• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Phenomenal Globe Travel Blog

  • Home
  • Destinations
    • Around the world – see all
    • Canada
    • Japan
    • New Zealand
    • Taiwan
    • Family Travel
  • Packing & Products
  • About
    • Contact me
    • Work with me
    • Disclosure and Privacy Policy
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
You are here: Home / Asia / Sri Lanka / The Perfect 1 Month Sri Lanka Itinerary And Travel Guide

The Perfect 1 Month Sri Lanka Itinerary And Travel Guide

July 26, 2020 by Lotte 32 Comments

Udawalawe sunrise safari Sri Lanka

This post was updated in July 2020.

Sri Lanka may be a small country, but this beautiful island in the Indian Ocean has a whole lot to offer! There are beautiful beaches, green mountains, even greener tea plantations, ancient and impressive Buddhist temples, colorful and detailed Hindu temples, and much more.

This 1 month Sri Lanka itinerary will help you make the most of your Sri Lanka trip. Even if you don’t have time to spend a month in Sri Lanka, I hope this post will give you plenty of inspiration which places to visit in Sri Lanka.

This post contains affiliate links.
Please read my disclosure policy for more information.

1 month Sri Lanka itinerary

Table Of Contents
hide
  • 1 month Sri Lanka itinerary
    • How to plan the perfect Sri Lanka trip
    • Sri Lanka 1 month itinerary
    • Sri Lanka travel itinerary: important facts and figures
    • Day 1: arrive at Bandaranaike International Airport in Negombo
    • Day 2-3: sightseeing in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka
    • Day 4-5: exploring Galle and around
    • Day 6-8: diving, surfing and relaxing in Weligama
    • Day 9: snorkeling in Talalla
    • Day 10-11: safari at Udawalawe National Park
    • Day 11-13: hiking in Ella
    • Day 14-15: walking through tea fields in Haputale
    • Day 16: rainy Nuwara Eliya
    • Day 17-18: cultural Kandy
    • Day 19-20: iconic Sigiriya
    • Day 21: ancient Anuradhapura
    • Day 22-23: colorful and quiet Jaffna
    • Day 24-26: laid back Kalpitiya
    • Sri Lanka travel itinerary: in conclusion
  • South Beira Lake Colombo Sri Lanka
  • View while hiking Ella Rock Sri Lanka
  • Temple in Anuradhapura Sri Lanka
  • Scuba Diving in Weligama Sri Lanka

How to plan the perfect Sri Lanka trip

I have written several posts about our trip, together with this itinerary it should provide you with all the information you need to plan your trip to Sri Lanka! My other Sri Lanka posts can be found here:

  • Sri Lanka budget breakdown ⇒ our average daily travel budget in Sri Lanka.
  • Sri Lanka accommodation guide ⇒ where we stayed during our trip, pros and cons for those accommodations and prices per night.

Sri Lanka 1 month itinerary

In the map below you can find our one month Sri Lanka itinerary.

Sri Lanka itinerary

Click here for the interactive map.

Sri Lanka itinerary

  • Day 1: arrive at Bandaranaike International Airport in Negombo
  • Day 2-3: go sightseeing in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka
  • Day 4-5: explore Galle and around
  • Day 6-8: go diving, surfing or just relax in Weligama
  • Day 9: snorkel in Talalla
  • Day 10-11: go on safari at Udawalawe National Park
  • Day 11-13: hike around Ella
  • Day 14-15: walk in the green tea fields in Haputale
  • Day 16: explore Nuwara Eliya
  • Day 17-18: discover cultural Kandy
  • Day 19-20: visit iconic Sigiriya
  • Day 21: wander around ancient Anuradhapura
  • Day 22-23: travel north to colorful and quiet Jaffna
  • Day 24-26: relax in laid back Kalpitiya

Sri Lanka travel itinerary: important facts and figures

  • I traveled around Sri Lanka with my husband.
  • Our 1-month trip started and ended at Bandaranaike International Airport (Negombo).
  • We traveled from place to place by public transport. We took trains, tuk-tuks and a lot of colorful old buses. In this post, I will provide as much detail as I can about how we got from A to B.
Colorful bus in Sri Lanka

Day 1: arrive at Bandaranaike International Airport in Negombo

We arrived at Negombo airport in the middle of the night. Luckily the owner of our accommodation, Erandi Holiday Home, picked us up with his tuk-tuk and quickly drove us to his place. We were exhausted and asleep as soon as our head hit the pillow.

