Ultimate Guide to Creating an Awesome Sri Lanka Travel Itinerary

Do you have your Sri Lanka travel itinerary all figured out yet? Sri Lanka is a fantastic little island to visit – either by yourself, with your partner or the entire family or in the company of friends. With plenty of travel options, however, creating an itinerary can be overwhelming. Here’s a travel itinerary to Sri Lanka that includes a little bit of everything you can cover in under a week!

A travel itinerary to Sri Lanka has to include some of the island’s highlights. The list contains wildlife, history, culture, cuisine, outdoor sports and more. Since the island is comparatively small, you can enjoy as many experiences as you wish, no matter how short your stay is. Of course, a longer stay means that you can fully immerse yourself in island life. But even a visit as short as two days allows you to enjoy yourself. While your itinerary will be packed, you can explore many coastal areas that deliver scenery, natural wonder, history, culture, wildlife, fun and food. Go further inland, and you miss out on the coastal charm. But in return, you enter the majestic hill country where mist-wrapped mountains create impossible chances for tourists.

Short travel itinerary in Sri Lanka

Ideal for visitors who come to Sri Lanka mainly on business, day trips or a two-day travel itinerary still allow the opportunity for travel. Since many business travellers tend to stay in Colombo, it’s better to look into day trips from the city. If a comprehensive Sri Lanka travel itinerary is impossible for you, this will be a good alternative.

Luckily, the list of destinations is quite extensive. Depending on the season, you can even embark on a safari to spot leopards or take a cruise and go whale watching!

Day trips from Colombo

Colombo, the most metropolitan city in Sri Lanka, is a perfect destination. The city is a mix of cultures, religions, ethnicities and beliefs. Here, you will find contemporary malls jostling for attention among historical neighbourhoods, dine at fusion restaurants that draw inspiration from Sri Lankan and international cuisine styles, bargain shop at stalls lining tightly packed streets or picnic at extensive parks. Since Colombo is the commercial capital, it remains well-connected to other parts of the country. The easy accessibility makes it an ideal place to enjoy day trips. Some of the best day trip options from Colombo include:

• Galle
• Kandy
• Negombo
• Kalpitiya
• Ratnapura
• Yala

These destinations give you many options to explore various aspects of Sri Lanka. For instance, Galle is a great place to enjoy the seaside at sunset after a day spent at the famous Galle Fort. In Kandy, you can visit the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic.

Ratnapura, the city of gems, is full of captivating scenery and allows you to enjoy the mountains of Sri Lanka without hours of travel. Kalpitiya is a haven for water sports lovers and comes with the chance to spot whales and dolphins off the coast.

Yala is a recent addition to day trips from Colombo. Thanks to the Southern Expressway extending to Hambantota, you can now visit Yala National Park more easily!

Selecting a longer travel itinerary

If you have time to spare, you have the luxury to plan a longer stay. You have the opportunity to add more destinations and spend more time exploring. So how do you create or select the best Sri Lanka travel itinerary?

You can create different types of itineraries based on your needs and wants. But let’s break it down into three types of itineraries.

The first essentially creates a starburst pattern on the map. Select a base where you can stay. From there, you can go on day trips to nearby attractions. It allows you to stay organised while still feeling like you are being spontaneous.

The second is to create a loop. If you plan to travel straight from the airport, take in all the sights and then return to the airport. You can arrange the itinerary so you can visit the destination closest to the airport, then travel to the one closest to that and so on in a loop that brings you back to the starting point – aka the airport.

The third and final option is to travel from one point to the next. If your trip begins in one place and ends at a different place, you can opt for this. This travel itinerary is more suited for occasions when you visit multiple countries.

Official tours

Join our Sri Lankan Beach Escape, unwind with a A Week in the Tropics, or extend your Cultural Triangle Luxury Tour or Sri Lanka Hill Country & Tea Trails to fully explore the island.