Yala National Park

Ten days of touring, then four nights of doing nothing. This is the shape of trip that German and Austrian travellers ask for by name – a Rundreise with a Badeurlaub attached – and it is, for most people, the most satisfying way to use a fortnight in Sri Lanka. You see the whole island while you have the energy, and then you stop.

A scheduled small-group departure, capped at twelve guests in one minibus with one guide – not a forty-seat coach, and not a private tour either. It is the answer for solo travellers who do not want to pay the single-traveller premium of a private tour, and for couples who would rather share the trip and the cost with a few other people.

This is a starting point, not a fixed product. Eight days is the shortest comfortable length for a proper island circuit, and the route below is the one we would suggest if you gave us no other information: Cultural Triangle, Kandy, tea country, the train to Ella, a safari in Yala. Almost every guest who books it changes something.

You have to get from Ella to the south coast anyway. This turns that transfer into the best day of your trip: a full morning leopard safari in Yala on the way through, and your luggage waiting in the car.

Sri Lanka's most famous national park, as a day trip from the south-coast beaches – at the gate for the 6:00 am opening, when the leopards are still moving.

Our signature journey is the complete Sri Lanka experience in two unhurried weeks. You will climb the Sigiriya rock fortress, cycle among the ruins of Polonnaruwa, watch wild elephants gather in Minneriya and attend the evening ceremony at Kandy's Temple of the Tooth.

Sri Lanka's best-regarded hotels, senior chauffeur-guides and privately arranged experiences, all in a luxury vehicle. Stay in tented safari camps, restored tea-planter bungalows with butlers and a heritage villa inside Galle Fort.

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.

Track leopards, elephants and sloth bears in Sri Lanka's most famous national park, in a private jeep with an experienced tracker.

The two giants of Sri Lankan wildlife in one trip: the leopards of Yala and the blue whales of Mirissa – the largest animal ever to live. Add flamingos in Bundala and a beach afternoon, and you have a perfect nature break on the south coast.