How to get from Negombo to Colombo

FromToByPriceRemark
Erandi Holiday HomeNegombo Bus Stationtuk-tuk250 rupeesowner Erandi tripped us off
Negombo bus stationPattah bus stationbus200 rupees pp
Pattah bus stationFort train stationfootfree
Fort train stationKirulapona stationtrain10 rupees ppPlatform 10, train to Avissawella
Kirulapona stationSiebel Serviced Apartmentsfootfree

Day 2-3: sightseeing in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka

Colombo wasn’t my favorite place in Sri Lanka, but if you have one or two days to spare the city does have some nice places to visit. We did 2 days of sightseeing in Colombo:

  • Hotel the Pilawoos ⇒ famous for its kottu, a typical Sri Lankan dish. We had it for breakfast and it was very tasty indeed!
  • National Museum ⇒ I personally didn’t enjoy this museum very much, it was being renovated and a large part of the museum was inaccessible. Also, the collection on display was limited, probably also because of the renovation. The entrance fee was 600 rupees per person.
  • Old Town Hall and Vihamaradevi park ⇒ lovely green park for a stroll.
  • South Beira Lake ⇒ we walked around this lake on our way to Galle Face Green.
  • Galle Face Green ⇒ a great spot to watch the sunset!
  • Fort Old District ⇒ we explored the historical district Fort. I especially liked the Clock Tower and the beautifully renovated Dutch Hospital.
  • The T Lounge by Dilmah ⇒ one of the best cafes in Colombo, with delicious and refreshing tea!
The T Lounge by Dilmah Colombo Fort

Where to stay in Colombo

We stayed at Siebel Serviced Apartments for 2 nights.

How to get from Colombo to Galle

FromToByPriceRemark
Kirulapona stationFort train stationtrain10 rupees ppWe took the 8.10 train
Fort train stationGalle train stationtrain180 rupees ppPlatform 5, 2nd class (10.30am)
Galle train stationThe One Apartmenttuk-tuk100 rupees

Day 4-5: exploring Galle and around

We spent 2 days in Galle and I liked this city a lot more than Colombo. It’s quite small and easy to get around on foot.

Galle historic center Sri Lanka

Galle Fort

We spent one day exploring the historic Galle Fort. While I cannot always be proud of Dutch history (like how we exploited our colonies) the Dutch Fort in Galle is a fine piece of architecture. Plus, it helped to protect (part of) Galle from the terrible tsunami in 2004…

Around Galle 

Our second day in Galle we rented a scooter from the owner of our apartment and explored the area around Galle. We visited the Virgin White Tea estate (Handunugoda), drove through green fields and to the villages Hikaduwa and Unawatuna.

Green fields around Galle Sri Lanka

Where to stay in Galle

We stayed at The One Apartment for 2 nights.

How to get from Galle to Weligama

FromToByPrice
The One ApartmentGalle train stationtuk-tuk100 rupees
Galle train stationWelligama train stationtrain60 rupees pp
Welligama train stationNaomi River View Villatuk-tuk150 rupees

Day 6-8: diving, surfing and relaxing in Weligama

  • Sunset at the beach in Weligama, Sri Lanka
  • Palm trees, Sri Lanka

I liked Weligama a lot, it’s a laid-back place with nice beaches and great for surfing and scuba diving.

Surf lesson

Our first ever attempt at surfing! We took a one hour lesson at ‘My Brothers School’ but didn’t pick a very good day, there were almost no waves! We did get to practice standing up and even caught a couple of very shallow waves!

Relax at the beach

There are many small beaches around Weligama, we found a pretty beach near Fishermans Bay and spent a lot of time there…

Diving

I love diving, it’s one of my favorite travel activities! We did 2 dives with Weligama Bay Dive Center (at Yala Rock and Patch Point). It was so good to be back in the water, I hadn’t dived since Cuba, but for Frank, it had been almost 2 years since his last dive in Koh Tao.

Mirissa

I was glad we were staying in Weligama instead of Mirissa, there were so many loud bars in Mirissa (I know, I’m old and boring). Nevertheless, it was a nice place to spend an afternoon. We found a beach bar with lounge chairs, perfect for a drink and to watch the sunset.

Where to stay in Weligama

We stayed at Naomi River View Villa for 3 nights.

