Sri Lanka holidays, tailor made
| country: | Sri Lanka |
| departures: | Our tailor made Sri Lanka holidays can be arranged at any time to suit you, and adapted to your requirements as necessary. |
| price: | From £1595 (15 days) including flights from the UK, accommodation, chauffeur guide with a/c transport, and all activities in the itinerary. Can also be booked without flights. |
| offers: | £100 per person discount on any of our pre-planned holidays to Sri Lanka and/or the Maldives during November 2009. |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
read 16 travellers reviews
the amazing things you'll be doing
Tailor made Sri Lanka holidays
Sri Lanka is a lush, tropical island paradise, known to Arab traders as Serendib – hence "serendipity", meaning discovery by happy accident – and famously described by Marco Polo as "undoubtedly the finest island of its size in the world".
For a small island, Sri Lanka has much to offer the discerning traveller. Our tailor made Sri Lanka holidays bring you the best of this culturally rich and environmentally diverse country with nine World Heritage Sites (the oldest dating back to the 3rd Century BC), 86 species of mammals (including elephants and leopards), more than 400 bird species (including 26 endemics), a colourful array of flowering plants and trees, a Hill Country famous for tea, 14 National Parks out of 100 areas protected by the Government, and an Indian Ocean coastline boasting palm-fringed and sandy tropical beaches.
For our tailor made Sri Lanka holidays we have developed a unique online holiday planner to enable visitors to create their own itinerary. Sophisticated and user-friendly, the holiday planner offers an opportunity to create individual tailor made holidays to Sri Lanka at your leisure! You are able to explore and plan your own route, excursions and activities, as well as choose the type and style of accommodation that suits you best. A 15-day sample itinerary for one of our tailor made Sri Lanka holidays is given below, but the real choice is yours and an amazing variety of tailor made Sri Lanka holidays are available.
Sri Lanka is a lush, tropical island paradise, known to Arab traders as Serendib – hence "serendipity", meaning discovery by happy accident – and famously described by Marco Polo as "undoubtedly the finest island of its size in the world".
For a small island, Sri Lanka has much to offer the discerning traveller. Our tailor made Sri Lanka holidays bring you the best of this culturally rich and environmentally diverse country with nine World Heritage Sites (the oldest dating back to the 3rd Century BC), 86 species of mammals (including elephants and leopards), more than 400 bird species (including 26 endemics), a colourful array of flowering plants and trees, a Hill Country famous for tea, 14 National Parks out of 100 areas protected by the Government, and an Indian Ocean coastline boasting palm-fringed and sandy tropical beaches.
For our tailor made Sri Lanka holidays we have developed a unique online holiday planner to enable visitors to create their own itinerary. Sophisticated and user-friendly, the holiday planner offers an opportunity to create individual tailor made holidays to Sri Lanka at your leisure! You are able to explore and plan your own route, excursions and activities, as well as choose the type and style of accommodation that suits you best. A 15-day sample itinerary for one of our tailor made Sri Lanka holidays is given below, but the real choice is yours and an amazing variety of tailor made Sri Lanka holidays are available.
Sri Lanka holidays best time to go
The best times to visit Sri Lanka are between the main rainy seasons. Because the island lies just north of the equator, temperatures remain almost constant throughout the year, but rainfall varies widely. In the south, southwest and Hill Country, the best period is from November to April after the southwest monsoon has finished. However, the north and east are affected by the northeast monsoon during this period and are dry but hot from April to September. The Hill Country is much cooler throughout the year.day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Fly to Colombo |
| Day 2: | Arrive Colombo. Drive up to the island’s Cultural Triangle (ancient cities’ area). Night stay at Sigiriya. |
| Day 3: | Free day. Night stay at Sigiriya. |
| Day 4: | Head to the medieval capital of Polonnaruwa for a tour of its historic temples and exquisitely carved statues. In the afternoon, take a jeep safari in Minneriya National Park to see elephants and a spectacular array of Sri Lankan bird life. Night stay at Sigiriya. |
| Day 5: | Ascent of the rock fortress of Sigiriya at dawn – a very special experience indeed - before climbing the granite massif at Dambulla to visit the island’s finest cave temples. Drive south to Kandy, In the evening, enjoy a performance of the famous Kandyan Dancers & Drummers, with a fire-walking finale. Night stay at Kandy. |
| Day 6: | A walking tour of Kandy will take in the Buddhist monasteries, Hindu temples, the lake and the municipal market. After lunch, visit the well-tended Peradeniya Botanic Gardens before experiencing the evening’s Buddhist puja (blessing ceremony) at the Temple of the Tooth. Night stay at Kandy. |
| Day 7: | A one-day tour of the Hill Country, including a tour of a working tea factory, on the way to your night stop at colonial Nuwara Eliya. |
| Day 8: | Trek through Horton Plains National Park before relaxing in the cool mountain air of Ella Gap for the night. |
| Day 9: | Visit Kataragama, a famous pilgrimage site. Night stay at Tissamaharama or Yala. |
| Day 10: | Jeep safari in Yala West National Park to see elephants and leopards and bears (oh my!) followed by a picturesque drive along the southern coastline to the quiet beach at Mirissa for 4 nights. |
| Day 11-13: | Free day. Night stay at Mirissa. |
| Day 14: | Visit the Old Dutch Fort at Galle on the way north along the coast via Colombo to your night stay near the airport at Negombo. |
| Day 15: | Fly to UK. |
travellers' tales
Excellent - our driver was also fantastic and provided us with peace of mind. Wonderful people, great food and amazing scenery (more)
how this holiday makes a difference
 Through our tailor made Sri Lanka holidays we actively encourage responsible and sustainable travel to Sri Lanka. By working on our Sri Lanka holidays closely with our associate company in Sri Lanka and other partner organisations, we are endeavouring to promote cultural exchange, social awareness, self-employment and self-development. Sri Lanka holidays guides: We only employ English-speaking Sri Lankan chauffeur guides who are all licensed by the Sri Lanka Tourist Board. Experienced guides for trekking, safaris and other specialist activities are hired locally and have extensive knowledge of their chosen area of expertise. Sri Lanka holidays accommodation: We actively promote small family-run guesthouses that employ local workers, or in the case of larger hotels, locally owned establishments. Sri Lanka holidays restaurants: We encourage travellers to eat at traditional restaurants, roadside eateries, street vendors and market stalls in order for them to enjoy and experience authentic Sri Lankan food. Sri Lanka community-led projects: The Asian Tsunami highlighted the plight of coastal communities in Sri Lanka and our initial projects were targeted at Sri Lankan individuals and communities devastated by the tsunami (please ask us for details). However, many other communities away from the coast also lack essential materials and services and our objective is to offer long-term support to such Sri Lankan individuals and communities. By channelling all donations received by Forgotten Village Sri Lanka (a charitable organisation currently applying for charitable status with the Charity Commission) into community-based projects on the island, we hope to provide sustained assistance to these communities in their endeavour to improve their lives. We make a contribution to Forgotten Village Sri Lanka for every holiday booked. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |