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Home/Best Places
Handpicked by Susil after 25 years on the road, with the best season, travel time from the airport and how long to stay.
Sri Lanka is only about 430 km long, yet it packs eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites, cool tea mountains, national parks and more than 1,300 km of coastline. Add the places you like to your trip and send them to Susil; he’ll build a relaxed route around them.
Rock fortresses, royal capitals and cave temples: 2,500 years of history in the dry heart of the island.
The Lion Rock and the golden cave temples
Climb the 5th-century rock fortress of King Kashyapa, past the famous frescoes and the giant lion’s paws, to the palace ruins 200 metres above the jungle. Susil gets you to the gate at opening time, before the heat and the crowds. In the afternoon, explore the five painted caves of Dambulla with more than 150 Buddha statues. Both are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Jan – Sep
approx. 4 h
2 nights
A medieval royal city, best explored by bicycle
Sri Lanka’s 11th–12th-century capital is wonderfully compact: palaces, round relic houses and lotus ponds spread along a huge ancient reservoir. The highlight is Gal Vihara, four Buddha figures carved straight out of one granite rock. Rent a bicycle and ride from ruin to ruin while Susil waits for you with cold water at the next gate.
Feb – Sep
approx. 5 h
1 day
Sacred city of the first kings
For more than a thousand years this was the island’s capital. Today pilgrims dressed in white bring lotus flowers to the gleaming Ruwanwelisaya dagoba and to the Sri Maha Bodhi, a fig tree grown from a cutting of the tree under which the Buddha found enlightenment. It is one of the oldest documented trees in the world. Come in the late afternoon, when the stone glows and the chanting begins.
All year
approx. 4 h
1 day
Wild elephants, not captive ones
Every dry season, hundreds of wild elephants gather on the grassy shores of the ancient Minneriya reservoir, one of the largest elephant gatherings in Asia. Susil knows from his network of jeep drivers which park the herds are in that day (Minneriya, Kaudulla or Hurulu) and books the right afternoon safari. Watching wild elephants is the respectful alternative to elephant orphanage shows.
Jul – Oct (peak)
approx. 4.5 h
Half day
Cool air, emerald tea gardens and the most beautiful train ride in Asia.
The last royal capital in the green hills
Built around a peaceful lake, Kandy is home to the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, the most important Buddhist shrine in the country. Visit for the evening ceremony with drums and offerings, stroll through the Royal Botanical Gardens of Peradeniya and see a traditional Kandyan dance show. In July/August the Esala Perahera brings parades of dancers, drummers and decorated elephants.
Jan – Apr, Jul – Sep
approx. 3 h
1–2 nights
Tea country at 1,868 metres
Rolling tea estates, waterfalls and a cool climate gave this town its nickname, “Little England”. Visit a working tea factory and taste fresh Ceylon tea where it is picked. Early risers can hike Horton Plains National Park to World’s End, a cliff that drops almost 900 metres. Susil leaves at 5 a.m. so you arrive before the mist rolls in. Bring a warm jacket for the evenings.
Jan – Apr
approx. 5 h
1–2 nights
Train rides, bridges and waterfalls
Take the famous blue train through the tea hills. Susil drops you at the station and meets you at the other end with your luggage safe in the van. In Ella, watch a train cross the Nine Arch Bridge, hike Little Adam’s Peak at sunrise and cool off at Ravana Falls. The village is relaxed, green and full of small cafés, a favourite stop on every round tour.
Jan – Apr
approx. 6 h
2 nights
Leopards, sloth bears and herds of wild elephants, seen from an open jeep.
Leopard country
Yala has one of the highest leopard densities on earth. A morning jeep safari, leaving at 5:30 a.m., also brings elephants, sloth bears, crocodiles, peacocks and lagoons full of birds. Susil arranges a trusted safari jeep and naturalist. Block 1 usually closes from September to mid-October; in that case he takes you to nearby Bundala or Lunugamvehera instead.