How to get from Weligama to Talalla

FromToByPriceRemark
Naomi River View VillaMatara bus stationbus50 rupees ppchange buses at Matara bus station
Matara bus stationWajirawana Maawatha bus stopbus50 rupees pp
Wajirawana Maawatha bus stopSeaview Resortfootfree

I kept an eye on Google maps (offline, use GPS function) to check where to get off the bus for Talalla. The Wajirawansa Maawatha bus stop is a little past Talalla village, across the bus stop is a small road leading to the beach and several hotels.

Day 9: snorkeling in Talalla

Looking for sea turtles in Talalla

Lovely little village on the South coast of Sri Lanka. There isn’t much to do in Talalla, but there is a beautiful beach and it’s good for snorkeling.

Unfortunately, we didn’t see a turtle, but a fellow traveler at our hotel saw two turtles when he was snorkeling so you never know…

Talalla beach, South Coast Sri Lanka

Where to stay in Talalla

We stayed at Seaview Resort for 1 night.

How to get from Talalla to Udawalawe Junction

FromToByPriceRemark
Wajirawana Maawatha bus stopEmbilipitiya bus stopbus110 rupees ppBus 11
Embilipitiya bus stopUda Walawe Junctionbus50 rupees pp
Uda Walawe Junction A to Z Family Guesthousefootfree

Day 10-11: safari at Udawalawe National Park

Wild elephant in Udawalawe National Park Sri Lanka

Safari in Udawalawe National Park

On day 10 we traveled from Talalla to Udawalawe Junction and booked a safari for the next morning (day 11) at our hotel. I had never been on a safari before and it was amazing!

First, we witnessed a beautiful sunrise and once the sun was up we saw lots of animals: elephants, buffaloes, deer, colorful bee-eaters (birds), peacocks, a big lizard and… crocodiles! The safari was definitely one of the highlights of our Sri Lanka trip.

Wild elephant in Udawalawe National Park Sri Lanka

Note: bring a jacket, I found it quite chilly in the early morning (5.30am)! Also be sure to bring some water and food. Our safari took 4 hours and I was very happy we brought something to eat and drink.

Where to stay in Udawalawe Junction

We stayed at A to Z Family Guest Udawalawe for 1 night and also booked our safari there (4500 rupees per person).

How to get from Udawalawe Junction to Ella

FromToByPriceRemark
Uda Walawe JunctionWelawaya bus stationbus100 rupees ppBus 98
Welawaya bus stationElla (bus stop is nex to the Curd Shop)bus70 rupees pp
EllaMount Breezevillafootfree

Day 11-13: hiking in Ella

After the safari we traveled to Ella, a beautiful village in the mountains and my favorite place in Sri Lanka. We stayed in Ella for 3 days and did lots of hiking!

  • Nine Arch Bridge in Ella, Sri Lanka
  • View from Little Adam's Peak in Ella, Sri Lanka

Little Adam’s Peak and Nine Arch Bridge

The views from the top of Little Adam’s Peak are phenomenal, on a clear day you can see all the way to the ocean on the South coast. It wasn’t that clear the day we hiked up, but the views were still amazing.

From Little Adam’s Peak we walked to Nine Arch Bridge and arrived just in time to see the 10.56 train drive over the bridge. The total loop took us around 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Ella Rock 

This was another beautiful hike, but a bit longer and steeper than the hike to Little Adam’s Peak. However, it was definitely worth the effort, the views along the way and from the top are gorgeous! The return hike took us 3 hours and 15 minutes.

View from Ella Rock

Where to stay in Ella

We stayed at Mount Breezevilla for 1 night and at Ella Alpine Resort for 2 nights.

How to get from Ella to Haputale

FromToByPrice
Ella Alpine ResortElla (bus stop next to Curd Shop)footfree
EllaBadulla bus stationbus50 rupees pp
Badulla train stationHaputale train stationtrain80 rupees pp
Haputale train stationBawa Guesthousefootfree

The easiest way is to go directly from Ella to Haputale by train. However, we wanted to cross the Nine Arch Bridge by train… And in order to do that, you have to travel by train from Badulla.

Therefore, we took a bus from Ella to Badulla (1 hour) and boarded the train there. Another hour later we crossed the beautiful bridge and arrived once again in Ella. Needless to say, we stayed on the train until we reached Haputale;-).

