When we went to Sri Lanka in 2019, I planned a great and productive 14 day trip, the perfect two weeks, if I do say so myself 😀 Sri Lanka has so much to offer, from beautiful sandy beaches, whale watching, dolphin watching to national parks full of amazing wild trip, a rainforest, beautiful tall mountains with tea plantations and waterfalls. Sri Lanka is a small country but has everything you can possibly imagine. The minimum travel time in Sri Lanka that I’d personally recommend is three weeks but if you are on a trip crunch, I hope this route helps you plan the best trip possible in two weeks! A map to all the places mentioned and a video from our trip can be found below.

Also, we have news are getting married (hopefully, if nothing changes last minute) in Sri Lanka! It’s been difficult planning (and postponing) during the pandemic but we really hope it works out. While helping all our guests plan their trips to Sri Lanka, I’ve been reliving our own trip which was Honza’s first time in Sri Lanka (and the trip where he proposed – see more in our story), so it has been a pleasure writing this!

Day 1 of our two week trip

We started by taking a train to the south of the country from Colombo along the ocean (the train truly runs the entire time right next to the water!). There are only 2 must-experience train rides in Sri Lanka and this is one of them! (read about in the section – how to get around). Our first stop was Beruwala, where we wanted to treat ourselves for one night and we stayed at the Palms hotel which is a super fancy 4 star hotel which costed 1000 Czech crowns (around 45 USD) per night with breakfast. So yes, things in Sri Lanka are cheap!

From there, we went on a boat ride to Madu River, it is super wide river with a complex coastal wetland ecosystem. Here, you will see everything from lizards to monkeys to temples on islands and islands where you will see a cinnamon making tutorial. We made a stop at a fish spa as well!

That evening we chilled on the beach and then later in the pool as the sun sets in Sri Lanka around 6 30 PM and it is dark soon.

Day 2

We grab 2 tuk tuks and headed further south, making stops at the places such as the Victor Hasselblad Sea Turtle Research And Conservation Centre (there are many such turtle conservation centres where you will see how they collect eggs left on the beach, let them hatch and put the baby turtles back to the sea after 3 days of age. They also take care of injured and sick turtles who can’t go back to the wild), the Community Tsunami Education Center & Museum in Hikkaduwa and the famous Hikkaduwa beach. The Hikkaduwa beach is a great place to swim, snorkel and go in a glass bottomed boat to see coral. However, our stop was a rest stop but we did spend some time along the beach where we fed a giant turtle some sea weed!

Then, stopped at Dalawalle beach, where there’s an “instagram famous” beach swing – a must see photospot and we went on to Galle city. This is a city which was first brought to glory by the Portuguese and later fortified by the Dutch during the period of their colonization. Galle is full of remnants of colonial architecture, one of the major locations being the Dutch fort and the light house.

From Galle, we took a taxi and rode almost 2 hours to Tissamaharama where we had our safari accommodation. And that was the end of our super long but productive day!

Day 3

Safari day at Yala National Park, which is the second largest national park in Sri Lanka! We chose to stay at cabanas owned by one of the best (and most affordable) tour guides, so we had a 4am start directly from the place of accommodation. On our way to Yala, we were treated with a gorgeous sunrise over the “savannah like” land. Yala is so large that there are dry areas, monsoon forests and marine wetlands all within the same area,

During our safari, we saw the famous Sri Lankan leopard, wild elephants, macaque, buffaloes, deer and many more. The only thing we didn’t see (and I really wanted to see) was the Sri Lankan Sloth Bear. And yes, it is as cute as it sounds!

Around 1pm, we were done with our tour so we had lunch (the typical Sri Lankan rice and curry at a local restuarent – which costs around 1 USD or 20 czech crowns per person!). Pro tip: if on a budget, go to small restuarants / eateries where you will see a lot of locals, it’ll be nothing fancy but it will be the cheapest, most authentic food that you can find. If you go to places with big sign boards and ones that offer pizza or pasta, you will end up paying prices very similar to European / Western prices.

Then we headed to Ella by bus from Tissamaharama which was another 2 – 3 hour journey. And settled into our mountain accommodation (cost 200 kč or 10 usd per room per night with breakfast).

