Tour Overview
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.
Child seats are available free of charge, and our guides are experienced with young travellers.
Where you spend the nights
| Area / base | Nights |
|---|---|
| Sigiriya / Habarana | 3 |
| Kandy | 2 |
| Nuwara Eliya | 1 |
| Ella | 1 |
| Udawalawe | 1 |
| Bentota | 1 |
| Total nights | 9 |
Trip at a glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Duration | 10 days / 9 nights |
| Tour type | Family |
| Group size | Private tour: families |
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Best season | December – April; July – August |
| Approx. road distance | ~845 km |
| Guide languages | English, German and Hindi (others on request) |
| Departure dates | Any date – private tour, all year |
Highlights
- Elephant safaris in Minneriya & Udawalawe
- Bullock cart & catamaran village experience
- Kids' cooking class
- Train ride through tea country
- Elephant Transit Home feeding time
- Turtle hatchery & beach days in Bentota
Itinerary
Every tour is 100% flexible and customizable. This itinerary is a starting point – we can change the order of the days, add or remove nights, swap activities or extend the tour to match your exact dates, pace and interests.
Hotels and accommodation are not included in the standard tour price. You are free to book your own stays, or let us organise a complete accommodation package for you in your preferred hotel tier (guesthouse, 3★, 4★, 5★ or boutique/villa). We work with hotels across the island and can quote your whole trip as one package.
Please contact us before you place a booking so that we can finalise your customised itinerary and your accommodation plan, confirm availability for your dates and send you a final price.
Family, senior and accessibility friendly. We can arrange an elder-friendly set-up (slower pace, shorter drives, ground-floor rooms, lift-access hotels, wheelchair-friendly vehicles and skip-the-climb alternatives such as the Sigiriya museum and gardens or the Pidurangala base viewpoint) and a child-friendly set-up (child and booster seats, family or connecting rooms, hotels with pools, shorter driving days and kid-friendly meals).
Guides and languages. Our chauffeur-guides work in English, German and Hindi, and we can arrange French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Chinese and Japanese speaking guides on request.
Meals. The meals shown in the itinerary are what we include when we arrange your accommodation on half board. If you book your own hotels, your meals follow your own hotel booking – tell us which you prefer.
Start dates. This tour is private and runs on any date you choose within its season, subject to availability. It operates in January, February, March, April, July, August, December – outside those months the conditions make it either impossible or much less rewarding, and we will say so and suggest an alternative rather than take the booking. Tell us your arrival and departure dates and we will build the itinerary around your flights.
Contact us before booking: [info@lankaitinerary.com] · WhatsApp [+94 XX XXX XXXX]
Your chauffeur-guide welcomes you at the airport and you head straight inland to the heart of the Cultural Triangle. The drive passes coconut estates, paddy fields and roadside fruit stalls – stop for a fresh king coconut on the way. Check in to your hotel near Sigiriya, surrounded by forest and lakes, and spend the evening by the pool while the rock fortress glows on the horizon.