Day 14-15: walking through tea fields in Haputale

Bawa Guesthouse Sri Lanka Haputale view from balcony

The trip to Haputale is an activity in itself, the train ride from Badulla to Haputale is one of the most beautiful ones in the world and it costs just 80 rupees (something like 50 cents in €/$)!

Haputale itself is also very nice, the village is located on the ridge of a hill and there are amazing 360 views! We stayed in Haputale for 2 days and did some more hiking.

Adisham Monastery

Unfortunately, we couldn’t visit this lovely looking monastery (it’s closed on weekdays) and only take a peek through the trees. We hiked back to our guesthouse via the tea plantation.

Lipton’s Seat 

From the Haputale bus station, we took a bus to the Dambatenne Tea Factory (30 rupees pp). From the factory, it was a beautiful 7 km hike through the vivid green tea fields to reach Lipton’s Seat.

Dambatenne Tea Factory in Haputale, Sri Lanka

The views from Lipton’s Seat were not bad either…

Fun fact: it’s called Lipton’s Seat because Sir Thomas Lipton used to sit here and look out over his estates.

View from Liptons Seat at the Dambatenne Tea Factory in Haputale

Where to stay in Haputale

We stayed at Bawa Guesthouse for 2 nights.

How to get from Haputale to Nuwara Eliya

FromToByPrice
Bawa GuesthouseHaputale train stationfootfree
Haputale train stationNanu Oya train stationtrain80 rupees pp
Nanu Oya train stationNuwara Eliya (T-junction at Lake Gregory)bus25 rupees pp
Nuwara Eliya (T-junction at Lake Gregory)The Cottagefootfree

There is no train station in Nuwara Eliya so we had to change to a bus at Nanu Oya station. We got out at the T-junction at Gregory Lake and walked to our accommodation.

Day 16: rainy Nuwara Eliya

The Grand Cafe

I didn’t like Nuwara Eliya very much, but that was probably because it was grey and rainy… We spent most of our time indoors drinking cups of cute cat coffee.

Coffee at The Grand Hotel Nuwara Eliya

Where to stay in Nuwara Eliya

We stayed at the Cottage for 1 night, but I wouldn’t recommend this place.

How to get from Nuwara Eliya to Kandy

FromToByPriceRemark
The CottageNuwara Eliya (T-junction at Lake Gregory)footfree
Nuwara Eliya (T-junction at Lake Gregory)Nanu Oya train stationbus25 rupees pp
Nanu Oya train stationPeradeniya train stationtrain160 rupees ppchange at Peradeniya
Peradeniya train stationKandy train stationtrain(same ticket)
Kandy train stationKatugasthota bus stopbus12 rupees ppBus 602
Katugasthota bus stopTravellers Homefootfree

Our original plan was to go to Dalhousie and hike Adam’s Peak. Unfortunately, the weather was terrible throughout the duration of our stay in Nuwara Eliya. It’s a lot less fun to hike in the rain so we went directly to Kandy instead.

Day 17-18: cultural Kandy

View over Kandy, Sri Lanka

Walk around the lake and hike up to the viewpoint

We strolled around the Bogambara Lake and spotted many turtles and large lizards! A little uphill we found a nice viewpoint overlooking Kandi city center.

Sri Mahabodhi Maha Viharaya

Instead of the famous Temple of the Tooth we visited this much quieter temple on a hill in Kandy.

Where to stay in Kandy

We stayed at the the Travellers Home for 2 nights.

How to get from Kandy to Sigiriya

FromToByPrice
Travellers HomeKatugasthota bus stopfootfree
Katugasthota bus stopDambulla bus stationbus100 rupees pp
Dambulla bus stationSigiriya bus stopbus35 rupees pp
Sigiriya bus stopPathum Homestayfootfree

Day 19-20: iconic Sigiriya

Walk around the famous Lion Rock

We arrived late in the afternoon and took a quiet stroll around the moat of the famous Lion Rock. We even saw a crocodile, very cool!

Climb Pidurangala Rock 

For the best views of the Lion Rock we climbed up Pidurangala Rock (entrance fee is 500 rupees per person). It was very hot and sweaty but so worth it…

Read more about the famous rock formation of Sigiriya

View over Lion Rock Sigariya from Pidurangala Rock

Where to stay in Sigiriya

We stayed at Pathum Homestay for 2 nights.

