Price
From £1,495 per person (West & South Coasts) or £1,645 per person (East Coast)
Includes B&B accommodation, transfers (a/c transport) and taxes.
West & South Coasts
Arrive Colombo airport and head up to the Kalpitiya peninsula for four nights at Palagama Beach Resort.
Village living, naturally designed, has created beautiful, sustainable living spaces, blending traditional Sri Lankan design with a touch of the contemporary. Palagama Beach has kilometres of empty, wild beaches stretching out along the west coast, just how beaches should be. Two-bedroom, air-conditioned villas with private garden and veranda are perfect family hideaways, while the eco-friendly, naturally ventilated beach and garden cabanas, handmade using traditional Sri Lankan materials, are at one with nature. One of the best things about going to a new place is trying the food and the resort will bring you the true flavour of Sri Lanka – hoppers, Rice and Curry, and watalapam.
The resort has a swimming pool and offers canoeing, kayaking, sailing, kite surfing and cycling as well as dolphin/whale-watching excursions (season from November to April).
Suggested activities (not included in price):
- Jeep safari in Wilpattu National Park, which is the island’s largest wildlife reserve at 131,693 hectares as well as one of the oldest and most important protected areas in Sri Lanka. Principally a dry lowland zone, the main topographical feature in the park is the concentration of ‘villus’. Though looking like lakes, these ‘villus’ are in fact basin-like fault depressions in the earth that fill with rain water during the monsoon season. The ‘villus’ attract a variety of animals including leopards, elephants, sloth bears, crocodiles, water buffalos and deer as well as resident and migratory waterfowl.
- Visit Anuradhapura, the first capital of ancient Lanka in the 3rd century BC, for a guided tour of the historic city, with visits to the preserved and partially restored ruins of the three principal monasteries: Mahavihara, Abhayagiriya and Jetavanarama. Absorb the atmosphere of Ruvanveliseya Dagoba and Sri Maha Bodhi, the sacred Bo Tree and the oldest recorded tree in the world.
- Visit the hilltop temple of Mihintale, the cradle of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, and enjoy a guided walking tour of this historic site.
Drive south along the west coast for four nights at Club Villa, Bentota.
Club Villa is a spacious and elegant 19th-century Dutch-style villa, designed by Geoffrey Bawa, Sri Lanka’s most celebrated contemporary architect. It is tastefully furnished with period pieces of Dutch and Sri Lankan origin, murals, batiks and heavy raw cotton curtaining, and offers a relaxed atmosphere around a palm-fringed swimming pool, with beautifully manicured lawns peppered with coconut palms. Like the other neighbouring villas and low-rise hotels along this stretch of coastline, Club Villa is set back from the sea, behind the 60-metre wide Green Belt of mangroves and natural coconut lands. One of Sri Lanka's most stunning beaches lies directly beyond the bottom of the garden, over the (single-gauge) railway track and through the manicured mangroves. The surrounding area is also a haven for birdlife.
Suggested activities (not included in price):
- Afternoon’s boat safari around the coastal lagoons and mangrove-clad waterways of the Madu Ganga near Balapitiya.
- Guided tour of the house and gardens of Lunuganga near Bentota, which were lovingly created over several decades by the world renowned architect, Geoffrey Bawa, as his vision of a tropical garden idyll. The Italian garden with spectacular views over lakes and tropical jungle together with a simply designed plantation house are one of the lasting legacies of Asia’s most famous architect.
- Visit the tropical garden paradise of Brief near Bentota, the life’s work of the late Bevis Bawa, renowned bon viveur and brother of Geoffrey.
- Guided tour of the Dutch Fort at Galle, a World Heritage Site. Amble around the ramparts and stroll through the Arab Quarter.
- Early morning boat safari through the mangroves and lush vegetation along the Mahamodara River near Galle, which offers great opportunities for spotting birds, butterflies, monitor lizards, and much more!
- Guided cycling tours of the lush paddy fields and local villages around Galle.
- Visit a local weavers cooperative near Galle to experience traditional handloom fabric production.
- Visit Sipnara Handicrafts in Galle, which is a government-run initiative to reintroduce locals to the art of Beeralu lace making.
Continue further south along the west coast to Galle before heading east along the picturesque and cove-sprinkled southern coastline to Tangalle for five nights at Buckingham Place.
Expect something different at one of the most exquisite beachside hotels on the island. Contemporary and stylish in design, but not sterile or soulless, Nick Buckingham’s masterpiece is nestled between a deserted Indian Ocean beach and Rekawa Lagoon close to the fisher and farmer village of Rekawa. The stunning beach – a treasured eco gem – provides safe nesting for up to five species of sea turtle, while in the other direction, magnificent birdlife is amply protected by lagoon mangroves and the wildlife rangers. This sleepy, out of the ordinary, out of the way place to stay lacks only the madding crowds and a rapid laundry service!
Suggested activities (not included in price):
- Bird-watching boat safari through the lagoons and mangroves of Kalametiya Sanctuary, a coastal wetlands teeming with bird life, which is about halfway between Tangalle and Hambantota.
- Visit the most imposing rock temple in the south of the island at Mulkirigala, which is situated on an isolated rock 210 metres high rising almost vertically from the surrounding forest and believed to have been founded around 130 BC.
