Our two week itinerary saw us visiting the following places:
COLOMBO -> KANDY -> SIGIRYA -> NUWARA ELIYA -> ELLA -> YALA -> MIRISSA -> GALLE -> NEGOMBO.
DAY 1: COLOMBO
Depending on your flight time, it might be an idea to get straight out of this city. There isn’t a huge amount to see in Colombo, but I was worried about any flight delays affecting onward travel so I didn’t wan’t to book anything for this day, plus it was nice to just chill out and relax after travelling from London. We went for a wander around Colombo for about 2 hours, but then decided to come back and relax at our hotel rooftop pool for the day.
WHAT TO DO: Walk by the lake and around the city - have a look around the Old Dutch Hospital area – some cool shops and eateries here.
RECOMMENDATIONS: Stay somewhere with a pool – it's is a humid city and as I mentioned, not a huge amount to see. A rooftop pool overlooking the cityscape was a perfect, chilled first day.
ONWARD TRAVEL: Next up, Kandy. Make sure you take the train! I would advise paying extra and booking all trains before you go a month before on this website, as otherwise, unreserved carriages can be extremely busy (we saw lots of people crammed in, and it looks like an uncomfortable 2.5 hours). Trains are more scenic than the roads, and Colombo->Kandy is a fab way to get in the first of three amazing Sri Lankan train journeys. We got the 8:30am the next morning.
DAY 2: KANDY
Another city, but a much cooler one than Colombo; there is lots more to see here, and the city just has good vibes! It’s worth saying that we based ourselves in Kandy for 2 nights, but only spent one day in Kandy city – we used our other day to visit Dambulla & Sigiriya on a day trip.
We arrived to Kandy at 11am and popped to our hotel to put our bags down. Here, we bought tickets for the traditional Kandyan Cultural Dance happening later that evening (5pm start every day). We spent the rest of the day seeing most of what Kandy has to offer. First up, the Royal Botanical Gardens. Located just outside of Kandy in Peradeniya (a 10 minute tuk tuk away), the gardens are beautiful and a total escape from the city; a beautiful place to spend an hour or two. After this, we headed over to the Kandy City Viewpoint via another tuk tuk – this is a great spot to see the whole city from (look out for the monkeys!). On the way down, we grabbed lunch from a tiny spot I had seen recommended on the hill, Café Banana Chill – they do great brunch foods and smoothies. Further down the hill, we took a wander along the Kandy Lake and walked through the city back to our hotel. We freshened up and then headed out to the Dance at the Arts Centre. Finally, we went next door to the The Temple of The Tooth for one of the Service of Offerings (definitely recommend visiting at a time when they are doing this - we went to the 6:30pm).
As mentioned, we spent our next day on a day trip to Sigiriya.
WHAT TO DO: Royal Botanical Gardens, Temple of the Tooth, Kandy City View Point, Cultural Dance Performance.
RESTAURANT RECCOS: Café Banana Chill (on the way down from Kandy City View Point). For dinner, check out the local eateries in Kandy – there are lots! We ate dinner at local places both nights and they were so cheap and great. A good introduction to Sri Lankan rice and curry!
WHAT WE MISSED: Big Buddha – we didn’t have time but we saw it from afar!
RECOMMENDATIONS: Base yourself here for a few nights so you can go to Sigiriya without having to stay there (as there isn’t much around in Sigiriya).
DAY 3: DAMBULLA AND SIGIRIYA
We arranged our day trip to Sigiriya at our hotel in Kandy – it was with Jack from Jems Tours (recommend!). We left around 9am and were back by 6pm. It takes around 2 and a half hours to get to Sigiriya, but we didn’t head straight there. Instead, we wound our way through different viewpoints, temples, an ayurvedic garden (where they explained lots of different herbs and spices, and we got a free mini massage!) and the Dambulla Cave Temples. The Dambulla Cave Temples aren’t to be missed – they are beautiful and we saw lots of wild monkeys on the way down.
In terms of Sigiriya, we decided to climb Pidurangala Rock instead of Lion Rock for two reasons. 1) Lion Rock is £25 and very touristy – I had heard of people waiting around in huge queues whilst climbing. We saw about 10 people in total when climbing Pidurangala (no one at the top!!) and it was only £2. 2) I think it’s so much better to have the amazing view of Lion Rock itself.
WHAT TO DO: Ayurvedic Wellness Garden, Dambulla Cave Temple, Pidurangala Rock!
WHAT WE MISSED: Lion Rock.
RECOMMENDATIONS: Jems Tours: a private day trip was about £35 for two people. It took from 9am-6pm and we saw so much. Totally recommend!
ONWARD TRAVEL: Nuwara Eliya by train.
DAY 4-5: NUWARA ELIYA
Firstly, let me say that the train ride from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya was absolutely amazing – a trip highlight for me. We got the 8:47am train from Kandy on such a beautiful sunny day and it was a gorgeous 3 hours taking in rolling hills, tea plantations and the beautiful Sri Lankan countryside.