How to get from Sigiriya to Anuradhapura

FromToByPrice
Pathum HomestaySigiriya bus stopfootfree
Sigiriya bus stopDambulla bus stationtuk-tuk400 rupees
Dambulla bus stationAnuradhapura Colombo bus stationbus190 rupees pp
Anuradhapura Colombo bus stationHanoi Palace (Jaffna junction)footfree

Day 21: ancient Anuradhapura

Anuradhapura temple tour

There are so many Buddha statues and temples in Anuradhapura… We checked out 8 sites, including the famous Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree and beautiful white Ruwanwelisaya stupa. However, this colorful statue in the lesser-known Isurumuni Viharaya temple was my favorite!

Temples in Anuradhapura Sri Lanka

Where to stay in Anuradhapura

We stayed at Hanoi Palace for 1 night but I wouldn’t recommend this place.

How to get from Anuradhapura to Jaffna

FromToByPrice
Hanoi Palace (Jaffna junction)Anuradhapura train stationbus10 rupees pp
Anuradhapura train stationJaffna stationtrain340 rupees pp
Jaffna stationPark Hotelfootfree

Day 22-23: colorful and quiet Jaffna

  • Open water and reflections near Jaffna Sri Lanka
  • Landscape North Sri Lanka
  • Velanai and Karainagar near Jaffna, North Sri Lanka
  • Velanai and Karainagar near Jaffna, North Sri Lanka

Rent a scooter and explore! 

Not many travelers make it this far north but I am glad we did, Jaffna was one of the highlights of our 1 month Sri Lanka trip! We rented a scooter and drove around roads less traveled on the beautiful islands Velanai and Karainagar.

The roads are peaceful now, but this area suffered severely from the Sri Lankan civil war which ended only in May 2009…

Palm trees lining road in Jaffna, Sri Lanka

Where to stay in Jaffna

Something went wrong with our booking at Hotel Blue Whale and we had to stay at the Park Hotel for our first night (not recommended). Luckily we could change to Hotel Blue Whale the next day.

How to get from Jaffna to Kalpitiya

FromToByPrice
Blue Whale HotelJaffna stationfootfree
Jaffna stationAnuradhapura train stationtrain340 rupees pp
Anuradhapura train stationPuttalam bus stationbus140 rupees pp
Puttalam bus stationKandakuli Junctionbus70 rupees pp
Kandakuli JunctionNathu Villatuk-tuk300 rupees

Day 24-26: laid back Kalpitiya

More scooter exploring 

Our accommodation was located a bit out of town so we rented a scooter for 2 days to get around. And to do some more exploring of the Kalpitiya peninsula!

On our last day, we watched the most amazing sunset… A perfect way to say goodbye to beautiful Sri Lanka!

Sunset Kalpitiya Sri Lanka

Where to stay in Kalpitiya

We stayed at Nethu Villa for 3 nights.

How to get from Kalpitiya to Bandaranaike International Airport in Negombo

FromToByPrice
Nathu VillaKalpitiya bus stationtuk-tuk500 rupees
Kalpitiya bus stationNegombo bus stationbus250 rupees pp
Negombo bus stationAirport bus stationbus50 rupees pp

Sri Lanka travel itinerary: in conclusion

We had a really great time in Sri Lanka and like I said at the start of this post: it’s a really varied country! We covered a lot of ground in 1 month, but there is still much more to see. We didn’t go to the East coast of Sri Lanka as it was monsoon season at the time of our visit (February 2017). Perhaps another time…

Anyway, below you can download a table with the transport information and a table with the activities listed in this itinerary.

If you have less time available to explore Sri Lanka, check out this 2-week itinerary! Planning a family trip to Sri Lanka? Read this guide how to travel Sri Lanka with a baby.

Enjoy your trip to Sri Lanka!

How to get from A to B in Sri Lanka

Things to do in Sri Lanka

  • 1 month travel itinerary to plan a perfect trip to Sri Lanka! Map + detailed information how to get from A to B (incl. Ella, Sigiriya, Kandy, Jaffna & more). #SriLanka #Travel #Ceylon
  • 1 month travel itinerary to plan a perfect trip to Sri Lanka! Map + detailed information how to get from A to B (incl. Ella, Sigiriya, Kandy, Jaffna & more). #SriLanka #Travel #Ceylon

Like it? Share it!

