Sri Lanka vacations 2024 & 2025

From spice and tea plantations to national parks thronged with elephants, historic cities, and relaxing coastal resorts, Sri Lanka offers myriad experiences in a relatively small destination. Wherever you go, you’ll find richly historic cities with streets lined with heritage architecture, ancient palaces, gilded temples, and lively markets.

Historical highlights include a sunrise visit to Sigiriya Rock Fortress and a chance to explore Sri Lankan Buddhism in the Dambulla cave temples. You could escape the heat and take the tea-plantation train through terraced hillsides to the misty highlands, go birdwatching in a biosphere reserve, or take a jeep safari on the trail of leopards or elephants.

If you’d prefer something more active, you can go white-water rafting on the Kelaniya Ganga, go whale watching off the south coast, or hike through the moorlands at Horton Plains. And once you’ve done the sights, golden beaches lapped by gentle seas await.

Sri Lanka offers a great range of hotels from historic city hideaways to beach villas, tea planters’ bungalows, and sleek, designer boutique hotels. You’ll find the greatest choice of places to stay in the cities and more established destinations.

In cities such as Galle, there are many historic hotels to choose from, you’ll find indulgent boutique guesthouses on working tea plantations, and everything from suites with private pools and views of the jungle or to simple tented camps in and around the national parks.

If you aim to finish your trip with some time relaxing on the beach, you can choose from luxurious resorts or yoga and spa retreats on the south coast. For more ideas, browse our collection of places to stay in Sri Lanka.

Some of Sri Lanka’s most popular destinations include Galle, Kandy, the Cultural Triangle, and the national parks. Most visitors arrive in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s cosmopolitan capital where neo-classical buildings butt up against glittering skyscrapers and traditional markets.

You could see the ruins of a 5th-century palace at Sigiriya, explore the botanical gardens and temples of the former capital Kandy, then make your way into the cooler hills to visit the tea plantations around Nuwara Eliya.

For wildlife, Yala National Park offers the chance to spot the elusive leopard, while you’ll find beautiful beaches on the south coast along with the UNESCO-protected fortified city of Galle where the narrow lanes are steeped in history.

Leopards are the big attraction in Sri Lanka, but you’ll also get the chance to spot herds of elephants, water buffalos, toque monkeys, and a vast array of birdlife. One of Sri Lanka’s most renowned wildlife experiences is ‘The Gathering’ at the Minneriya Tank between July and August, when hundreds of elephants congregate around the permanent water source.

Yala National Park has highest concentration of leopards in the world and is a great place to try spotting this elusive creature, but the park is also home to sloth bears and sambar deer. Elsewhere, you might spot jackals, crocodiles, or purple-faced langurs, and in Bundala National Park almost 200 bird species make their homes in the forests, lagoons, and waterways.

For more information on where to go and what you might see, take a look at our guide to Sri Lankan wildlife.

You’ll need to bring a variety of clothing to Sri Lanka. For example, light, loose, cotton clothing is good for lowland areas that are hot and humid, but you’ll need a fleece and jeans for the cooler nights in the highlands.

When visiting temples, you’ll need to dress respectfully with shoulders and knees covered, and during the monsoons (October to January and May to August), a raincoat or an umbrella is a must. If you’re planning to go trekking or rafting, you’ll need good walking shoes or boots, thick socks, and clothing that covers your legs to your ankles to thwart the local leeches, which are quite common.

It takes around 19 hours to fly from the East Coast of the US to Sri Lanka, and around 22 and a half hours from the West Coast.

The time zone in Sri Lanka is UTC+5:30 hours. Daylight Savings Time isn’t observed.

The best way to get around in Sri Lanka is by car. We can arrange for a private chauffeur-guide to take you between destinations and act as your local expert while there. Along with an insight into Sri Lankan life, your guide can also give you historical context on things you see, offer suggestions on where to find authentic Sri Lankan food, and ensure you’re aware of Sri Lankan customs you should observe.

In places, Sri Lanka’s trains are also worth experiencing, such as the train between Kandy and Ella, which offers a comfortable journey through lush, terraced hills past waterfalls and tea plantations.

Your doctor is best placed to offer immunization advice for Sri Lanka. You can check suggested vaccinations on the  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, and should also ensure you’re up to date with routine vaccinations at home.

Your passport should be valid for a minimum of six months from your arrival date in Sri Lanka and have at least one blank page.