The Very Best of Sri Lanka

Day 1 Depart UK
Join your Tour Manager and travel companions in the executive lounge before boarding your overnight flight to Colombo.

Day 2 Arrive Colombo
Your Local Guide will meet you at the airport and accompany you to the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel, where you’ll stay for 2 nights. After time to relax, you’re invited to join your Tour Manager and fellow travellers for welcome drinks and dinner this evening.

Meals: Dinner.

Day 3 Colombo
This morning, we’ll release your inner adventurer, as your journey of discovery begins. On a morning tour, Colombo will reveal all her secrets as you visit the Fort district, the former British administrative centre and military garrison. You’ll see the colonial buildings and sprawling gardens of the President’s House, then continue on to the Goldsmith’s Quarters, to experience the atmosphere of its open-air bazaars and bustling markets. To round off the morning, you’ll see the engraved Hindu Temple, and the 16th century bell at historical Kayman’s Gate. You’re free for the rest of the day to relax or explore further. A trip to the Colombo National Museum to view its vast array of artefacts and exhibits will give you even more of an insight into the country’s history and culture.

Meals: Breakfast.

Day 4 Colombo to Habarana
After breakfast, you’ll travel to Habarana for a 3-night stay at the delightful Cinnamon Lodge. Set in beautiful scenery with abundant bird life and gentle walking trails, this is an idyllic location. There’s also a fantastic spa, if you’d like to indulge yourself, as well as an inviting swimming pool.

Meals: Breakfast.
Day 5 Habarana
There’s a wonderful day in store for you today, as you travel to Sigiriya, known as The Fortress in The Sky. A UNESCO World Heritage Site built on a massive rock that towers over lush jungle surroundings, the stunning Lion Rock Palace was a wonder of ancient engineering holding many intriguing legends. Today, only ruins remain, but they are impressive nevertheless. The huge lion’s paws and life-sized paintings of the king’s concubines, still shining in their original colours. You’ll explore the beautiful water gardens with their pavilions, pools, fountains and water courses, and see the fascinating caves where monks used to meditate.

Meals: Breakfast.

Day 6 Habarana
You have a free morning to enjoy a leisurely breakfast and relax in this tranquil setting. In the afternoon, you’ll journey deep into the wilderness on a jeep safari in Minneriya or Kaudulla National Park. The adjacent national parks cover an area of 8,890 hectares of roaming landscape, evergreen forest and scrub areas, which is home to a vast array of wildlife including sambhur deer, leopards, buffaloes, birds and elephants. You’ll stop to observe the elephants up close as they come to bathe; sometimes congregating in large herds of 100 to 150. The perfect end to this thrilling day is a group dinner, where you can share your highlights of the tour so far.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner.

Day 7 Habarana to Kandy
Today you’ll continue on to the scenic city of Kandy; but the journey is an adventure in itself. En route, you’ll visit the Dambulla Rock Cave Temples; the largest cave temple complex in Sri Lanka. You’ll be able to explore five well preserved caves, each containing ancient statues of Buddha, gods and kings, see intriguing artwork depicting great events and historic landmarks and uncover some of the Dambulla Caves’ mysteries. Your journey then continues to the Batik Factory and Tropical Spice Garden, where you’ll find out how to make a Sri Lankan curry the traditional way. Once you arrive in Kandy, the last stronghold of the Sinhalese kings, you’ll check in before enjoying a visit to Peradeniya Royal Botanical Gardens. Started as a pleasure garden for the Kings of Gampola, these 150 acres are home to 5,000 species of trees, plants and creepers and incorporate a Spice Garden and Orchid House. You’ll stay at the Earl’s Regency for 2 nights.

Meals: Breakfast.

Day 8 Kandy
Your tour of Sri Lanka would not be complete without a visit to the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage, which was set up in 1975 to care for abandoned and wounded elephants. It has accomplished great things over the years, and the captive breeding programme has been a particular success, with more than 25 baby elephants born. This evening, you’ll visit the premier Buddhist institution of Sri Lanka; the Temple of the Tooth, which is home to the tooth of Buddha; a scared relic. You’ll then attend a dance and music show to see more of the local culture and traditions brought vividly to life.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner.