  • Share
  • Tweet

Filed Under: Sri Lanka

About Lotte

About Lotte - author of Phenomenal Globe Travel Blog
Previous Post: « The Best Things To Do In Iqaluit, Nunavut: A Complete Guide
Next Post: Is Sri Lanka Cheap: Detailed Sri Lanka Travel Budget »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mark

    May 26, 2017 at 1:43 am

    What an inspirational journey! Ella looks like a particularly stunning place to go hiking. I love hiking; I find that its a way of challenging my body in the best way possible. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Lotte

      May 27, 2017 at 2:41 pm

      Thanks Mark! Ella was amazing, a really beautiful village… I love hiking too, both for the exercise as well as for the amazing views!

      Reply
  2. Ryan Biddulph

    May 26, 2017 at 10:10 pm

    Great review Lotte! We stayed in Colombo for a month. LOVED The Commons; a fab breakfast spot where we feasted on American Brekky every Sunday. Amazingly tasty food. Sri Lanka has much to offer all travelers.

    Ryan

    Reply
    • Lotte

      May 27, 2017 at 2:39 pm

      Wow, a month in Colombo, you must know the city very well! Food in Sri Lanka is great indeed, as is pretty much everything else;-)

      Reply
  3. Heather

    May 28, 2017 at 12:21 am

    Your itinerary looks amazing! I hope I have the chance to replicate it one day. And I love that you have included the routes for each place–so helpful.

    Reply
    • Lotte

      May 28, 2017 at 12:50 pm

      Thanks for your kind comment Heather, happy to hear you like to post and transport information tables! I hope you get to visit Sri Lanka one day, it’s a beautiful country…

      Reply
  4. Jet Reece

    September 25, 2017 at 2:27 am

    Hi Lotte,
    Thanks – looks amazing! We have only 2.5 weeks – what would you recommend in that time?

    Reply
    • Lotte

      September 25, 2017 at 6:31 pm

      Hi Jet,

      Sri Lanka is absolutely amazing and so colorful! If you have 2,5 weeks I would probably skip the North. As beautiful as Jaffna and the surrounding islands are, it takes a day to get there and another one to get back (to Anuradhapura). My favorite part was Central Sri Lanka (Ella and Haputale in particular). Colombo was interesting but it is a big city so if you have limited time you may want to skip that too. And depending on how much relaxing time you need, Kalpitiya was lovely but the beaches on the South coast are beautiful too and are easier to get to. Altogether I would recommend:

      Day 1: arriving at Bandaranaike International Airport in Negombo + travel to Galle
      Day 2: explore Galle
      Day 3-4: Welligama
      Day 5-6: Udawalawe National Park (you only need 1 morning here, but you have to travel from the South coast which takes time)
      Day 7-8: hiking in Ella
      Day 9-10: walking through tea fields in Haputale
      Day 11-12: visit iconic Sigiriya
      Day 13-14: wander around ancient Anuradhapura
      Day 15: travel back to Negombo

      Hope this helps! Enjoy your trip:-)
      Lotte

      Reply
  5. Cindycky

    November 10, 2017 at 11:04 am

    Hi,
    I am planning about 21 days in Sri Lanka. Any tips on which cities I can skip or cut short?
    Thanks in advance!

    Reply
    • Lotte

      November 11, 2017 at 8:17 am

      Hi Cindy,

      I’m sure you’ll love Sri Lanka, it’s a beautiful country with very friendly people and delicious food. If you have 3 weeks you can see lots of things, but if I had to choose I would probably skip Colombo. It’s an interesting place, but still a big and busy city, I preferred the more quiet places in Sri Lanka. And instead of visiting Kalpitiya as well, I would only visit to the South Coast, the beaches there are beautiful too and are easier to get to.

      Hope this helps! Enjoy your trip:-)
      Lotte

      Reply
  6. Larissa

    December 26, 2017 at 7:20 pm

    Hi
    Thank you so much for your interesting blogpost!
    My boyfriend and I wil spend 1 month in Sri Lanka departing the 18th of January 🙂 I’m actually a little worried about the weather due to the fact that a cyclone just passed through the south of the island although it seems to be the best time to travel in Sri Lanka. It looks like you had perfect weather. When did you go there?

    Larissa

    Reply
    • Lotte

      December 29, 2017 at 1:30 pm

      Hi Larissa,

      I hope you and your boyfriend have a wonderful time in Sri Lanka, it’s such a fun and friendly country! We spent the entire month of February there so fairly similar to your travel plans. Of course the weather remains something beyond anyone’s control but usually your travel period should be dry and sunny:-).

