South Sri Lanka Tour Package: Hill Country to the Deep South 10 Days & 9 Nights

This south Sri Lanka tour package is a 10-day, 9-night road trip that starts in the cool tea country and finishes on the palm-lined south coast. You spend three nights in the hills at Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Ella, then drop down to the Deep South for a jeep safari in Yala, a beach night in Mirissa and a night inside Galle Fort. Two slow days in Bentota and a last night in Colombo close the loop, with a private car and driver for every transfer. Prices start at Rs 83,799 per person on twin sharing, with 3-star hotels, daily breakfast and sightseeing included.

The route is honest about where it goes. Days 1 to 3 are in the hill country, and the last six nights belong to southern Sri Lanka, which is why travellers who want both the train-and-tea scenery and the beaches book it. No drive is longer than about three hours, so you arrive with the afternoon still ahead. Two of Sri Lanka's eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites are on the way: the Sacred City of Kandy and the Old Town of Galle with its fortifications.

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Your trip at a glance

Places you visit on this south Sri Lanka tour

• Visit the Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy and watch a Kandyan dance show

• See the giant Java fig at Peradeniya Botanical Gardens and taste fresh tea at a working tea factory

• Walk to the Nine Arches Bridge, climb Little Adam's Peak and explore Ravana Cave and Ravana Falls in Ella

• Go on a jeep safari in Yala National Park, home to leopards, elephants and sloth bears

• Watch the sunset from Coconut Tree Hill in Mirissa, with optional whale watching from November to April

• Walk the ramparts of Galle Fort to the lighthouse, then take a boat safari on the Madu Ganga near Bentota

South Sri Lanka itinerary for 10 days: route and drive times

Drive times are door to door in a private car and include no sightseeing stops. Add an hour on Days 2, 6 and 7, where the stops are on the way.

Day-by-day itinerary

Day 1: Arrive Colombo, drive to Kandy

Our driver meets you at Bandaranaike International Airport, and you head inland for about three hours on the main Colombo-Kandy road (A1), which climbs into the hills after Kegalle. Check in at your hotel and freshen up. If you land early, ask the driver to stop at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage on the way.

In the late afternoon, walk the lake promenade and look in at the gem museum, then watch a Kandyan cultural dance show, which usually starts at about 5 pm and ends with a fire walk. From there you walk to the Temple of the Tooth Relic, Sri Dalada Maligawa, the island's most important Buddhist shrine, for the evening puja at about 6:30 pm, when the drums start and pilgrims in white carry lotus flowers inside. Cover your shoulders and knees, and leave your shoes at the counter. More on the city in our Kandy travel guide. Overnight in Kandy.

Day 2: Kandy to Nuwara Eliya via Peradeniya

After breakfast, check out and stop at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya, 15 minutes outside Kandy. Its giant Java fig tree spreads over almost a whole lawn, and the orchid house is worth the detour. The road then climbs through tea estates past Ramboda Falls to a working tea factory, where you see the leaf withered, rolled, dried and graded, and taste a cup at the end. On the sorting tables you will see why Orange Pekoe is a leaf grade, not a brand. Read more about the estates in our guide to tea plantations in Sri Lanka.

Nuwara Eliya sits about 1,868 metres up, so pack a fleece, as nights drop to around 10°C. Check in, then walk around Gregory Lake, where you can take a pedal boat, and past the red-brick post office in town. Overnight in Nuwara Eliya.

Day 3: Nuwara Eliya to Ella

After breakfast, check out and visit Hakgala Botanical Garden and the Seetha Amman Temple at Seetha Eliya, which tradition links to the Ashok Vatika of the Ramayana. The drive to Ella takes about two hours. If you want the famous hill-country train instead, ask your agent to book seats from Nanu Oya to Ella, about three hours, and your driver meets you at Ella station with the bags.

In the afternoon, walk the tea-estate path to the Nine Arches Bridge (only a handful of trains cross each day, so ask the station master at Ella for the next one), and hike Little Adam's Peak, about 45 minutes each way on a gentle trail. If you still have the energy, the Ravana Ella Cave is a steep climb of a few hundred steps just outside town. Ravana Falls comes tomorrow, on the drive to Yala. Dinner is not included tonight. Ella's main street has plenty of cafés, listed in our guide to restaurants in Ella. Overnight in Ella.

Day 4: Ella to Yala, jeep safari

After breakfast you drive down the Wellawaya road, stopping at Ravana Falls, a 25-metre waterfall right beside the road, and continue about two and a half hours in all from the hills to Tissamaharama, at the edge of Yala National Park, and check in. Yala is Sri Lanka's second-largest national park. The park is divided into five blocks, and Block 1 is the one most safaris use, because it has one of the highest densities of leopards anywhere.

In the afternoon you go on a jeep safari of about three to four hours, as part of the sightseeing on this package. The park entry ticket is paid at the gate. Besides leopards, look for sloth bears, herds of elephants, crocodiles in the waterholes and painted storks. Yala's Blocks 1 and 2 can close for a few weeks between September and mid-October. In 2026 they were closed from 14 September to 15 October. Our Yala National Park guide covers the blocks and the best safari times. Overnight in Yala.