- Early morning boat safari off the south coast from Mirissa to spot blue whales, the largest animal on Earth! Sperm, humpback and orca whales as well as large pods of dolphins are also regular sightings.
- Jeep safari in Udawalawe National Park, which is renowned for its outstanding scenic beauty and wealth of animal species, particularly mammals and birds. The park is centred on the large Udawalawe Reservoir, fed by the Walawe Ganga that originates in the southern Hill Country. Of all Sri Lanka's national parks, this best rivals the savanna reserves of Africa, with herds of elephants, wild buffaloes and sambar deer, and leopards. Udawalawe NP is known to be the best place to see wild elephants in Sri Lanka, with around 500 elephants in the park in herds of up to 100 individuals.
- Jeep safari in Yala National Park, which is one of the island's best-known reserves and one of its largest. This Dry Zone region mostly has arid thorn scrub, interspersed with small dusty glades. The park does have a varied landscape, however, from parkland to dense jungle on the plains, scrubland with rocky outcrops and several streams, small lakes and lagoons. The picturesque ocean frontage to the east has wide beaches and high sand dunes. Yala NP reportedly has the highest density of leopards in the wild anywhere in the world, which is a highlight.
- Jeep safari in Bundala National Park, which is the first Ramsar site (wetlands of international importance) in Sri Lanka and it is the most significant wetland for birds on the island outside of Northern Province. The shallow, brackish lagoons and saltpans of the park are among the most important overwintering areas for migratory shore birds in the country. This bird sanctuary is home to every species of water bird resident in the country.
Return north to Negombo on the island’s west coast for an overnight stay before transferring to the airport the following day for your flight home.
East Coast
Drive up to Dambulla in the island’s Cultural Triangle. Overnight at Heritance Kandalama, which was designed by Geoffrey Bawa, Sri Lanka’s most celebrated contemporary architect. The hotel was the first luxury eco-hotel built in Asia (Green Globe 21 certified) and it is set in its own 250-hectare jungle retreat with unimpeded views across wetlands to Sigiriya rock fortress.
Continue northeast to Nilaveli on the island’s east coast, which is 16 km north of Trincomalee, for a four-night stay at Nilaveli Beach Hotel.
The resort has a superb beachfront position within a palm grove overlooking nearby Pigeon Island, a popular excursion for snorkelling trips. The shady garden is a welcome haven during the heat of the day, with a large swimming pool to cool off in and a beachside cabana bar serving light meals. The hotel opens out directly onto Nilaveli’s soft white sandy beach that seems to stretch endlessly along the east coast and which is lapped by the clear shallow waters of the azure blue Indian Ocean.
Suggested activities (not included in price):
- Guided tour of Trincomalee, including visits to Fort Frederick, a 17th century Portuguese-built bastion and a stalwart of the city’s defences, and Koneswaram Kovil, one of the five most holy Shaivite temples on the island.
- Visit the naval base at China Bay in Trincomalee.
- Boat trip to Pigeon Island for snorkelling.
- Whale-watching boat safari off the east coast to spot blue whales, the largest animal on Earth! Sperm whales and large pods of dolphins are also regular sightings. Season from March to August.
- Visit Kanniyai Hot Springs, which according to legend were created by Lord Vishnu.
- Visit Velgam Vihara, a Buddhist temple complex believed to date back to the 3rd century BC.
Head south along the east coast, via Trincomalee and Passikudah, to Pottuvil for four nights at Kottukal Beach House by Jetwing.
A bijou boutique experience with a taste of rustic sophistication on the island’s unexplored east coast. This four-bedroom oceanfront villa has a prime position on a secluded white sandy beach within striking distance of Sri Lanka’s surfing centre, Arugam Bay. The two upstairs deluxe rooms and two garden chalets are generously proportioned and include a luxury bathroom with rain shower, air conditioning, free Wi-Fi and individual private spaces (balcony or terrace). The shady palm-strewn garden harbours an inviting pool, where an eclectic menu may be enjoyed al fresco in the evening. A ‘secret’ surfing breakpoint off shore is a special attraction for many guests.
Suggested activities (not included in price):
- Jeep safari in Kumana National Park, one of the island’s principal bird sanctuaries, which hosts tens of thousands of migratory birds between April and July, and also home to leopards, sloth bears and elephants.
- Jeep safari in Lahugala Kitulana National Park, one of the smallest national parks in Sri Lanka, but despite its diminutive size, the park is an important habitat for elephants and endemic birds, particularly during July and August.
Return north along the east coast to Passikudah for a four-night stay at Maalu Maalu Resort & Spa.
Conceived as a traditional Sri Lankan fishing village, or ‘Waadiya’, the simple eco-friendly architecture of the resort is inspired by the wooden-clad dwellings of a typical fisherman’s hut. The rooms and adjoining public areas are designed to seamlessly blend with the surrounding environment. Each chalet, with its ‘cadjan’ (thatched coconut palm leaf) roof, elegantly highlights the indigenous Sri Lankan culture; the modern amenities are subtly introduced, tastefully combining the old and the new.
Resort activities include windsurfing, jet skiing, kayaking, diving, snorkelling, badminton, beach volleyball, and cycling.
Drive across the island for an overnight stay on the west coast before transferring to the airport for your flight home the following day.
