Luxury Sri Lanka Tours & Travel

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.