Day 5: Yala to Mirissa

After breakfast, check out and drive west along the coast, about two and a half hours, to Mirissa, a crescent of sand with a working fishing harbour at one end. Between November and April, boats leave the harbour early in the morning to look for blue whales and spinner dolphins. The trip is optional, at extra cost, and takes four to five hours, so if you want it, your agent can move the drive to an earlier start or add it the next morning.

Spend the afternoon on the beach, then climb Coconut Tree Hill, the palm-covered headland at the eastern end, for the sunset. In the evening, the beach restaurants lay out the day's catch on ice, and you pick your fish. Our guide to nightlife in Mirissa lists the best spots. Overnight in Mirissa.

Day 6: Mirissa to Galle Fort

After breakfast, check out and drive about an hour to Galle. On the way, stop at Koggala to watch the stilt fishermen balancing on poles in the surf. Galle Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, built first by the Portuguese and then rebuilt and fortified by the Dutch in the 17th century.

Walk the ramparts from the clock tower to the lighthouse and Flag Rock, then visit the Dutch Reformed Church, with its floor of old tombstones, and the Dutch museum. Pedlar Street and Church Street are lined with cafés, gem shops and old Dutch houses, and the rampart walls fill up at sunset. For the best coffee and cake inside the fort, see our guide to cafés in Galle. Overnight in Galle.

Day 7: Galle to Bentota via Madu Ganga and Kosgoda

After breakfast, check out and drive north along the coast road. Your first stop is a boat safari on the Madu Ganga at Balapitiya, a mangrove river with dozens of small islands. The boat stops at a cinnamon island, where you watch the bark being peeled, and passes a small island temple. A little further north is the Kosgoda turtle hatchery, run by a wildlife conservation society, where eggs collected from the beach are hatched and the young turtles are released to the sea.

Then you continue to Bentota, check in at your beach hotel, and watch the sun go down over the Indian Ocean. Overnight in Bentota.

Day 8: Bentota at leisure

There is no packing today. Spend the morning on Bentota's wide beach, or try water sports on the Bentota River lagoon, where jet skis, banana boats and windsurfing are paid for locally. Garden lovers can visit Brief Garden, Bevis Bawa's estate inland, or Lunuganga, his brother Geoffrey Bawa's country home on a lake.

In the evening, book an Ayurvedic massage at your hotel, or read our guide to nightlife in Bentota for beach bars nearby. Overnight in Bentota.

Day 9: Bentota to Colombo

After breakfast, check out and drive about an hour and a half up the coast to Colombo, the commercial capital. The city tour covers Independence Memorial Hall, Viharamahadevi Park and the twin towers of the World Trade Center in Fort.

For shopping, your driver takes you to Odel, House of Fashion and Majestic City. Pick up Ceylon tea and spices to take home at Odel or the Laksala craft store. Finish at Galle Face Green at sunset, when families come out for kites and isso vadai from the stalls. Overnight in Colombo.

Day 10: Departure

After breakfast, check out. Our driver takes you to Bandaranaike International Airport, about 45 minutes on the expressway, longer at rush hour. Reach the airport three hours before an international flight. If your flight leaves late in the evening, ask your agent about a late checkout or a stop at the Negombo fish market on the way.

Hotels

Our agents will provide these or similar hotels depending on availability. Ask your agent to confirm the final hotel names in writing before you pay the balance.

Inclusions and exclusions

Customise this route

Every day can be changed before you pay. These are the changes travellers ask for most.

• Beach only: skip the hills and spend more nights between Yala, Mirissa, Galle and Bentota. Our Sri Lanka beach tour packages start from shorter trips.

• Add Sigiriya and Dambulla: two extra nights in the Cultural Triangle. Compare the 11-day Sri Lanka trip or the 10-day Sri Lanka trip, which covers the north of the island.

• More wildlife: a second Yala safari, or Udawalawe on the way down from Ella. See the 9-night Sri Lanka tour with jungle safari.

• Honeymoon: a boutique room inside Galle Fort and a beach villa in Bentota. See our Sri Lanka honeymoon packages.

Best time for a south Sri Lanka tour

December to April is the best time for this route. The south and west coasts are dry, the sea is calm enough to swim at Mirissa and Bentota, and the whale boats run.

For month-by-month weather across the island, read our guide to the best time to visit Sri Lanka.

Payment and booking

You book with the verified agent whose quote you accept, and their written terms come with that quote. Read them before you pay the booking amount.

To confirm the trip you pay a booking amount, and the balance is due before travel. You can pay in instalments where your agent offers them.

More Sri Lanka packages

• See every Sri Lanka trip, from 4 to 11 days, on our Sri Lanka tour packages page.

• Short on time? The 4-night bestselling Sri Lanka tour covers Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Colombo.

• Travelling with children? Look at the 5-night Sri Lanka family vacation.

• Flying from Chennai? See our Sri Lanka tour packages from Chennai.

• Still planning? Our Sri Lanka travel guide and places to visit in Sri Lanka cover the rest of the island, and the best beaches in Sri Lanka guide compares the south-coast beaches.

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Edited by TravelTriangle