      Have a great trip!
      Lotte

      Reply
  7. Claire

    January 14, 2018 at 3:51 am

    Hello, I have enjoyed reading about your experiences in Sri Lanka. You have included details that have been hard to find in other places.
    My partner and I have 35 days planned in Sri Lanka in Feb/March. We love hiking and plan to do as much as we can. I am wondering if you found the hills easy to navigate yourself or did you use a guide? Are there maps or easy to follow walking trails? I am always cautious when trekking in an unknown country. Did you learn about any other hikes that you would have like to go on if you had more time?

    Thanks for the information! Claire

    Reply
    • Lotte

      January 14, 2018 at 9:10 pm

      Hi Claire,

      I’m so happy to hear you like my Sri Lanka posts:-). About your hiking question: we found the hikes we did well-marked and easy to follow. Nevertheless, I do always download the map of the country we are in on my phone (maps.me app). That way I can see the trails and our position during the hikes. I do have to add we mostly did rather popular hikes (Ella Peak, Little Adam’s Peak, Pidurangala Rock) so we never were the only ones on the trails. I would have loved to do Adam’s Peak but unfortunately the weather was terrible so we skipped that one…

      Have a wonderful trip!
      Lotte

      Reply
  8. Tom

    February 7, 2018 at 11:42 am

    Hello Lotte, I enjoyed your tour of Sri Lanka. Hopefully my month in march/April will be just as amazing. How much time did you book in advance for your hotels? And any recommendations of sites. Are there many laundry shops. Thank you, Tom

    Reply
    • Lotte

      February 7, 2018 at 2:58 pm

      Hi Tom,

      Thanks, I’m happy to hear that! I’m sure your month in Sri Lanka will be amazing, it’s such a lovely country:-). About your questions, I booked my hotels 1 or 2 days ahead and never had any issues to find good accommodation. You can find all the places we stayed at in this post: https://www.phenomenalglobe.com/where-to-stay-in-sri-lanka-accommodation-guide/. Laundry can often be done by your accommodation, if not, it’s easy to find a place to do laundry pretty much anywhere in Sri Lanka! Have a great trip!

      Lotte

      Reply
  9. Zita

    February 18, 2018 at 12:50 pm

    Hi Claire,
    Me and my boyfriend are planning on going to Sri Lanka in July. But we’re not sure if July is the best time to go. We don’t have an option to go in any other month, would you still recommend going?
    Hope to hear from you, thanks in advance!

    Reply
    • Lotte

      February 18, 2018 at 6:54 pm

      Dear Zita,

      While I haven’t been to Sri Lanka in July myself I think it’s still very much worth a visit. in general your best bet would be to visit lots of places on the East Coast, which has the best weather between April and September. The cultural triangle should also be fine weather-wise. The West and South Coast tend to be a bit wetter during these months. Hope this helps, have a great trip!

      Lotte

      Reply
  10. Hang Rai

    February 22, 2018 at 3:53 am

    Wow! What an inspirational journey!

    Reply
    • Lotte

      February 24, 2018 at 10:31 am

      Thank you:-)

      Reply
  11. Carol

    April 15, 2018 at 1:35 am

    Hi Lotte
    Fabulous blog; from accom, expenses, what to see and how to travel! My sister and I are going to Sri Lanka for 18 days from mid-May (can’t wait). We plan arrive Colombo, day trip to Galle, train to Jaffna, train & bus to cultural triangle, bus to Kandy, train to Ella then back to Colombo. Re bus travel we will probably have a small roll-on plus a modest back pack each – any difficulty with these on board? Re train travel – any need to book in advance during May? We prefer either 2nd or 3rd class reserved?
    Thanks again
    Carol

    Reply
    • Lotte

      April 15, 2018 at 6:40 pm

      Hi Carol,

      Thanks, I’m glad you like my blog! Awesome you’ll be going to Sri Lanka, it’s a beautiful and colorful country. Your itinerary sounds great! Regarding your luggage, it can get very busy in buses and trains but the upside: they are never ‘full’. People will always make room for you, even when you think it’s not going to possible to squeeze one more person in. I wouldn’t worry about it! About the train travel, I’m not sure how you would go about booking the train. We just showed up at the train station and bought tickets for the same or the next day. I hope this helps, have a wonderful trip!