Feb – Jul
approx. 5 h
1 night
Elephants, all year round
Few places in Asia make it this easy to see wild elephants. Udawalawe’s open grasslands around a big reservoir are home to large herds all year round. Before the safari, stop at the Elephant Transit Home at feeding time: orphaned calves are raised here and later released back into the park. It fits perfectly on the way from Ella to the south coast.
All year
approx. 4 h
Half day
Colonial forts, whale watching and palm-fringed bays on both coasts.
A Dutch fort on the edge of the ocean
Walk the ramparts of the 17th-century Dutch fort at sunset, past the white lighthouse, old churches and streets full of galleries and cafés. Galle Fort is a living UNESCO town, not a museum. On the coast road, Susil stops at the stilt fishermen of Koggala, a cinnamon farm and the quiet bay of Unawatuna. An easy day trip from the west-coast beach hotels.
Nov – Apr
approx. 2 h
1 day – 1 night
Whales, palms and golden bays
Mirissa is one of the best places in the world to see blue whales. Boats leave at dawn from November to April, and dolphins often join. Spend the rest of the day on Coconut Tree Hill, at the hidden Secret Beach or taking a beginner surf lesson in nearby Weligama. In the evening, the beach restaurants grill the catch of the day.
Nov – Apr
approx. 2.5 h
2–3 nights
Calm beaches, perfect for your first or last night
Only about 1.5 hours from the airport, the long golden beaches of Bentota and Beruwala are the easiest place to arrive or to relax before your flight. Glide through mangroves on a Bentota river safari with monitor lizards and kingfishers, take a boat across the Madu River lagoon and visit the tropical gardens of Brief and Lunuganga, created by the Bawa brothers.
Nov – Apr
approx. 1.5 h
1–3 nights
East-coast surf and lagoons
When the south-west monsoon brings rain to the west, the east coast enjoys its sunniest months. Arugam Bay is a laid-back surf village with world-famous point breaks, but also lagoon tours with crocodiles and elephants, Kumana National Park for bird lovers and long, empty beaches. It pairs well with Ella, about three hours away.
May – Sep
approx. 7 h
2–3 nights
Turquoise water on the north-east coast
Fine white sand at Nilaveli and Uppuveli, and snorkelling with reef sharks and turtles around Pigeon Island. Trincomalee is the beach to choose between May and September. Above the bay, the Koneswaram temple sits on the cliffs of Swami Rock. Only 2.5 hours from Sigiriya, it is the perfect way to end a cultural round tour with a few days by the sea.
May – Sep
approx. 5.5 h
2–3 nights
Dry, sunny weather for Galle, Mirissa, Bentota, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Ella: the classic high season.
Trincomalee, Pasikudah and Arugam Bay have their best beach weather while the south-west monsoon waters the west.
Sigiriya, Dambulla, Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura can be visited in every season. Sri Lanka truly is a year-round island.
Take a look at our 1, 5, 10 and 14-day itineraries. Every one can be changed to fit you.
Everything about hiring a private driver in Sri Lanka. Can’t find your answer? Send your question with the booking form.
Sri Lanka is a year-round destination because two monsoons hit different coasts. December to April is best for the west and south coast and the hill country; May to September for the east coast. The Cultural Triangle can be visited all year.
10 to 14 days is ideal to see the Cultural Triangle, the hill country, a safari and the south coast without rushing. With 5–7 days, focus on the Cultural Triangle and Kandy, or on the hills and the south.
Absolutely. It’s one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world. Susil helps you get reserved seats, drops you at the station and meets you at Ella with your luggage, so you travel light.
Distances are short but roads are slow, about 40–50 km/h on average. We plan most days with 2–4 hours of driving and plenty of stops for photos, fruit stalls and tea.
Tell Susil where you’d like to go. You’ll get a personal route and a free quote within 24 hours. No card payment, no obligation.
