Jan
min : 23°C
max : 30°C
We Love —
- Experience a mind-blowing tour of Sri Lanka's highlights during this once in a lifetime holiday!
- Visit temples, sample traditional cuisine, experience the depths of the jungle and the crystal clear waters of the coast.
- Our members will be accommodated in a range of fantastic 4* hotels during their stay in Sri Lanka - with Half Board Dining included daily!
Your Destination —
This is a culturally rich and environmentally diverse country, with nine World Heritage Sites(the oldest dating back to the 3rd Century BC); 86 species of mammals (including elephant and leopard) and more than 400 bird species (including 26 endemics); a colorful array of flowering plants and trees, and a Hill Country famous for tea; 14 National Parks out of 100 areas protected by the government; and an Indian Ocean coastline boasting palm-fringed and sandy tropical beaches.
Visit ancient sites and marvel over legendary temples, or see the sacred home of the world’s oldest living tree, Anuradhapura. Take a safari tour in one of Sri Lanka’s national parks to encounter elephants, leopards, water buffaloes, and exotic birds, or spend the day relaxing on the dazzlingly white, often untrodden, beaches. Try your hand at a little surfing or retreat up into the Sri Lankan hills to experience a more temperate climate and the lavish greenery of the tea plantations. And if you can even trek through the rainforests with an experienced guide or just take in the breathtaking vistas on a spectacular train ride.
With fabulously flavoursome food and a vast array of culturally rich experiences to delve into, Sri Lanka promises to be one of your best-loved travel destinations, and the charm of the people will simply enchant you.
Your Itinerary In Brief —
8 Nights:
Day 1: Arrival in Colombo - Sigiriya
Day 2: Sigiriya - Habarana - Sigiriya
Day 3: Sigiriya - Polonnaruwa - Sigiriya
Day 4 : Sigiriya - Dambulla - Kandy
Day 5: Kandy
Day 6: Kandy - Nuwaraeliya - Bandarawela - Tissamaharama
Day 7: Tissamaharama - Bundala - Yala - Tissamaharama
Day 8: Tissamaharama - Galle - Negombo
Day 9: Waskaduwa - return
10 Nights:
Day 1: Arrival in Colombo - Sigiriya
Day 2: Sigiriya - Habarana - Sigiriya
Day 3: Sigiriya - Polonnaruwa - Sigiriya
Day 4: Sigiriya - Dambulla - Kandy
Day 5: Kandy
Day 6: Kandy - Nuwaraeliya - Bandarawela - Tissamaharama
Day 7: Tissamaharama - Bundala - Yala - Tissamaharama
Day 8: Tissamaharama - Galle - Waskaduwa
Day 9 & 10: Waskaduwa
Day 11: Waskaduwa - return
Your Itinerary —
8 Night Itinerary
Welcome on arrival in Colombo by your driver and immediate transfer to Sigiriya. Arrival and installation at the hotel located in the countryside. Rest of the day is free.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Optional: Possibility to relax in an Ayurvedic center
Transfer: Privatized vehicle - 4h in the day
After breakfast, you will go by tuk-tuk and then oxcart through the countryside and sail through lotus and water lilies on a small lake, aboard fishing catamarans. You will then visit a plantation before going to a village house where you will be given explanations of a local cooking demonstration. You will have lunch at the inhabitants.
In the afternoon you will drive to Sigiriya and visit the Lion Rock, Sigiriya. This citadel was built in the 5th century AD. by parricide king Kasyapa. By stairs and stone staircases, you will reach the summit of "Lion Rock", an eagle's nest at 180m, above the bluish mountains drowning in the green ocean of the jungle ... At the end of the afternoon, return to the hotel for dinner.
Transfer: privatised vehicle - 1½ h in the day
After breakfast, transfer to Polonaruwa. You will discover this archaeological site founded in the twelfth century, the work of a single king, Parakrama Bahu (1153 - 1186) which symbolizes both the rebirth of the Sinhalese civilization born in Anuradhapura and its last fires. At the end of the twelfth century, the monarchy fell into a long decline against the raids of Malaysian pirates and the wars between pretenders to the throne.
You can admire the Royal Palace, the Temple of Shiva and the group of Buddhist temples where the Vatadage (circular chamber of relics), the cave site of Gal Viharae and its three statues of Buddha.
Return to Habarana for dinner. Afternoon free by the pool.
Transfer: Privatized vehicle - 3h in the day
Day 4: Sigiriya - Dambulla - Kandy
After breakfast, transfer about half an hour to reach Dambulla. You will visit the rock monastery of Dambulla. The caves are dug in a huge block of granite perched at over 160 m altitude. The set includes five rock temples. The walls of the first were covered with gold leaf, which earned him to be called "the golden rock". In these five "caves" are several Buddhas, as well as frescoes, which cover about 1,800 square meters, depicting effigies or episodes of Buddha's life.
You will then continue towards Matale and visit a garden of spices at the gates of the old capital of Kandy. Long before tea, Sri Lanka was famous for its spices and especially for its cinnamon trees that gave its name to one of Colombo's beautiful neighborhoods: the Cinnamon Gardens.
You will return to Kandy in the afternoon.
