Route planning for 1 month in Sri Lanka

Hello,

I'm going to Sri Lanka for a month and have a friend coming to meet me halfway through. Ideally I would have travelled in one big circle, but with her coming, I now have to come back to Colombo to meet her, so I've decided to do a 'North of Colombo' loop and a 'South of Colombo' loop - putting her on the South portion as she wants a mix of beaches, National Parks and hiking. Does this sound reasonable for 2x 2 week routes?

North: Airport - Negombo - Kegalle - Kandy - Dambulla - Matale - Sigiriya - Polonnaruwa - Anuradhapura - Wilpattu NP (?) - Kalpitiya (?) - Yapahuwa - Colombo

South: Colombo - Galle - Unawatuna - Mirissa - Talalla - Yala NP (?) - Uda Walawe NP - Ella - Horton Plains NP - Nuwara Eliya - Colombo

We're also planning a week in the Maldives afterwards - any tips on doing this inexpensively are greatly appreciated. From what I've read already, it looks like the islands I would be interested in (for my budget) would be: Maafushi or Guraidhoo.

Thanks in advance!

South: Colombo - Galle - Unawatuna - Mirissa - Talalla - Yala NP (?) - Uda Walawe NP - Ella - Horton Plains NP - Nuwara Eliya - Colombo

I should mention that I also want to do Adam's Peak in here, since it looks like a side trip with the need to stay a night in Dalhousie.

Hi, your tour route seems reasonable. It looks like you will be soending one day at one location. You might get tired though. Best for your budget will be to travell by the public transport. Best for your health will be to reserve a vehicle. You can get an intercity express train and ..travel. you can follow the google map and save the tour guides fee. But you would have to ask for directions from locals, and that would be fun too. On your south of colombo route i would say you must visit yala. And it eould be a nixe adventure to spend a night camping if you can afford. Better stick to the foods that you are familiar with and know the price. You can save some money on that too.

you need to plan around the 2 monsoon seasons that hit Sri Lanka, you dont say what time of year you trip is planned for so i cant advise on your planned route. November to April is best time for good weather in the south, south west and hill country with April to October the best for Cultural Triangle, North and East. Knowing the monsoon seasons is espcially important if you want good weather for your planned beach time in the South. as already said the best way to travel around if your budget allows is by hiring a car and driver for parts of your trip, this costs approx $50 a day. we wife and i found this handy around the cultural triangle as the ruined sites are quite a distance apart. we also travelled by train and public bus which was very very cheap. just be aware that entrance fees into the sites in the Cultural Triangle is expensive we paid $25 pp at each site a years ago.

Thank you for the advice - I would definitely like to stay in some places more than 1 night, so will have to do some research to narrow down my choices. I'll probably do a mix of public transport and car+driver.

Thank you! I will be travelling in January, hence why I am going to give the East Coast a miss.

@solotraveller22

North: Airport - Negombo - Kegalle - Kandy - Dambulla - Matale - Sigiriya - Polonnaruwa - Anuradhapura - Wilpattu NP (?) - Kalpitiya (?) - Yapahuwa - Colombo

I would spend less time in the ancient cities and add Jaffna. There's a direct train and direct bus from Colombo with beautiful coastal view. For the ancient cities, to avoid too much transport you can stay in Habarana and visit Sigiriya, Dambulla, Minneria from there. So I guess I would suggest Colombo - Jaffna - Hanarana - Kandy - Colombo

South: Colombo - Galle - Unawatuna - Mirissa - Talalla - Yala NP (?) - Uda Walawe NP - Ella - Horton Plains NP - Nuwara Eliya - Colombo

I'd say if you go to Uda Walawe, you don't need to go to Yala. Chances of seeing leopards are quite low, and you'll see much more elephants in UW. I would also choose between Horton Plains and Adam's Peak. We chose the later and were extremely happy with it (and we were sore for like 4 days so not really interested with doing another trek so soon!). Horton's Plain is also more expensive, it's $25 US per person while Adam's Peak is free. However, you must stay in Delhouse to trek for sunrise.
Colombo - Galle - Unawatuna - Mirissa - Talalla - Uda Walawe NP - Delhouse - Ella - Nuwara Eliya - Colombo

Might be a little crowded for the last 2 weeks. I'm not sure what you want to see in Unawatuna or Talalla, I would remove them.

