5N / 6D
Sri Lanka Classic Loop
Colombo • Kandy • Nuwara Eliya • Bentota
Suits A first visit
Price on enquiry. It moves with your dates, hotel category and availability.
Sri Lanka
Hill country, ruins and a coast, in a country you can drive across.
Colombo, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Bentota. Hotels, transfers and sightseeing included.
VisaETA required for Indian passport holders, applied for online. Confirm the current fee and process before booking
Best seasonDecember to March on the west and south coasts
Typical length5 to 8 nights
CurrencySri Lankan rupee (LKR)
Flying time
- Delhi
- About 3 h 30 m direct to Colombo
- Mumbai
- About 3 h direct to Colombo
- Bengaluru
- About 1 h 30 m direct to Colombo
- Chennai
- About 1 h 15 m direct, the shortest international hop from India
- Kochi
- About 1 h 15 m direct to Colombo
- Kolkata
- About 3 h 30 m with one stop
Visa rules and flight schedules change. We confirm both for your passport and your dates before you pay anything.
About this trip
What a Sri Lanka trip looks like
Sri Lanka is small and varied enough to feel like a longer trip than it is. The classic loop runs inland from Colombo to Kandy, up into the tea hills at Nuwara Eliya, then back down to the coast at Bentota: hills, ruins and beach in under a week.
The train between Kandy and Nuwara Eliya is the one leg worth doing on rails rather than by road. It is slow, and that is the point.
Add Sigiriya and Dambulla in the cultural triangle if you have a couple of nights more; they are the reason many people come, and they sit north of Kandy rather than on the coastal loop.
Designed for you
Sri Lanka packages
Three shapes we build most often. Each is a starting point. Change the nights, the stops or the hotel category and we requote it.
7N / 8D
Sri Lanka with the Cultural Triangle
Colombo • Sigiriya • Kandy • Nuwara Eliya • Bentota
Suits Culture travellers
Price on enquiry. It moves with your dates, hotel category and availability.
4N / 5D
Kandy & the Coast
Colombo • Kandy • Bentota
Suits A shorter trip
Price on enquiry. It moves with your dates, hotel category and availability.
8N / 9D
Sri Lanka in Depth
Sigiriya • Kandy • Nuwara Eliya • Yala • Galle • Bentota
Suits Culture travellers
Price on enquiry. It moves with your dates, hotel category and availability.
Explore locations01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
Where you actually go
Kandy
The hill capital, and the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic beside its lake, the country’s most important Buddhist site.
Sigiriya
A rock fortress on a plain, climbed by staircases cut into the face, with fifth-century frescoes part-way up.
Dambulla
Five cave temples under an overhang, filled with painted Buddhas and a ceiling that follows the rock.
Nuwara Eliya
Tea country at 6,000 feet: estates, a colonial-era town and nights cold enough for a fire.
The hill-country train
Kandy to Ella through the tea. Slow, and the reason to do one leg on rails rather than by road.
Galle Fort
A Dutch-built walled town on the south coast, walkable in an afternoon, best at sunset on the ramparts.
Yala National Park
The southern reserve, and the best chance in the country of seeing a leopard.
Bentota
The west-coast beach town, with the river behind it for mangrove safaris and a turtle hatchery nearby.
Mirissa
South-coast whale watching between December and April, leaving harbour before dawn.
Colombo
The arrival city: Galle Face Green, the old fort quarter and the Pettah markets.
What is in it
Highlights of the trip
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic at Kandy
Hill-country train between Kandy and Nuwara Eliya
Tea estate and factory visit above Nuwara Eliya
Bentota river safari through the mangroves
Private car and driver-guide for the whole loop
Airport transfers at Bandaranaike
Day by day
The itinerary
This is the shape of the trip. Every day of it can be changed before you book.
The shape we build most often.
Day 01Arrive Colombo → KandyMet at the airport and driven inland. The road climbs steadily and takes about four hours.+
Highlights
- ·Airport transfer
- ·Spice garden stop at Matale
- ·Kandy lake in the evening
Stay
Kandy
MealsDinner
Optional
Kandyan cultural dance show
Day 02Kandy → Nuwara EliyaThe temple in the morning, then up into the tea. The last stretch is the best of the drive.+
Highlights
- ·Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
- ·Royal botanical gardens at Peradeniya
- ·Ramboda falls on the way up
Stay
Nuwara Eliya
MealsBreakfast, dinner
Optional
Hill-country train for the Nanu Oya leg
Day 03Nuwara Eliya → BentotaTea in the morning, then the long descent to the coast.+
Highlights
- ·Tea estate and factory visit
- ·Gregory lake and the town
- ·Drive down to the west coast
Stay
Bentota
MealsBreakfast, dinner
Optional
Horton Plains and World’s End before leaving
Day 04BentotaA beach day, with the river behind the town for anyone who wants a boat.+
Highlights
- ·Bentota river safari
- ·Turtle hatchery
- ·Beach afternoon
Stay
Bentota
MealsBreakfast, dinner
Optional
Galle fort half-day · water sports
Day 05Bentota → ColomboNorth up the coast road to the capital, with the afternoon in the city.+
Highlights
- ·Galle Face Green
- ·Colombo fort quarter
- ·Pettah market
Stay
Colombo
MealsBreakfast
Optional
Gangaramaya temple · shopping at Odel
Day 06DepartureTransfer to Bandaranaike for your flight.+
Highlights
- ·Late checkout on request
- ·Airport transfer
Stay
—
MealsBreakfast
Optional
Half-day city tour if the flight is late
Adds the cultural triangle and Galle: the two things the short loop has to leave out.