Day 4

Hiking day! We started our day with a mid morning hike up to Ella Rock, it isnt the easiest of climbs but totally worth it. I am a slow hiker and it took me around 3 hours so I’d see a “normal person” would get up in 2 hours. On the top of the rock, we had fresh king coconut water (orange coconuts, not the usual green) which was the best reward.

Pro tip: the best place to start the climb is near the Kital Ella Railway Station. You may find some local people there offering to guide you up, but beware, it’ll be for a fee. It is a bit difficult to find the best path at the beginning but from the mid way point, its very clear. Our best guides were some stray dogs who accompanied us the entire way.

Then, we headed in a different direction to see the Nine arch bridge. This bridge has always reminded me of the bridge from Harry Potter! Definitely a must see in my book. A tea tasting and a tour of a local tea factory awaited us after the bridge. Did you know there was atleast 18 different kinds of black tea in Sri Lanka which differ in the colour and flavour depending on the production of the tea leaf?

Our evening on day 4 consisted of Sri Lankan lion beer, kottu (more details on What to eat, below) and banana dessert.

Day 5

It was great waking up for the second morning in the same place after 4 days of intense travelling but it was another 4am wake up. This was because we headed to the Little Adams Peak mountain to watch the sunrise. It is a super easy climb and the view is definitely worth it.

Afterwards, we took a train (another must-experience train) from Ella to Kandy. This is one of my favourite activites in Sri Lanka. This train goes along the mountains (not through) slowly for around 8 hours offering some breath taking mountain views. It goes next to waterfalls, inbetween tea plantations and gives you a first hand view of the Sri Lankan mountains, all while sitting on a train!

Day 6

We started off in the city of Kandy by visiting the Temple of the Tooth Relic. This is a world heritage site and Buddha’s tooth is housed in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy (which was the last ancient Kingdom of Sri Lanka). In the centre of the city of a huge lake, and not far from the city is the Peradeniya Botanical Garden.

In the evening, we went for a cultural show organized by the temple where we saw different types of Sri Lankan traditional dance, and fire throwing!

Day 7 – midway of the travel time in Sri Lanka

We fed baby elephants at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage. This is another must-do thing. This orphanage is the only one of its kind in the world, it houses over 150 elephants, from babies to sick and injured elephants who can’t go back to the wild. It’s possible to see elephants in the infirmary, see them having play time, feed babies, and see them go to the river twice a day for bath time.

Pro tip: don’t take fruits to feed the elephants from home, its not allowed. You need to buy fruits from inside the orphanage because these items have been checked by a veterianian.

The elephant orphanage is less than an hour away from Kandy so it is definitely a worthwhile trip. From here, we took a tour of a nearby rabbit factory and then took Bus to Sigiriya.

Day 8

Did you think the 4am wake ups were over? Nope, we had another. This was an important one. We woke up to see the sunrise on top of Pidurangala rock and Honza proposed to me (picture on the top of the article)! The view of the Siriya Rock Fortess (a world wonder plus UNESCO world heritage site) from this rock is splendid so it’s highly recommended! This was named a world wonder due to the use of incredible methods of ancient urban planning. To date no-one understands that how they got water to the top of the rock which stands 180 meters tall and was built around 450 AD by King Kashyapa.

The rock fortess itself is a short walk from the Pidurangala rock. We stopped on the way for breakfast at a local restuarant and went on to climb the side of the rock, it is a steep climb, which would be a bit scary for someone scared of heights, but there are railings to protect you! Midway up the rock, you will see beautiful ancient artwork or “frescoes” on the wall and huge feet of a lion statue that once stood at the entrance to the fortress. The view from the top of the rock is amazing as well.

Day 9

On the 9th day, we explored the Dambulla Royal cave temple. There are a ton of stairs of get up, but the artwork and structures inside the cave are breathtaking.

Pro tip: beware of going around mid-day as you have to take off your shoes since it is a buddhist place of worship, and the rock gets extremely hot! There’s a different way down than the way up, where you can see the Golden Temple as well. Near the golden temple, there was a market full of Sri Lankan sweet goods and it was a great place to buy and try many of them! Our tuk tuk driver also took us to a vegetable market nearby which was amazing as well since there were tons of vegetables and fruits which aren’t available elsewhere. We then headed to our next stop: Polonnaruwa).