Meals: Dinner · Overnight: Sigiriya / Habarana · Travel: 4 hrs (160 km) · Distance: ~160 km
Discover rural Sri Lanka at its most authentic. Ride a bullock cart along a dirt track, cross a lotus-filled lake in a traditional catamaran and walk through chena (slash-and-burn) farms to a village home. Help the family scrape coconuts and grind spices, then enjoy a rice-and-curry lunch served on lotus leaves. Afternoon at leisure.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner · Overnight: Sigiriya / Habarana · Travel: 20 min · Distance: ~25 km
Climb Sigiriya early in the morning (children love the lion paws!). After a swim at the hotel, take an afternoon jeep safari in Minneriya to see wild elephant herds.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner · Overnight: Sigiriya / Habarana · Travel: Short local drives · Distance: ~30 km
Drive south to Kandy through Matale. Stop at a spice garden to see cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and pepper growing and learn how they are used in Ayurveda and Sri Lankan cooking. Continue to Kandy, check in and in the evening watch a traditional Kandyan dance and fire-walking show. Then visit the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (UNESCO) for the evening puja, when drummers and pilgrims bring flowers to the golden shrine.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner · Overnight: Kandy · Travel: 2.5 hrs (95 km) · Distance: ~95 km
Morning at the Royal Botanic Gardens, then a family-friendly cooking class where kids learn to make roti and coconut sambol.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner · Overnight: Kandy · Travel: Half day · Distance: ~30 km
Climb into the tea country on one of the most scenic roads on the island. Stop at Ramboda Falls, then visit a working tea factory to watch leaf being withered, rolled and dried – and taste fresh Ceylon tea at its source. Arrive in Nuwara Eliya, known as 'Little England' for its colonial bungalows, rose gardens, post office and golf course. Take an evening walk around Gregory Lake.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner · Overnight: Nuwara Eliya · Travel: 3 hrs (80 km) · Distance: ~80 km
Take the most famous section of the hill-country railway from Nanu Oya to Ella (about 3 hours). Lean out of the doorway (carefully!) for views of tea-covered hills, waterfalls and villages. Your driver meets you in Ella. In the afternoon, walk to the Nine Arch Bridge and try to time it with a passing train.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner · Overnight: Ella · Travel: Train 3 hrs · Distance: ~65 km
Drive to Udawalawe National Park, where herds of elephants graze against the backdrop of the hills. Udawalawe's elephants are resident rather than migratory, so herds are seen on almost every drive – though no operator can guarantee a sighting. After the safari, visit the Elephant Transit Home at feeding time, where orphaned baby elephants are cared for and later released into the wild (an ethical alternative to captive attractions).
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner · Overnight: Udawalawe · Travel: 2.5 hrs · Distance: ~105 km
Travel north along the coast. Stop at a turtle conservation project that releases hatchlings into the sea, then take a boat through the mangrove islands of the Madu River, visiting a cinnamon island to see how the bark is peeled. Continue to Bentota for your beach stay.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner · Overnight: Bentota · Travel: 1.5 hrs · Distance: ~160 km
Enjoy a last swim and breakfast on the beach, then a short 1.5-hour transfer to the airport.
Meals: Breakfast · Overnight: — · Travel: Transfer to airport · Distance: ~95 km
Includes / Excludes
Price Includes
- Airport pick-up and drop-off
- Private air-conditioned vehicle with licensed English-speaking chauffeur-guide (SLTDA)
- Meals as listed in the itinerary (daily breakfast and dinner as standard)
- Entrance fees to all sites listed in the itinerary
- Jeep safaris as listed, including park entrance fees
- Reserved train tickets where listed (subject to availability)
- Child/booster seats on request
- Family or connecting rooms
- Family cooking class
- Local SIM card with data for the lead traveller
- Bottled water in the vehicle daily
- All government taxes and service charges
- 24/7 support while you travel
Price Excludes
- Accommodation (not included in the standard price – we can book any hotel tier for you; see 'Accommodation options')
- International flights
- Sri Lanka ETA (visa) – free for 40 nationalities since 25 May 2026; fee applies to others
- Travel insurance (strongly recommended)
- Lunches and drinks unless listed
- Camera/video permits at some sites
- Tips for guide, driver and safari trackers (suggested USD 10–15/day for your chauffeur-guide)
- Optional activities (e.g. hot-air balloon, zip-line, extra safaris)
- Personal expenses (laundry, phone, shopping)
- Early check-in / late check-out
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes – Sri Lanka is very family-friendly and children are warmly welcomed everywhere. We use hotels with pools, avoid long drives and carry a first-aid kit in every vehicle.
Yes, child and booster seats are provided free of charge on request.
Yes. The tour is private for your group with your own vehicle and chauffeur-guide – you won't share with strangers.
Of course. You can add or remove days, change hotels, upgrade to boutique or luxury properties or swap activities. We'll send a revised quote within 24 hours.
The price is per person based on two adults sharing a room in the hotel category shown. Prices vary by season, hotel choice and group size – request a quote for your exact dates.
Send an enquiry or click Book Now. We confirm availability, then you secure the tour with a deposit; the balance is paid before arrival. [Insert your real deposit and payment terms.]