Day 01Arrive Colombo → SigiriyaMet at the airport and driven north into the dry zone, about four hours.+
Highlights
- ·Airport transfer
- ·Drive to the cultural triangle
- ·Evening at the hotel
Stay
Sigiriya
MealsDinner
Optional
Village tour by bullock cart
Day 02Sigiriya and DambullaThe rock at first light before the heat, the cave temples after.+
Highlights
- ·Sigiriya rock fortress climb
- ·Fifth-century frescoes
- ·Dambulla cave temples
Stay
Sigiriya
MealsBreakfast, dinner
Optional
Polonnaruwa ruins by bicycle
Day 03Sigiriya → KandySouth through spice country to the hill capital.+
Highlights
- ·Spice garden at Matale
- ·Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
- ·Kandy lake in the evening
Stay
Kandy
MealsBreakfast, dinner
Optional
Kandyan cultural dance show
Day 04Kandy → Nuwara EliyaThe gardens in the morning, then up into the tea. The last stretch is the best of the drive.+
Highlights
- ·Peradeniya botanical gardens
- ·Ramboda falls
- ·Tea estate and factory visit
Stay
Nuwara Eliya
MealsBreakfast, dinner
Optional
The hill-country train for the Nanu Oya leg
Day 05Nuwara Eliya → YalaSouth out of the hills to the edge of the national park.+
Highlights
- ·Gregory lake and the town
- ·Drive down through the tea
- ·Evening briefing for the safari
Stay
Yala
MealsBreakfast, dinner
Optional
World’s End at Horton Plains on the way
Day 06Yala safari → GalleAn early jeep safari, then west along the coast to the fort.+
Highlights
- ·Dawn jeep safari
- ·Leopard and elephant country
- ·Galle Fort ramparts at sunset
Stay
Galle
MealsBreakfast, dinner
Optional
Second afternoon safari instead
Day 07Galle → BentotaThe fort in the morning, then up the coast to the beach.+
Highlights
- ·Galle Fort walk
- ·Turtle hatchery
- ·Bentota river safari
Stay
Bentota
MealsBreakfast, dinner
Optional
Whale watching from Mirissa, in season
Day 08Bentota → ColomboA beach morning, then north to the capital for the last night.+
Highlights
- ·Beach morning
- ·Galle Face Green
- ·Pettah market and the fort quarter
Stay
Colombo
MealsBreakfast
Optional
Gangaramaya temple
Day 09DepartureTransfer to Bandaranaike for your flight.+
Highlights
- ·Late checkout on request
- ·Airport transfer
Stay
—
MealsBreakfast
Optional
Half-day city tour if the flight is late
The fine print, up front
What the price covers
Inclusions
- ✓Hotel accommodation on twin-sharing basis
- ✓Daily breakfast, plus the meals listed in the day plan
- ✓All transfers and sightseeing in a private air-conditioned vehicle
- ✓Arrival and departure airport transfers
- ✓Entry to the sights named in the itinerary
- ✓A travel expert on WhatsApp through your trip
Not included
- —Flights, unless quoted separately with the package
- —Visa fees and travel insurance
- —Lunches and dinners not listed in the day plan
- —Camera fees, guide tips and personal expenses
- —Anything not listed under inclusions
Where you stay
Property names shared with your quoteHotels considered
Quoted at 3-star, 4-star or 5-star, and at boutique or tea-bungalow category in the hills where you want something with grounds.
[Property names — to confirm. We quote a category, then send the actual hotels with photos once your dates are checked.]
TravellersSample
“From the first conversation to our return home, everything felt genuinely taken care of.”
Personalised itineraries
Every trip can be adjusted around your dates, interests and budget.
Handpicked stays
Hotels and stays selected around the type of experience you want.
Travel expert support
Talk to a real travel expert throughout the planning process.
Transparent planning
Clear package details, inclusions and exclusions before you confirm.
Before you ask
Everything you might want to know
Are the prices per person?+
We quote per person on twin sharing, and we quote per enquiry rather than publishing a rate. Prices move with your travel dates, the hotel category and availability on the day you book. A published number would be wrong for most people who read it.
Can I change the hotels or the number of nights?+
Yes. Tell us what you want changed (a cheaper hotel, one night less, a different city) and we revise the itinerary until it fits, then confirm the booking.
Is the visa included?+
ETA required for Indian passport holders, applied for online. Confirm the current fee and process before booking. Visa fees are not included in the package unless the quote says so, and we confirm the current requirement for your passport and dates before you pay.
When is the best time to go?+
December to March on the west and south coasts. Travelling outside that window is usually cheaper, and we will tell you honestly what you would be trading away.
What do you need to confirm the booking?+
[Advance amount, the documents required and when the balance falls due — to confirm before launch.]
What is your cancellation policy?+
It depends on how far ahead you cancel and on what the hotels and operators in your itinerary allow. The scale that applies to your booking is set out in your quote before you pay. [Standard terms — to confirm before launch.]
How soon do I get the itinerary?+
[Usual turnaround — to confirm. Typically the same working day on WhatsApp.]
Not quite right?
Customise this package.
Nothing here is a fixed departure. Change the hotel, drop a night, add a city, travel on different dates. Tell us what you want and we rebuild the itinerary. The person who sends the quote is the person who books the hotel.
If you would rather not use WhatsApp