Hi all
I have a proposed itinerary as, Colombo to Kandy,- Dambulla,Polonnaruwa-Anuradhpura, then should I go Trincomalee or straight up to Jaffna?

From Jaffna back down to Colombo to visit Galle, and is that where I head to Uda Walla national park,( although I have done a couple of east african safaris & elsewhere will I see anything that will take my breath away?)

I also read that many people visit Nuwara Eliya & Badulla? I have 15 days in Sri Lanka , will I have enough time to take in this proposal?
Regards
bernie

Hi
Its dipend what kind of transport you wish to use?

Train, & bus I like

Hi, ok you prefer the public transport. It is cheaper and you can meet new people too. But it will be a lot more easier if you can get hold of a budget car or a cab. There are cheaper cab services too in sri lanka. First course of your trip looks reasonable. Colombo to kandy thrn to dambulla, anuradhapura and polonnaruwa. Because all the cities are situated close by and can be reached by either train or bus directly from one another. Visiting nuwara eliya, ella and badulla will be a nice tour as nuwara eliya is one of the most beautiful areas of the country. If you wish to take in a breathtaking safari experience you should be at yala. In trinco you can do surfing and enjoy the beautiful eastern beaches. There are some temples and ruins in jaffna. So i would suggest the tour as colombo - dambulla - anuradhapura - polonnaruwa - trinco - kandy - nuwara eliya - ella - badulla - yala - galle - colombo. I listed the places in the order of one would visit them. Since you have 15 days and better not ruin it by travelling whole day.. i suggest you contact a cheaper taxi service. I can share the cab services i used if you need.

Hi Henri
Thanks for the advice , can you send the information regards the taxi please, so your planning the same trip or your touting for your taxi service!

Thank you so much Marianne - that is very helpful. I was hemming and hawing about Jaffna, but it seems like maybe it is worth the excursion. Now my friend is not sure if she is going to come or not, so at least that saves me from having to return to Colombo in the middle of my trip!

I've think I've decided not to go to the Maldives in favor of an extra week in Sri Lanka (hence my extended Sri Lankan beach time). This is my updated proposed itinerary - given that I love hiking, ruins, temples, and nature, what could I cut out to give myself an extra day in Jaffna? Is there anything that is glaringly wrong and/or anything that must not be missed that you can't see? Thanks!

Jan 2-4: Colombo – then train to:
Jan 4-6 Bentota – then train (Aluthgama lvs at 08:20) to:
Jan 6-9: Unawatuna (day trip to Galle Fort) then travel by bus to:
Jan 9-11: Mirissa
Jan 11-15: Tangalle
Jan 15-16: Uda Walawe NP
Jan 16-19 Ella – then train to:
Jan 19-20 Ohiya (Horton’s Plains & World’s End) – get there by 7AM!
Jan 20-21: Delhouse (Adam’s Peak) – Start early to be at top by sunrise
Jan 21-25: Kandy – then travel by car (with a stop in Matale) to:
Jan 25-28: Dambulla and Sigiriya (stay in Habarana)
Jan 28-30: Polonnaruwa
Jan 30-Feb 2: Anuradhapura w/side trip to Mihintale – then travel by bus to:
Feb 2-Feb 5: Jaffna - then travel by train back down to Colombo on Feb 5 (stay overnight in Negombo)
Feb 6: Fly CMB to DEL Leaving at 07:50AM

Hello?! Is anyone still there?
I'm in Sri Lanka and so far so good. My friend did not end up joining me, so I am doing one big loop in 5 weeks. The thing I'm stumped on is the following route and if it's best. I'm coming up from Tangalle and going to Udawalawe for one night, then:
Haputale (3 nights) for horton's plains/worlds end, lipton's seat, and Adisham monastery.
Ella (2 nights) for Little Adams peak and Ella Rock. Is there anything else I should not miss?
Dalhousie (1 night) for Adam's peak.
Then off to Kandy.
I'll be traveling by bus or train.
Does this look ok or should I access Horton's Plains from Nuwara Eliya? Is Horton's Plains even worth it given the cost? I'm not really on a strict budget, but I do prefer public transit as the tuk tuks can add up pretty quick.
Thanks.

Oops, my bad. Ella first then Haputale if I want to go to Lipton's seat.

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