Day 9 Kandy to Nuwara Eliya
A thrilling journey awaits today, as you travel by train from Kandy to the celebrated hill station at Nanu Oya, in a stunning mountain valley. En route, the views of beautiful green hillsides, rushing waterfalls and tea plantations are simply spectacular. You’ll be collected from Nanu Oya station and driven up to Nuwara Eliya, 2,000 metres above sea level, where you’ll stay for 2 nights in the Tea Factory Hotel, a glorious converted colonial building, perched on a hillside with views across lush tea plantations.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner.

Day 10 Nuwara Eliya
Today, you’ll visit the Bluefield Tea Plantation and learn about the blending process. In the evening, you’re invited to a special champagne reception at the wonderful Hakgala Botanical Gardens. Originally opened as an experimental plantation for the production of the malaria antidote quinine, the Botanical Gardens lie at the foot of Hakgala Rock’s prominent peak, which towers dramatically overhead. Sipping champagne in such splendid surroundings and touring exquisite gardens abundant with roses and tree ferns, is a memorable way to spend the evening.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner.

Day 11 Nuwara Eliya to Yala National Park
You’ll take a 6 hour drive to the south-east coast. Yala is renowned for its diverse wildlife, culturally significant ruins and beautiful coastal landscape. It also boasts a large number of important cultural ruins. This afternoon you’ll take a thrilling jeep safari to the wonderfully scenic Yala, where you may see wild elephants, deer, sloth bear, jackal and if you’re lucky, leopard. More than 130 birds species are recorded which includes the resident and winter visitors. A barbecue dinner awaits you tonight at your jungle lodge resort Chaaya Wild Yala where you’ll spend the night in rustic luxury.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner.

Day 12 Yala National Park
Today is a full day at leisure to enjoy the national park or the facilities of your superb eco-friendly resort property.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 13 Yala to Galle
This morning we head back into the depth of Yala National Park for another jeep safari. Your journey continues to the turtle hatchery at Habaraduwa, en route to the charming town of Galle on the south-western tip of Sri Lanka. This walled city dates to the early 16th century and has a colourful history, having been inhabited by a succession of Europeans, from the Portuguese to the Dutch to the British. Here you’ll spend 2 nights at the Lighthouse Hotel, a member of ‘Small Luxury Hotels of the World’.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 14 Galle
You have a free morning to relax, discover Galle for yourself, or go on an optional whale watching excursion to Mirissa, which your Tour Manager will happily organise for you. The south coast of Sri Lanka is one of the very best places to spot blue whales, along with other cetacean species. This afternoon, we’ve organised a city tour, where you’ll see the splendid fort, and discover the Dutch heritage reflected in many historical buildings. In the evening, we recommend you watch the sun set from the hotel’s Cinnamon Room Restaurant over dinner. The views of the surf and the glorious sunsets are to be savoured.

Meals: Breakfast.

Day 15 Galle to Mount Lavinia
Make the most of a leisurely morning before a boat safari through the mangroves on the Madu River. You’ll then travel to the beach south of Colombo for a special farewell dinner at the classical Mount Lavinia Hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner.

Day 16 Arrive UK
You’ll transfer to Colombo airport this morning and you’ll land back into the UK later the same day.

Meals: Breakfast.

Tour includes

Maximum group size: 25
JOD Tour Manager throughout
Local expert guides in resort
All flights specified
London airport executive lounge
Welcome drinks party
Inspirational sightseeing programme
Hotel luggage porterage service
14 breakfasts, 7 dinners

On a Journey of Distinction, you are not merely a bystander. They believe that the wonders, customs and cultures you experience will live on in the core of your being. They even go so far as to say that one of their holidays will change your life forever.

Their combination of Tour Managers and Local Guides is what makes Journey of Distinction so distinctive. When you’re embarking on a voyage of discovery, it’s reassuring to know that a seasoned traveller is with you every step of the way; planning, organising, checking details and offering their advice and support. Their groups all depart from the UK, and no one joins us along the way, so you have the reassuring constancy of always knowing your travelling companions.

Our Opinion
“Limited to just 25 travellers per departure, every Journeys of Distinction escorted tour has an intimate, personal feel that makes for a more enjoyable experience.”