Private island loop · 10–12 days
Grand Tour of Sri Lanka.
10–12 days.
Culture, hills, wildlife and coast, built around your dates. One experienced driver for the whole loop. You choose the hotels; we quote the car.
One experienced driver-guide for the whole loop
Private air-conditioned vehicle
Fuel and entrance tickets in the quote
Tolls, parking and taxes covered
Built around your dates, not a fixed departure
Quoted for your dates and group size
Driver-guide, private vehicle, fuel and entrance tickets in the quote. Hotels are quoted separately.
Tell us when you're travelling and how many of you there are and we'll send a fixed price before you commit to anything.
Airline crew — 10% off with crew ID.
A skeleton, not a fixed departure
The shape of the loop
Every one of these stages is adjustable. Swap a night, add a beach day, skip a site — we build the final route around your dates.
Day 1
Arrival at CMB
Skip Colombo if you can. First night near the airport, or straight up to the Cultural Triangle if you land with daylight.
Days 2–4
Cultural Triangle
Sigiriya, Dambulla, Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura as time allows. Early starts beat both the heat and the coaches.
Days 5–7
Kandy and the hills
Kandy, then up into tea country. No through train from Kandy to Ella. The tea-country stretch Nanu Oya–Ella is running. Drive to Nanu Oya, take the train, bags can go by road. Full road to Ella is also fine — tell us which you'd rather.
Days 8–10
South and wildlife
Udawalawe or Yala for a dawn game drive, then down to Galle and the south coast for the last stretch of beach.
Days 11–12
Return to CMB
Back up to the airport for your flight. Dawn airport runs are normal on this loop and there is no extra charge for them.
More on the hill-country rail options in our Kandy to Ella train guide.
What's in the quote
- One experienced English-speaking driver-guide for the whole trip
- Private air-conditioned vehicle — car, SUV or van to suit your group
- Fuel for the full loop
- Entrance tickets at the sites on your route
- Your driver's meals and accommodation
- Expressway tolls, parking and taxes
- Hotels — quoted separately so you choose your own standard
- Tips for your driver-guide — never expected, always appreciated
- Personal spend, meals and souvenirs
FAQ
Plan the rest of it
Tours & transfers hub
Day tours, airport transfers and the rest of our multi-day routes.
See tours & transfersSigiriya & Dambulla day tour
Two UNESCO sites in a day — the Cultural Triangle in miniature.
See the day tourColombo airport transfers
Fixed-price CMB pickups, flight tracked, meet and greet in arrivals.
See airport transfers
Tell us your dates
Send us your travel dates and group size and we'll come back with a fixed price for the car, the driver-guide and the tickets.