Sri Lanka luxury travel guide

Sri Lanka was known as Serendib to Persian traders who ‘fell upon the island’, and it is believed that the word ‘serendipity’ came about as a result, because the word encapsulated that notion of an unexpected, happy discovery. If you want to splash out on Sri Lanka, however, you will discover that there is nothing serendipitous about it. This is a country with two monsoons, a rapidly growing tourism industry and some irresponsible tourism issues. Sri Lanka is a stunning country, however, and having a tailor made holiday with local experts who have created a carefully crafted itinerary ensures you avoid tourist crowds, stay at the finest heritage hotels or boutique beauties, have your own private chauffeur guide, and seek out the remote beaches and best waterside eateries. Splashing out responsibly is also an art. This Sri Lanka luxury travel guide has tested the water for you, and made sure it is perfect for you to jump into.

The only stressful decisions you have to make when opting for a luxury holiday to Sri Lanka are how long to go for, and how to divide up your time. Our local experts will guide you on the latter, pointing out how far one place is from another and ensuring that plenty of rest time is included between safaris, Ayurveda treatments, whale watching, balloon rides over ancient sites and food fests. You also need to decide whether you want to spend more time at the hotel in the tropical hill country with a forest enveloped pool and tea plantation estate, or by the beach in a classic Geoffrey Bawa-designed minimalist hotel, the local guru for design led by nature.

Beach hotels are, of course, high up the list on a Sri Lanka holiday, and top choices include Heritance Ahungalla Hotel, one of several hotels designed by Geoffrey Bawa, the highly revered local architect in his “tropical modernism” style. They are certainly all tropical treats. It is also worth visiting his gardens at Lunuganga.

As for safari, Sri Lanka does the whole luxury tented camp thing rather beautifully too, on the outskirts of Wilpattu or Yala National Park, giving ease of access for sunset and evening safaris. Collapsing into your wilderness bed with the finest meditative slumber soundtrack you could hope for: that of elephants and tropical birdlife.

Buying food locally is one of the most important things you can do on a holiday in Sri Lanka, and our luxury holidays don’t buy into the all inclusive model which, by nature, excludes local communities from benefiting financially from tourism. Ask your guide to recommend the best street food, the most sizzling beach cafes, the finest fish restaurants (some of which need booking up well in advance, such as the very cool ‘Ministry of Crab’), shop at the food markets or seek out a cookery class. Buying food locally feeds people locally.

To guarantee ethically and locally sourced goods, check out the state owned boutique chain, Laksala, and beware of buying antiques or anything over 50 years old, as you are not allowed to export them. Many people want to make donations to local schools and hospitals, but do seek the advice of your tour operator because it may be possible to buy what is needed locally, and then donate it, thus supporting local shops and traders too.