go?

December to April: West Coast

May to November: East Coast

I’m basing this tour on a 14 night stay and I have added all the places that are a must see.

West Coast Tour:

Colombo – 2 nights.

This is a great place to get settled and ready with clothes if you came with an empty bag, you could also do 1 night here and use the other night on the beach.

My favourite hotel to stay is the Galle Face Hotel, right on the seafront but there are many good hotels in the city

Things to do:

Take a Tuk Tuk tour of Colombo
Visit Gangaramaya Temple
The Gallery Café – the cafe was the former office of Geoffrey Bawa a very famous architect in Sri Lanka who designed many buildings across Sri Lanka
Barefoot Garden Café – it is a lovely cafe providing you with either local or western food. You sit in alovely square for your food but you can also visit their shop and art gallery.
Enjoy a sundowner on the veranda at the Galle Face Hotel

You will want to organise a driver to drive you on this 14 day tour and I can advise a company to taxi you around on request.

Habarana – 3 nights

Must sees

Driving from Colombo to Habarana make sure to drive on the Habarana road, you are highly likely to see wild elephants crossing the road. I saw three in one hour.

Use Habarana Lodge Hotel as your base so that you can visit:
Minneriya National Park
Sigiriya Rock Fortress (try visit early morning, less people and not too hot)
Dambulla Caves
Pollonaruwa. (try visit early morning, less people and not too hot)

Kandy – 2 nights

Must sees

Driving from Habarana to Kandy I would recommend stopping off at Nalinda Gedige in Matale, a temple in the centre of Sri Lanka. Not many tourists know of this place, so you usually have the place to yourself!

I would recommend staying just outside Kandy up in the beautiful Knuckles mountain range, I usually stay at Ashburnham guest house in Elkaduwa. It is a 100-acre tea estate with many private waterfalls that you can swim in. The wonderful staff will advise you on where to go and do on the estate.

There are some great hotels too in Kandy and Cinnamon Citadel is a good choice.

Whilst staying up in the hills take a day trip to Kandy where you can visit the Temple of the Tooth and visit the Peradeniya Gardens (at its best in April when in full bloom). Take in a walk around the lake and the old town of Kandy. Enjoy a sundowner at Slightly Chilled Bar with it’s fantastic views over Kandy.

Nuwara Eliya – 1 night

I would recommend driving up to Nuwara Eliya from Kandy and stopping off at a tea estate on the way there. You’ll most likely stop off at many points on the way due to the waterfalls (there are so many waterfalls in Sri Lanka), the views and of course the tea!

Walking around the town of Nuwara Eliya is lovely and you might be forgiven for thinking you are in a English town! Do remember the weather can go from an English Summer to a Scottish summer very quickly so make sure to have a jacket.

Organise a walk on Horton plains National Park

My preference is to get the train from Nanu Oya (just outside of Nuwara Eliya) to Ella. This train journey has to be one of the most beautiful in the world. Your driver (if you use one) will take your bags and meet you at the next stop.

Ella – 3 nights

Ella is rather vibrant town in the hills; it may look quite touristy but there is very much a draw to the place with plenty of things to do.

Nine Arch Bridge
Walk up Little Adam’s Peak and Ella Rock
Take in the sight of Ravana falls
Take the Train to Haputale to visit Lipton’s seat and Dambatenne tea factory, Thomas Lipton’s first tea factory.

If you were short on time, I would suggest visiting Nine Arch Bridge and Little Adam’s Peak. You can stop at Ravana Falls whilst driving out of Ella to the South Coast.

Take a stop at Udawalawe Elephant Orphanage on your way south from Ella. This Elephant Orphanage doesn’t allow you to touch the elephants, but you watch them being fed. This stops them from becoming too reliant on humans and eventually they are released back into the wild once they are ready. It is very important to watch out for some animal rescues as they can be scams.

Hiriketiya – 3 nights

Hiriketiya is a beautiful village by the beach (one of the most beautiful beaches in Sri Lanka, but all beaches in Sri Lanka are beautiful!)

You can learn to surf, chill on the beach and try the food. I know the two Italian owners of Bacuzzi and the pizza served is absolutely amazing. The prices are higher than others due to fact that all of the ingredients come from Italy.

There are plenty of other fantastic places to stay on the South Coast, it just so happens that Hiriketiya is my favourite. Hiriketiya has very easy access to the southern expressway meaning most of the south coast is about an hour from you including beautiful Galle. This is a lovely old Dutch Fort and a must see.

East Coast Tour

Colombo – 2 nights.

Recommended place to stay: Galle Face Hotel

This is a great place to get settled and ready with clothes, if you came with an empty bag. You could also do 1 night here and use the other night on the beach.

My favourite hotel to stay is the Galle Face Hotel, right on the seafront but there are many good hotels in the city

Take a Tuk Tuk tour of Colombo
Visit Gangaramaya Temple
The Gallery Café – the cafe was the former office of Geoffrey Bawa a very famous architect in Sri Lanka who designed many buildings across Sri Lanka
Barefoot Garden Café – it is a lovely cafe providing you with either local or western food. You sit in alovely square for your food but you can also visit their shop and art gallery.
Enjoy a sundowner on the veranda at the Galle Face Hotel

You will want to organise a driver to drive you on this 14 day tour and I can advise a company to taxi you around on request.

Kandy – 2 nights

Recommended place to stay: Ashburnham Guest House

There are some great hotels too in Kandy and Cinnamon Citadel is a good choice.

staff will advise you on where to go and do on the estate.

Things to do in Kandy:

Temple of the Tooth
Visit the Peradeniya Gardens (at its best in April when in full bloom).
Take in a walk around the lake and the old town of Kandy.
Enjoy a sundowner at Slightly Chilled Bar with it’s fantastic views over Kandy.
Queens bar is a pretty bar in the centre of Kandy.

Driving from Kandy to Habarana I would recommend stopping off at Nalinda Gedige in Matale, a temple in the centre of Sri Lanka. Not many tourists know of this place, so you usually have the place to yourself!

Habarana – 3 nights

Recommended place to stay: Habarana Lodge Hotel

Things to do:

Minneriya National Park
Sigiriya Rock Fortress (try visit early morning, less people and not too hot)
Dambulla Caves
Pollonaruwa. (try visit early morning, less people and not too hot)

Passikudah

Places to stay: Karpaha Sands

Things to do:

Chilling at the Beach
Admiring the Passikuda corals by snorkeling or diving

Aragum Bay – 3 nights

Recommended place to stay: Jetwing Surf

A morning Safari to Kumana National Park. This has the most amazing birdlife and where I saw my first leopard. The park is a lot quieter than Yala National Park.
Surfing at Arugam Bay
Climbing elephant rock also known as crocodile rock. It is very important to time this well and have a tour guide or at least speak to a tour guide, as there is a reason it is called elephant rock and crocodile rock.

Hiriketiya – 3 nights

Hiriketiya is a beautiful village by the beach (one of the most beautiful beaches in Sri Lanka, but all beaches in Sri Lanka are beautiful!)