Itineraries
Sri Lanka itinerary: 10 days
Meet Maggie. She lives in Graz, she has ten days of annual leave she has been guarding since February, and she has a spreadsheet.
The spreadsheet has fourteen places on it. Sigiriya, obviously. Kandy. The train, because she has seen the train. Two beaches, a safari, the tea country, something called Jaffna that a colleague mentioned at lunch, and a whale. Her plan is to see all of it, and she is very good at plans.
Sri Lanka is roughly the size of Ireland, so on paper Maggie is fine. On the ground, a hundred and fifty kilometres takes the best part of four hours, and her fourteen places turn into a road trip with the occasional temple glimpsed from the back seat.
Maggie isn’t real. But we plan trips for a lot of Maggies, and most of them are you: ten days, one shot, a list that is slightly too long. So here is what we would tell her. Ten days buys three things done properly: the Cultural Triangle, the hill country with its train, and one coast. This is the version for December to March, when the south and west are dry. If you are coming mid-year, the fix is below.
Day by day
Nights: Negombo 1 · Sigiriya 3 · Kandy 1 · Nuwara Eliya 1 · Ella 1 · South coast 1 · Galle 1
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Day 01
Negombo
Land, and don’t be a hero
Airport → Negombo · 20 min
- AfternoonCheck in, swim, eat something that is not airline food.
- SunsetA walk on the beach while the fishing boats come in.
- EarlyIf jet lag wakes you at six, the fish market is at its best.
Stay · NegomboSkip Colombo on day one. Save it for another trip or the last night.
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Day 02
Dambulla · Sigiriya
North to the Triangle
Negombo → Sigiriya · about 4 hr
- MiddayStop at the Dambulla cave temples on the way. Shoulders and knees covered.
- EveningSettle in. Early night; the rock starts at seven.
Stay · Sigiriya area, 3 nightsThree nights in one bed is the closest thing to luxury on this route.
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Day 03
Sigiriya
The rock, then the view of it
No long drives today
- 7:00Climb Sigiriya at opening, before the heat. Allow two to three hours.
- AfternoonPool, nap, rice and curry. In that order.
- 16:30Pidurangala for sunset: the view of the rock, not from it.
Stay · Sigiriya areaTake water up both rocks. There is none at the top.
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Day 04
Polonnaruwa
Ruins by bicycle
Sigiriya ↔ Polonnaruwa · about 1 hr each way
- MorningCycle the ancient city. Finish at Gal Vihara, the Buddhas carved into granite.
- AfternoonJeep safari at Minneriya or Kaudulla. July to September is the great elephant gathering.
Stay · Sigiriya areaStart early; the ruins have almost no shade after ten.
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Day 05
Kandy
Drums at dusk
Sigiriya → Kandy · 2½–3 hr
- AfternoonA slow lap of Kandy Lake.
- EveningThe Temple of the Tooth during the evening puja, when the drums start.
Stay · KandyIn July and August the Esala Perahera is on. Book months ahead.
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Day 06
Ramboda · Nuwara Eliya
Up into the tea
Kandy → Nuwara Eliya by road · 2½–3 hr
- MorningPeradeniya botanical gardens on the way out; an hour is plenty.
- MiddayRamboda falls and a working tea factory. Drink it where it is made.
- EveningNuwara Eliya, where you will be surprised to want a jumper.
Stay · Nuwara EliyaThe Kandy–Nanu Oya railway is still closed, so this leg is by road for now.
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Day 07
Nanu Oya → Ella
The train everyone comes for
Train from Nanu Oya · about 9:00, around 2½ hr
- MorningAmbewela, Haputale, the ridge runs and the Demodara loop into Ella.
- AfternoonThe Nine Arch Bridge. Wait for a train; it is worth it.
- EveningDinner with a view down Ella Gap.
Stay · EllaBook reserved seats about 30 days ahead. Check the latest timetable before you go.
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Day 08
Udawalawe · south coast
Out of the hills, into the wild
Ella → Udawalawe · about 2 hr, then 2 hr to the coast
- DawnLittle Adam’s Peak, before everyone else.
- AfternoonSafari at Udawalawe for elephants, or Yala for leopards (more jeeps).
- EveningOn to Mirissa, Weligama or Tangalle.
Stay · South coastYala’s Blocks 1 and 2 can close in September and October during drought.
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Day 09
Mirissa · Galle
Whales, then the fort
Mirissa → Galle · about 1 hr
- 6:30Whale watching from Mirissa, December to April. Back by lunch.
- AfternoonDrift along the coast to Galle.
- SunsetWalk the ramparts. The correct last evening; no questions taken.
Stay · Galle FortThe sea is livelier than the brochure. Take something for it.
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Day 10
Galle → airport
One more coffee, then home
Galle → airport by expressway · about 2½ hr
- MorningLanes, bookshops, the lighthouse, a very good coffee.
- AfternoonLeave after lunch for an evening flight.
No need for a last night in Colombo; the expressway does the work.
Opens in our trip builder, ready to edit.
The version for May to September
Between May and September the south and west get the rain and the east gets the sun, so change the coast, not the middle. Keep the Cultural Triangle, Kandy and the hill country, which work most of the year, and finish on the east instead: Arugam Bay for surf, about three hours from Ella, or Trincomalee for calm water and diving. The catch is the long drive back to the airport, so give it a full day or book a late flight.
Only have eight days?
Drop the night in Kandy and see the temple on the drive south, and skip the safari on day eight. Keep the train. Of everything here, it is the part people are still talking about a year later.
What Maggie crossed off
Jaffna, which deserves three nights of its own and better than being a detour. Adam’s Peak, whose climb starts at two in the morning and takes the next day with it. And the second beach, which would have turned her last three days into transfers with a view. If you have twelve days rather than ten, our 12-day itinerary shows where the extra time goes.
Three regions in ten days, done properly. Not fourteen, done through a car window.
Ten days, three regions, one coast. It will not show you everything. It will make you want to come back, which, frankly, is the whole idea.
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