Ella

Designed with parents and kids in mind: short driving days, hotels with pools, and experiences children love – elephants, bullock carts, trains, tuk-tuks, turtles and beaches. Family rooms or connecting rooms are arranged in every hotel.

Follow the footsteps of Lord Rama, Sita and Hanuman to the sites linked with the Ramayana epic in Sri Lanka. Visit Munneswaram, the Seetha Amman Temple at Ashok Vatika, Divurumpola, the Ravana caves and falls of Ella, and Hanuman's herbal mountain at Rumassala.

Travelling alone doesn't mean being alone. This tour is designed for solo travellers, with a trusted chauffeur-guide, safe and social hotels, and experiences where you meet local people – a cooking class, a village lunch and café evenings in Ella.

For travellers who want to earn their views. Cycle to Polonnaruwa, trek the wild Knuckles Range, raft Kitulgala's rapids, climb Adam's Peak by night with the pilgrims, hike Ella Rock and finish with a leopard safari in Yala.

Ten days is the most popular length for a first trip to Sri Lanka, and this route shows why. You will see the ancient rock fortress of Sigiriya, the royal city of Kandy, the tea country, the leopards of Yala and the colonial charm of Galle – the five experiences almost every traveller comes for.

One week, the best of Sri Lanka. This compact itinerary covers the island's cultural and scenic highlights – Sigiriya, Dambulla, Kandy, the tea country and the Ella train – and finishes in Colombo so your drive to the airport is short.

A deeper journey for travellers who want more than the headline sights. Spend four nights in the Cultural Triangle with time for Anuradhapura, Ritigala's forgotten forest monastery and a village day, then move into the hill country for tea estates, cloud-forest hikes and the famous train.

The hill country is Sri Lanka at its most beautiful – green hills of tea, waterfalls, cool air and colonial bungalows. This tour follows the tea trail from Kandy to Ella with gentle hikes, a factory visit, the most scenic train ride on the island and sunrise at Lipton's Seat.

Sri Lanka's railways were built by the British to carry tea, and they remain the best way to see the island. This itinerary puts the train at its heart: the full Kandy–Ella journey, a sunrise at Lipton's Seat, and a final coastal ride south to Galle.

The perfect balance: eight days of culture, tea country and wildlife followed by four nights on the beach to unwind. It's our best-selling route for couples and families who want to see the island but also come home rested.