Sri Lanka Classic Tour 12 Day – One Life Adventures

Arrive on day one and be greeted at the airport by your tour guide, who will load your luggage into a tuk tuk as you ride through the tree lined and sunbaked streets of Negombo to your first hotel. Today is your day, or get your base tan on the beach, for in the evening we meet as a group and hit the town for your welcome dinner and drinks. 

Accommodation 

Twin/Double Rooms – Beacon Beach Hotel (or similar) 

Hotel 

Upgrade Available 

Fill up on a delicious breakfast in the hotel before we hop on a private bus to start our journey to Sigiriya. On the way we will stop off to explore the magnificent Dambulla Caves, history and religion bounce off every painted wall and stone Buddha statue, leaving you with an unrivalled sense of spirituality. Then we’ll continue on to check into our stunning hotel in Sigiriya, the jewel of the Cultural Triangle. We will finish our epic day with a sunset climb to the quiet Buddhist monastery of Pidurangala, to get an open and unobstructed shot of what it is we’ll be climbing in the morning! 

Accommodation 

Twin/Double Rooms – Kashapa Lion Rock (or similar) 

Hotel 

Upgrade Available 

An early wake up time today as we put on our hiking shoes, grab our camera and head out to climb the incredible Sigiriya Rock. Protruding produly out of the earth, ruins of a grand palace provide evidence all around the grounds of a once violent and noble Sri Lankan history. View the ancient wall paintings, the sanskript marked mirror wall and the huge stone lion paws guarding the ascent to the summit. The views from the top are unrivalled as you travel through time examining the ruins. This afternoon you have the option to go on an extra safari in Minneriya national park, where elephants patrol the land. To fill those hungry bellies, we stop by a local family for lunch who will prepare a traditional feast for us before taking a well-deserved rest on a lounger in the afternoon sun. 

Accommodation 

Twin/Double Rooms – Kashapa Lion Rock (or similar) 

Hotel 

Upgrade Available 

Today we say goodbye to Sigiriya and embark on our travels down south towards Sri Lanka’s second largest city, Kandy. We will stop at a spice garden on the way to learn about where our favourite spices come from and have a cooking class where we’ll learn the secret to a perfect Sri Lankan curry! Here, our local chef will teach you how to make dhal and chicken curry as well as fried cashew coconut sambal and poppadoms. Then we’ll continue our drive to Kandy, check in to our next accommodation and take in the sights and sounds of this bustling city with a Tuk Tuk tour! 

Accommodation 

Twin/Double Rooms – Queens Hotel (or similar) 

Hotel 

Upgrade Available 

Eat your breakfast overlooking the hills of Kandy before we head into town to visit the sacred Temple of the Tooth. This is a religious shrine which is said to house the tooth of Buddha himself. We then jump on the bus and travel through the mountainous region of the hill country. The hills are ablaze with small green tea plants which Sri Lanka is famous for. We stop by a functioning tea factory to learn how the tea is processed and ends up in your cup at home, whilst actually learning how 7 different types of tea are made all from the same plant! A trip to Sri Lanka is not complete without experiencing life on the train and the journey from Nuwara Eliya to Ella is dubbed as the best journey in the world. 180 degree views of tea plantations, waterfalls, lakes and local villages pass on by as your train traverses the tracks cut into the mountainside. Try the sweet milk tea on board, converse with friendly locals and take pictures to make you the envy of all your friends back home. After we check into our hotel, we’ll head into Ella for dinner and drinks in everyone’s favourite mountainous town.  

Accommodation 

Twin/Double Rooms – Oak Ray Ella Gap Hotel (or similar) 

Hotel 

Upgrade Available 

Today is yours to do as you please. Ella plays host to some of the best Ayurveda massage parlours in Sri Lanka. A thousand year old technique which removes any aches or pains you may have, or simply as an excellent way to relax. Your tour guide will let you know what other activities you can do in the area. 

Accommodation 

Twin/Double Rooms – Oak Ray Ella Gap Hotel (or similar) 

Hotel 

Upgrade Available 

Hike Little Adam’s Peak and visit the world famous Nine Arch Bridge in the morning. Afterwards, we journey out of the mountains and grab lunch on the way to Udawalawe National Park to get up close and personal with the elephants!  

Please bring an overnight bag with you for this night! 

Accommodation 

Twin/Double Rooms – Athgira River Camping (or similar) 

Hotel 

Upgrade Available 

Take the morning to chill out by our campsite pool and just enjoy your surroundings – monkeys, elephants and peacocks roam the fields around the campsite, so be sure to be on the lookout. After breakfast we’ll drive to the South West Coast, arriving at the stunning beach side town of Mirissa. A place where the world class waves hit the sand, where turtles inhabit the water, and where the beer is ice cold. After a week in the hill country, this is exactly what you need. 

Accommodation 

Twin/Double Rooms – Randiya Beach Hotel (or similar) 

Hotel 

Upgrade Available 

Today is a free morning, you can do an optional surf lesson or if it is Whale Season (Oct-April) you can do an optional Whale Watching tour, where it is possible to see the worlds largest animal... the Blue Whale! 

Accommodation 

Twin/Double Rooms – Randiya Beach Hotel (or similar) 

Hotel 

Upgrade Available 

Start the day with a 12km cycle through the lush southern Paddy Fields, stopping at a local school en-route. In the afternoon, walk around the old Dutch Fort in Galle, buy some souvenirs and taste some of the best ice cream in Sri Lanka! You will also have the opportunity to visit the Dog Care Clinic at Unawatuna. This dog clinic is one of the only self-funding rescue centres for dogs in Sri Lanka. This is an optional extra as to enter you need to make a small donation. 

Accommodation 

Twin/Double Rooms – Randiya Beach Hotel (or similar) 

Hotel 

Upgrade Available 

After your breakfast, we will pack up our things for the 2 hour drive along the coast to the bustling capital city of Colombo. On the way we stop off at small turtle sanctuary, where baby turtles learn to take that first swim and injured adults are rehabilitated back into the wild. Across the road we’ll view the humbling 2004 Tsunami Memorial, where you can listen to survival tales and view pictures of the event. We then arrive into Colombo and check into our beautiful Hotel, you’ll have some free time to visit the national museum or art gallery close by, or take a tuk tuk and run around the manic streets of the Pattah Markets for some final souvenir shopping. We’ll then meet together in the evening for a final dinner together before saying our goodbye! 

Accommodation 

Twin/Double Rooms – Pegasus Reef (or similar) 

Hotel 

Upgrade Available 

Time to say our final goodbyes with the friends you have just made over the course of an incredible 12 days. For some of you, this means continuing your holiday on the phenomenal beaches of the Maldives with our add on package, for others, it's either back home or to continue your travels. Whatever your next destination may be, we hope we have educated you on a country that provides so much, that possess incredible variation in exploration and we hope we have inspired you to explore more.  

** If you are booking flights to the Maldives for our add-on, the arrival and departure times from Male airport must be between 11am-5pm or you will be liable to pay for your own transfers at a cost of USD$150