Nuwara Eliya is known as 'Little England' and it’s a lovely little place to stop on the Kandy to Ella route. There’s the old Post Office, Gregory Lake, the Grand Hotel, and then waterfalls and tea plantations galore. We had heard it was cold here – I nearly packed thermals (!) but in fact, we got sunburned. It does get chilly at night though, whereas the rest of Sri Lanka remains humid and balmy. I would say you need no more than two days here (one day needed for tea plantations and waterfalls, which we did with a private taxi driver), but the way our trains worked out, we had close to three.
WHAT TO DO: A day trip to the tea plantations and falls: we visited Ramboda Waterfalls (a steep hike to the top, but a lovely waterfall to swim in on the way down!), and for tea plantations we visited Damro and Bluefield. Wander around the lake & town and see the English architecture and influence – pretty cool.
WHAT WE MISSED: Horton Plains/World End viewpoint.
RESTAURANT RECCOS: Salmiya – the best local pizza restaurant just up from the lake! Calamander is in a really nice spot on the lake and is nice - we didn't try the pizza but it looked good! The Grand Indian was awesome for dinner, The Grand Thai was okay, but really spicy for us. The Grand High Tea is a great thing to do (not the most amazing afternoon tea, but a cool thing to do in 'Little England' in the middle of Sri Lanka!).
ONWARD TRAVEL: Ella by train.
DAY 6-7: ELLA
After another beautiful train ride, we arrived in Ella. Very different to where we had been before, Ella is small and certainly more touristy, but it’s beautiful and a lovely change to have a pick of restaurants, bars and coffee shops in one place.
In Ella, we packed a fair bit into our two days. We wandered around the town and along the train tracks, climbed Little Adam’s Peak for sunrise, visited the Nine Arch Bridge and did a really cool Sri Lankan cooking class.
WHERE I STAYED: Sen-Rose Ella (amazing homestay with a breath-taking view and the best hospitality).
WHAT TO DO: Little Adam’s Peak for sunrise, Nine Arch Bridge on the way down, a cooking class (we did Matey Hut, but have heard good things about Ella’s Spice Garden too).
WHAT WE MISSED: Ella Rock hike.
RESTAURANT RECCOS: Downtown Rotti Hut is absolutely amazing – the best Kottu Rotti I had in Sri Lanka. Ceylon Tea Factory is great for lunch or dinner. AK Ristoro is good if you want a break from rice and curry (amazing pasta & mojitos) and there are some cool bars – UFO is a bamboo fronted bar that does a really good mojito too.
ONWARD TRAVEL: Yala by car.
DAY 8-9: YALA
Safari time! We travelled to Yala by taxi and were lucky enough to see 3 elephants and a beautiful tortoise on our route to Yala alone.
We stayed at Kele Yala and it was beautiful. A total oasis tucked away in the middle of the jungle – we sat and watched the birds and monkeys as the sun set and it was gorgeous.
We did a full day safari for 21,000 LKR rupees. I’m glad we did a full day, even though we saw less in the afternoon, it’s a cool experience to do all day and as we left the park we saw all of the animals on a huge plain, which was amazing.
WHERE I STAYED: Kele Yala (expensive, but definitely recommend - booking.com price included breakfast and dinner too).
WHAT TO DO: Safari!
RESTAURANT RECCOS: None – you mainly eat at your hotel, there aren’t many restaurants around that we saw (v. rural).
ONWARD TRAVEL: Mirissa by car.
DAY 10-13: MIRISSA
Beach time! We spent 3 nights/4 days in Mirissa and it was the best way to end the trip, as the rest had been pretty full on. The beach here is gorgeous, but there is also the ‘Secret Beach’ area which we had to ourselves for most of the day. Other than that, I had a full body massage (cheapest area in Sri Lanka to get one), visited Coconut Tree Hill and we spent a fair few hours just chilling by the pool!
We did a half day trip to Galle via tuk tuk which was great – I don’t think you need much more time than that in Galle. It’s cool to see the fort and has lovely brunch spots and boutiques, but no need for a full day!
WHERE I STAYED: The Spice House Hotel (a 7 min walk to the main hustle and bustle of Mirissa which we loved – the hotel was quiet and had a v. cool jungle infinity pool!)
WHAT TO DO: Secret Beach (we spent all day here as the sunset was amazing), Mirissa Beach, Coconut Tree Hill, Galle visit, relax!
WHAT WE MISSED: Blue whale watching (next time!)
RESTAURANT RECCOS: Big Belli Rotti Hut (so cheap and great rotti!), DeLantos Pizza... for pizza, Shady Lane has great brunch (avo on toast/smoothie bowls), Original Rocket Burger on the beach was great (veg option is very good - we had Gringo burgers). Calorie Counter was great for brunch in Galle.
ONWARD TRAVEL: Negombo by car.
DAY 14: NEGOMBO
At about 3pm we headed to Negombo from Mirissa (we decided to have most of the day in Mirissa as there isn’t much to do in Negombo – it’s literally just a stopover for the airport). We had a night’s stay here before our flight the next morning.
We did have an amazing pizza for dinner at Prego though so definitely recommend that if it’s nearby where you stay in Negombo!
RESTAURANT RECCOS: Prego Pizza
ONWARD TRAVEL: Sri Lankan Airlines to Heathrow! :(
And that’s all :)