      Lotte

      Reply
    • Jennifer

      January 19, 2019 at 12:07 pm

      Hi Carol,

      I am planning to go to Sri Lanka this year from mid May too and im just wondering how was the weather when you went? I plan to stay for about 3 weeks and I really want clear skies and sun but I am afraid from reading online that there might be a lot of rain?

      Jennifer

      Reply
      • Lotte

        January 19, 2019 at 2:20 pm

        If only we could choose the weather for our holidays;-)

        Reply
  12. Mani

    September 19, 2018 at 1:31 am

    Thank you so much for sharing your one month Sri Lanka trip plan with us. I am going there for a month and follow your plan. I am also gonna start my Sri Lanka exclusive travel blog and I hope in month I will have enough time to explore Sri Lanka. Again thanks.

    Reply
    • Lotte

      September 19, 2018 at 10:47 am

      Hello Mani,

      Thank you for reading and I hope you have a great time in Sri Lanka! Good luck with your travel blog:-)

      Lotte

      Reply
  13. Elly Baldock

    August 5, 2019 at 9:28 pm

    We have just retired and are off on our 5 month adventure round India, spending a month at least during December travelling around Sri Lanka. All our vaccinations are up to date, apart from Japanese Encephalitis. There is varying information out there and it’s difficult weighing up the risks vs side effects of the jab, so I am wondering if you and your family had the inoculation against Japanese Encephalitis? Many thanks! 🙂

    Reply
    • Lotte

      August 6, 2019 at 9:26 pm

      Hi Elly,

      Wow that sounds wonderful! I’m very curious about India as I haven’t been there yet and it must be such an overwhelming and intense country… Regarding the vaccine, we didn’t have an inoculation against Japanese Encephalitis but I’m not a medic so I’d check with your doctor or the organisation in your country in charge of traveler health/advice.

      Happy travels!
      Lotte

      Reply
  14. Iga

    January 24, 2020 at 12:15 pm

    Wow, amazing blog post. I really appreciate the work done here on how to get from A to B, as I really lack that information in the internet. I actually found that most people choose to hire a car with a driver instead of using the public transport. And unfortunately this option is soo expensive 🙁 We’re travelling to Sri Lanka in March and will be there for 15 days. Hopefully we will manage to commute with buses and trains as well.
    Could you maybe please advise on how much time those transfers between cities / region took? This is something that worries me quite much that from our 15 days there we will spend so much time commuting.

    Reply
    • Lotte

      February 19, 2020 at 1:20 pm

      Hi Iga,

      Apologies for my late reply! Happy to hear you’ve found this post helpful, I’ve tried to include as much useful information as possible:-) If you’ve got 15 days, I’d choose a couple of areas instead of trying to cover the entire country. Personally I loved the mountains (Ella, Haputale) and the ancient sites (Sigiriya and Anuradhapura), these are all relatively close to each other. That would mean you’d have to skip the beach in the South, but you can always come back for a second trip;-) Unfortunately, I don’t remember the exact travel times anymore but if you base your itinerary around the places I mentioned above, you definitely wouldn’t spend all your time commuting!

      Enjoy your trip!
      Lotte

      Reply
  15. Adam

    February 28, 2020 at 12:01 pm

    Hi Lotte.. I appreciate your blog so much, full of great info. I’m heading to SL next week and keen to go diving there. How would you rate your diving experience there – were there lots of corals and marine life? Did you see anything unusual or exciting? Are there many places to dive in SL?

    Many thanks for your help.

    Adam

    Reply
    • Lotte

      March 2, 2020 at 9:48 am

      Hi Adam,

      Thanks for reading and happy you like the blog:-) Regarding your question, I thought diving was good, though not as good as in Malaysia and the Philippines. We went to 2 dive sites: Yala Rock and Patch Point. We saw a banded sea krait (sea snake) which was pretty cool and lots of colorful fish, but no turtles or rays. There are more places to dive and I’ve heard good things about Batticaloa. We didn’t visit the East coast as it was monsoon season on that side of Sri Lanka at the time of our visit and many dive schools are closed during that time. Hope this helps, have a great trip!

      Lotte

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Family picture Phenomenal Globe

Hi there, I’m Lotte! Follow me on my travels around the world with our family of four.
 

Read more about us…

Categories

How much it costs to travel the world 5 months as a couple Phenomenal Globe

Looking for something?

DISCLOSURE

Note: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. 

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please check my disclosure page for more information.

Copyright © 2021 Phenomenal Globe Travel Blog