Sri Lanka End to End
The full circuit in twelve days — ancient cities, the mountain railway, a proper safari and the south coast — without the 5am departures that usually come with it.
- Duration
- 12 days, 12 nights
- From
- $1480 pp
- Group
- Private — your group only
- Best months
- December to March, when both coasts and the hills are dry at once
Twelve days is the shortest honest version of the whole island. Ten is possible if you skip either the safari or the coast. Anything under that and you are spending your holiday in a car.
The order matters more than people expect. Going north first, then into the hills, then down to the coast means you are always driving downhill and the climate changes gradually rather than twice. Itineraries that bounce between the coast and the mountains add six or seven hours of driving for no reason.
Two nights minimum in Sigiriya, Kandy, Ella and Mirissa. One night in Negombo, Nuwara Eliya, Yala and Galle. That split is the thing we would argue hardest for if you asked us to change it.
What you'll do
- Every landscape the island has, in the order that makes geographic sense
- Two nights in each of the places worth two nights, one in the places that aren't
- Observation-class train seats booked a month ahead
- A dawn game drive at Yala with a tracker who works the park daily
Day by day
- 01
Arrival, Negombo
Airport pickup and a twenty-minute drive rather than a five-hour one. Recover.
- 02
Cultural Triangle
North to Sigiriya. Dambulla caves and sunset from Pidurangala on the first afternoon, the rock itself at 7am on the second, Polonnaruwa by bicycle after.
- 04
Kandy
Down through Matale to Kandy. The Temple of the Tooth at evening puja, the botanical gardens at Peradeniya, and a day with nothing in it.
- 06
The mountain railway
The 8.47 from Kandy, observation class, four hours to Nanu Oya. We meet you with the vehicle. Tea factory in the afternoon at Nuwara Eliya.
- 07
Ella
The second train leg down to Ella, the best three hours of the line. Nine Arch Bridge, Little Adam's Peak at sunrise, Ravana Falls.
- 09
Yala
Down out of the mountains to the dry southeast. Afternoon arrival, early night, 5.30am game drive the next morning — leopard density here is the highest anywhere in the world.
- 10
Mirissa
Whale watching at dawn on the first morning, nothing at all on the second. Stilt fishermen at Koggala if you want them.
- 12
Galle, then home
A last morning inside the fort, then the expressway to the airport — two and a half hours, comfortably.
What's included
- Private vehicle and driver-guide for twelve days
- Eleven nights accommodation with breakfast
- Reserved observation-class train tickets
- Yala half-day jeep safari with tracker
- Mirissa whale watching boat
- All airport transfers
Not included
- Site entrance tickets — roughly USD 240 per person across the full route
- Yala park entry fee
- Lunches and dinners
- Tips
Other routes
5 daysThe Cultural Triangle
Sigiriya at dawn, the ruined cities of Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura, and the cave temples at Dambulla — the oldest part of the island, driven at a sane pace.
from$640pp
See the route
4 daysHill Country by Train
Kandy to Ella on the blue observation train, tea estates at 1,900 metres, and the walk out to Nine Arch Bridge — with the vehicle meeting you at every station.
from$520pp
See the route
6 daysSouth Coast & Whales
Galle Fort's Dutch ramparts, blue whales off Mirissa, stilt fishermen at Koggala and enough unstructured beach time to make the rest of it land.
from$780pp
See the route