Day 10

This was a hot day in Polannaruwa (the site of ruins from the second ancient kingdom of Sri Lanka). You can buy a ticket for the entire grounds (which is the best option) since there are many ruins spread out over a large area. At the place that we bought tickets, there was a very interesting little museum which gives an overview of the ancient history of Sri Lanka. You can also rent bikes on the grounds which makes it easier to get around.

This area is filled with massive temples, huge Buddha statues and other structures carved into rock (which still stand, like they were carved yesterday as ever) and ruins of palaces and other structures. All of the above are as old as 500 – 1000 AD.

Polonnaruwa is in a very dry part of the country so beware of it being very hot, take a lot of water and light clothes! If you are all into seeing ruins from as old as 300 AD (head to Anuradhapura as well, more tips below!). We then took a hired van (because of the heat and because we were tired) to Trincomalee (2.5 hours away) to cool off with a drink on its beautiful beaches.

Days 11 – 13

We spent 2 days chilling, swimming and snorkelling on the beaches of Trincomalee. Two must experience snorkelling locations are Marble beach (amazing turquoise beach managed by the Sri Lankan army. Snorkelling with a guide costed only 500 rupees, around 2 USD per person) and Pigeon Island (this is more touristy and therefore costs 6 times more than Marble Beach.

Nilaweli beach is a very popular beach in this region and the Koneswaram Kovil which is a Hindu temple is also a great place to visit. Fun fact – the city of Trincomalee is full of deer, they are used to people and very cute!

Day 14

Visiting Colombo, the bustling capital city of the country. A one day guide for exploring this city can be found here, so I will not go much more into it in this post. We then reached the end of our super productive two weeks in Sri Lanka, I truly believe this is a great route for someone who doesn’t have the luxury of time and would like to see and do as much as possible. I hope you have a great time in my country. For tips on more to do if you are a traveller with more time, please see below!

Map of the recommended route

Video from our trip in 2019

How to get around

• Tuk tuk (from the street or via the Pickme app (Pickme is an app similar to Uber or Bolt)
• Hired car or Pickme car
• Train (there are 2 must use trains, which is the train from Colombo – Galle and the train from Colombo – Ella)
• Driving yourself around (I personally would not recommend this option, specially not in the city, a lot of our drivers are unpredictable and the rules aren’t very clear)

What to eat

• Sri Lankan rice and curry – this sounds like its one dish, but it’s not (it is what is pictured above!). A curry in Sri Lanka is basically anything with a sauce. The curries change day to day, and you always get an option if you want it with chicken, beef, pork, egg, fish, or soya curry!
• Kottu – this is our most typical street food. It can be described best as a mix of broken up bread (thin indian- style bread), curry, vegetables and meat / cheese. You will also hear the rhythmic sound of it being made on the streets as it made with two huge flat “knives”.
• Hoppers – a round curved “thing” made from special flour, it has a soft inside and crispy outside. It is typically eaten with spicy curry and caramelized onions.
• String Hoppers – its basically stringy noodles made from rice flour, arranged together in a little flat circle. A few of these “circles” are eaten with a coconut pasta and curry. It’s hard to describe these food items adequately, please google pictures to know what I mean!
• Sri Lankan noodles
• Wattalapam – a yummy syrupy dessert
• Short eats – basically Sri Lankan slang for snacks, try a range of fried rolls, cutlets, buns etc.
• Faluda – a strawberry milk drink with chia seeds, yes chia was cool in Sri Lanka before anywhere else

Where to stay

You can find plenty of great places on booking.com. All the places we stayed at were places I found via their website. I managed to find amazing places with great reviews at good prices. Most general accommodation would cost around 10 USD (200 kč per room per night with breakfast) and you can find fancy places for as high as 150 usd (3000 kč per person per night with all meals included.

What else to visit if you have more time

• Jaffna – great food, beautiful beaches and driving in between islands
• Anuradhapura – the first ancient kingdom of Sri Lanka
• Hortain Plains National Park and Worlds end – which is a sheer cliff, with a drop of about 4,000 feet

• Mirissa – very popular beach
• Arugam Bay – the surf capital of Sri Lanka
• Tangalle – there is a beautiful beach called the blue beach where there is a strip of water leading to an island and therefore there is the beach on both sides! Its breath taking
• Adams Peak – we didn’t go there since it was the rainy season and there would be no lights, wet stairs and no shops. But if its the dry season, this is a great hike, specially to see the sunrise.

Best beaches

• Blue beach near Tangale
• Marble beach in Trincomale