At the end of the afternoon you will attend a Kandy dance show, a legend of which tells that they were born 2,500 years ago of a magic ceremony that desensorized a king possessed.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Transfer: Privatized vehicle - 3½h in the day
Tapie at the foot of the highlands on the banks of a lake lined with trees, Kandy was the last royal capital of the country until 1815 and its attachment to the British crown. It is today the cultural and spiritual core of Sri Lanka, it was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.
You will visit the sanctuary of Dalada Maligawa, the most famous of Kandy, also called Temple of the Buddha's tooth because of the relic that he keeps preciously. During the daily ritual of adoration of this relic, you will be fascinated by the intense fervor of pilgrims laden with fragrant flowers and various offerings.
You will then discover the botanical gardens of Peradeniya, in the suburb of Kandy. These gardens are the largest in Sri Lanka and surely among the most beautiful in the world. Former royal parks before the arrival of the British, one finds on more than 60 hectares of hundreds of species including more than 300 varieties of orchids and a majestic fig tree of java whose branches extend on about 2500 m ². Your afternoon will end with the visit of a gemstone workshop.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel
Transfer: Privatized vehicle - 1½h in the day
Day 6: Kandy - Nuwaraeliya - Bandarawela - Tissamaharama
You leave Kandy to enter the area of Nuwara Eliya and its expanses of tea plantations as far as the eye can see.
After a stop at Ramboda Falls, your road will continue towards Nuwara Eliya through a sumptuous mountain landscape. You will visit a tea plantation and a factory where you will be explained the different processes of making tea. Despite a limited area, Sri Lanka is now one of the top 3 tea producers of tea exports behind China and India.
The former British governor's summer home, located at 1900 meters above sea level, Nuwara Eliya, seems to remind England with its Victorian villas, rose gardens, pristine lawns, golf course and especially its cool and foggy climate. You will take a tour of the city then continue to Tissamaharama via Bandarawela and Ella with a stop in front of the waterfall Ravana Falls.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Transfer: Privatized vehicle - 5½h in the day
You will start your day with the visit of Bundala. This wintering area of international importance for migratory waterbirds is home to 197 bird species, the largest of which is the pink flamingo, which migrates in large herds. You can also observe other animals such as crocodiles, wild buffaloes, deer spotted etc ...
After the safari, you will return to the hotel.
In the afternoon you will visit the famous Yala National Park. The latter is the most visited and the second largest in Sri Lanka, bordering the Indian Ocean. The park consists of five blocks, two of which are now open to the public, as well as adjacent parks. The park is best known for its diversity of wildlife. among which the most famous are the leopard and the elephant. The highest density of leopards in the world is in this area. Two important pilgrimage sites are also located in the park. The park was severely damaged during the tsunami disaster in 2004. After the safari you will return to the hotel for the night.
Transfer: Privatized vehicle - 1½h in the day
Safari - 2½h - 3h
Day 8: Tissamaharama - Galle - Negombo
After breakfast, you will head towards the south coast to Tangalle, where the sea arises at the turn of the last mountains. You will take the road along the coast and departure to Galle will visit this old Dutch port built around the fort of the sixteenth century. The Europeans, who came to trade in the spices of the island, left a legacy, the most remarkable being Galle, which preserves intact the ramparts and dwellings built by the Dutch in the 17th century. Then you will drive to Negombo.
Arrival and installation at the hotel for the night.
Transfer: Privatized vehicle - 4½h in the day
Day 9: Waskaduwa - Return Home
After breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport for your departure flight.
10 Night Itinerary
Day 8: Tissamaharama - Galle - Waskaduwa
After breakfast, you will depart towards the south coast to Tangalle, where the sea arises at the turn of the last mountains. You will take the road along the coast and departure to Galle will visit this old Dutch port built around the fort of the sixteenth century. The Europeans, who came to trade in the spices of the island, left a legacy, the most remarkable being Galle, which preserves intact the ramparts and dwellings built by the Dutch in the 17th century.
Then you will drive to Waskaduwa by visiting a turtle hatchery. Arrival and installation at the hotel for the night.
Transfer: Privatised vehicle - 4½h in the day
Day 9 and 10: Waskaduwa
You will enjoy these two days in Waskaduwa to relax by the beach.
Day 11: Waskaduwa - Return Home
After breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport for your departure flight.
Your Hotels —
Our members will stay at the following accommodation or those of a similar standard on a Half Board basis.
Just for you: Christmas and New Year's Eve dinners included for all stays over 24/12 and 31/12.
Kandy: Deluxe Room at Hotel Topaz, Hotel Thilanka 4 * (or similar)
Tissamaharama: Deluxe room at Diyadahara Resort, Tamarind Tree 4 * (or similar)
Negombo: in a Deluxe Coastal Room or Deluxe Balcony at Camelot Beach Hotel 4 * (or similar)
Wadduwa: Deluxe room at Coco Royal Beach Hotel 4 * (or similar)
3 Adults
or
2 Adults
+ 1 Child
Please note: the bed for the 3rd/4th guest sharing is likely to be a sofa bed or camp style bed. If any of these hotels are not available, hotels of a similar standard will be found.
Your Journey —
Flights: You may choose from Economy, Premium or Business class flights on sectors that they operate, at the next stage of the booking process.
The flights included are with either a scheduled or no-frills airline and are subject to live availability and prices can change. You can choose your preferred departure times during the booking process. Please select your flight options carefully as departure and arrival airports may differ.
Transfers: Shared transfers are included.
