Sri Lanka

An 11-day Sri Lanka loop — Colombo to Mirissa's beaches, a Yala leopard safari, the Ella train, Kandy's Tooth Relic, and Dambulla's ancient cities, ending at a purpose-built airport-hotel for late flights.

Duration

11 days, as above.

Best time

Sri Lanka has two separate monsoon systems affecting different parts of this route differently — the southwest coast (Colombo, Mirissa, Galle) and the dry-zone interior (Yala, the cultural triangle) don't share the same ideal window. December to March is the best overall balance, giving good weather on the south coast while also sitting within Yala's better dry-season safari conditions.

Budget

The whole trip cost roughly ₹80,000 total, working out to about ₹6,500 per person per day (roughly $78 at August 2023 exchange rates) — this covered everything: flights, hotels, local travel, food, drinks, the different teas we picked up along the way, and every entry ticket. It can be done for less or considerably more; we stayed in 3-star-and-up hotels throughout, all with a swimming pool, most including breakfast.

Getting around

A mix of transport for every leg: local buses for Colombo–Mirissa, Kandy–Dambulla, and Dambulla–Negombo; a cab hired in Mirissa covered Mirissa–Tissamaharama–Ella, including the Buduruwagala stop; the Yala safari operator picked us up directly from the hotel; a local taxi covered the Dambulla day trips (Ibbankatuwa, Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa); Galle was a local bus out with an Uber back to Mirissa; and Ella–Kandy was by the scenic train.