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  • Luxury Sri Lanka Tours & Travel

Let Us Plan Your Travel to Sri Lanka

A small teardrop-shaped island sitting just off the southern coast of India, Sri Lanka is known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean and has been thrilling visitors for centuries with its potent mix of lush scenery, vibrant culture, spectacular nature and wildlife, and gorgeous tropical beaches.

The history of Sri Lanka is as colourful and enthralling as the island itself. For many centuries rule of the island was traded between varying warring dynasties, each of which leaving their mark in the shape of alluring ancient capitals which still stand today: Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Kandy. The 16th century saw the arrival of European colonial powers – first Portuguese, then Dutch, and then most significantly and enduringly the British – with the island finally gaining full independence in 1948. Known throughout antiquity as Ceylon, the island took its present name of Sri Lanka in 1972.

Sri Lanka today is a buzzing, confident, and thoroughly engrossing place to visit. As you’d expect of a Subcontinental destination its city streets are a colourful muddle of tuk-tuks, temples, and traders, but in comparison to neighbouring India you’ll find the pace slightly slower, and the smiles a little wider. Above all else, Sri Lanka is a welcoming, easy-going place to visit, with locals always willing to engage. Outside of the cities the pace gets even slower still, with much of your tour spent amongst unforgettable scenery or emerald green mountains, languid backwaters, and fauna-rich scrub.

What we love most about Sri Lanka is the remarkable variety of travel memories it provides. Within this relatively small island one can experience breath-taking mountain hikes, exhilarating safaris, fascinating historical sites, lively cities, gorgeous beaches, possibly the world’s greatest train rides, and arguably Asia’s most underrated cuisine. Many of these experiences can all be contained within the same day. If you’re looking for your new favourite destination then look no further – Sri Lanka really does have it all.

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Luke

I am totally captivated by Asia. Having lived in Singapore, Nepal, South Korea and Hong Kong,  travelled extensively across all of our destinations in Asia, and worked in luxury travel for many years, curating exceptional trips comes naturally to me.

Luke

Asia Specialist

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Suggested itineraries for Sri Lanka

There’s so much to see in Sri Lanka it’s hard to know where to start! Our specialists have put together a range of sample tours – found below – illustrating the key destinations and best routes.

Private Tours

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Best Hotels in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka offers a fantastic array of upmarket and luxury accommodation. You’ll find some of our specialists’ personal favourites below.

 
Luke Pic
From

Luke our Asia Specialist

When is the best time to travel to Sri Lanka?

Sri Lanka has a rather complex climate, affected by two different monsoons on opposite sides of the island. Generally the best time for a first-time tour – taking in the cultural triangle, hill country, national parks, and south coast – would be from October through to May. This is primarily with beach weather on the south coast in mind, as outside of these months – June through to September – it’s much better to visit Sri Lanka’s east coast beaches, and reconfigure your itinerary accordingly.

 

Is Sri Lanka a year-round destination?

The two rainier periods mean that at any time of year there will be at least one side of the island that is in season. Furthermore, the central parts of the island – particularly the cultural triangle and hill country – have a more settled climate and although tropical, with rainfall expected every other day all year round, you should be able to plan an effective tour whenever you visit. For clarity on when is best to plan your trip please see our dedicated ‘When to Visit’ page, or of course ask your knowledgeable travel consultant.

How do we get around?

Our private tours of Sri Lanka will see you transported around the island mostly by car in the company of a private chauffeur guide. As all tours of the island will start and finish at Colombo Airport, it is generally the same driver joining you for the duration of your tour, completing the loop together. Should you be looking to cover significant distances in one day – Kandy down to the south coast for instance – then we may organise an internal flight with private transfers arranged at either end. The same is true of train journeys, although for many of these, especially the scenic but slow-going Hill Country routes, road travel is much quicker and your driver will be able to both drop you off and meet you at the other end!

 

How are your tours guided?

Much of the tour will be facilitated by your chauffeur-guide: they’ll look after minor sightseeing, hotel check-ins, all the transport, and help with translation and general interaction as you move around the country. At major historical sites, which require a little more expertise, we’ll arrange private English-speaking site guides; in national parks meanwhile you’ll have private naturalists joining you for any safari drives. We also arrange a variety of one-off hosted activities – such as cooking classes, walking tours, etc – which will be on a private or small group basis.

 

What kind of wildlife can we see in Sri Lanka?

Sri Lanka is a fabulous wildlife destination and often you won’t need to even be in the national parks to see colourful creatures: kingfishers, egrets, and eagles are common sightings wherever you are in the countryside, and it’s also possible to spot wild elephant grazing in the fields while driving through the more remote eastern and south-eastern regions. Should you plan any safaris – and we very much encourage you to do so – the big-hitting sightings are leopard, elephants, sloth bears, jungle cats, crocodiles, and sambar deer. Day trips from coastal resorts can also bring sightings of blue whale, sperm whale, and dolphins.

Get in touch with our travel experts today.

+1 646 201 9437OR
 

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