Sri Lanka Itinerary Tips for One Month of Travel
Looking to head to Sri Lanka and needing some tips? Here is a look at my one month Sri Lanka itinerary to help you with your trip.
Sri Lanka, the beautiful pear-shaped Indian Ocean island.
This South Asian island combines an amazing mix of beautiful beaches, cultural cities and wonderful wildlife.
Sri Lanka remains somewhat off the radar as far as a typical backpacker travel option is concerned, many opting for South East Asia over South Asia itself. This makes a trip to Sri Lanka even more invigorating. Travelling Sri Lanka still feels like a true authentic experience in most areas, in some you can feel the tourism creeping in! This is because it is undoubtedly becoming increasingly popular, and rightly so. Therefore, now is a great time to visit before the tourism really hits its peak.
I travelled to Sri Lanka where I met up with a couple of friends for a month of exploring this beautiful island nation. Knowing very little about the country and having no travel plans in place for our time there until we met up on our first day, I’d say we had a pretty successful trip and covered some great locations.
In this post I will outline how we spent our time travelling the country, providing itinerary inspiration should you be considering visiting Sri Lanka (which you should!).
Check out flights for your trip here:
When to visit?
My trip took place from the 2nd April to the 29th April.
This was timed perfectly before the wet weather rolled in to the south of the country, and was the beginning of the prime season for the east coast. Monsoon season for the south-west occurs between May and September, while the weather is most favourable from April/May to September on the east coast.
We hit the southern coast at the end of the trip, and although sunshine and beach days were aplenty, you could sense the beginning of the monsoon season starting to descend. The humidity levels were high, like it was hot!
One Month in Sri Lanka Itinerary
A one month in Sri Lanka itinerary starts with the question – head straight to the beach or straight into cultural sights? My friends and I decided to start with the cultural cities (minus one beach stop), meaning we could relax on the beaches of the south at the end of the trip. I’d say this went down pretty well.
The lowdown:
- Colombo – 2 nights
- Anuradhapura – 2 nights
- Nilaveli – 2 nights
- Sigiriya – 2 nights
- Dambulla – 1 night
- Kandy – 1 night
- Nuwara Eliya – 1 night
- Ella – 4 nights
- Arugam Bay – 6 nights (not necessary to stay this long, due to circumstances during our trip)
- Mirissa – 3 nights
- Galle – 2 nights
I recommend using Booking.com or Hostelworld to search for accommodation options – you will find some very affordable options on either of these. Little tip: if you’re willing to spend a little more on accommodation – opt for those with air con. My trip was very budget style and I can safely say the rooms with simply a fan did not make make for such a comfortable experience!
Day 1:
Fly into Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake.
Take a bus from the airport to Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital city, then a tuktuk to your accommodation.
(Alternatively, the city of Negombo is actually closer to the airport, so it is also an option for when you first arrive).
- Settle in, wander around the area, catch up on sleep after a long flight.
Day 2:
- Explore Colombo for the day (honestly we didn’t see much of the city so I can’t recommend much for Colombo, it was more of a ‘sort out plans for the next few weeks’ day). Be sure to speak with the accommodation owners, get some tips for your Sri Lanka travels.
Day 3:
Colombo -> Anuradhapura
After 2 nights in Colombo, it is time to properly start the adventure.
Arrive in Anuradhapura by train from Colombo. It is around a 6.5 hour train ride so the journey takes up most of the day.
- Nuwara Wewa lake: A walk around the lake and dinner is a nice way to settle in.
Day 4:
- Head to Anuradhapura Sacred City, where you will explore the temples by bike (speak to accommodation owner for tips on where to hire bikes from – they are always very willing to help).
- Note: The entry fee is quite steep at $25.
Day 5:
Anuradhapura -> Nilaveli:
Take the bus from Anuradhapura to Trincomalee in the morning, then either another bus or a tuk tuk to Nilaveli.
This is a nice stop to have your first taste of Sri Lankan beach life, I needed this knowing we weren’t going to be at the beach until the end of the trip! A little break between all the cultural sites.
- BEACH DAY.
Day 6:
- Pigeon Island: Take a half-day trip to Pigeon Island, a short boat trip from the main beach. Organise it the previous day while on your beach day – the workers will most likely approach you first and ask you about it. Make sure to bargain with them though!
- I LOVED Pigeon Island. Snorkel at the reef, chill on the beach. You may even see some small sharks as we did!
- Spend the remainder of the day back on the main beach.
Day 7:
Nilaveli -> Sigiriya
Tuk Tuk to Trincomalee, bus from Trincomalee to Sigiriya.
- Set up a safari trip to Minneriya National Park for the next day – ask around to the find the best deal.
- Pidurangala Rock: Hike to the summit for sunset.
Day 8:
- Lion Rock: Early morning trip (UNESCO World Heritage Site).
- Note: $30 USD – the price is high compared to that of Pidurangala Rock, but I would say it is worth it, and worth doing both.
- Minneriya National Park safari: Afternoon trip.
Day 9:
Sigiriya -> Dambulla
Short trip from Sigiriya to Dambulla by tuktuk.
- Golden Temple of Dambulla (UNESCO World Heritage Sight).
- Spend the evening at a nice resort if you’re lucky – we were staying in cheap accommodation but had dinner at a lovely resort. They let us use the pool and it was just a lovely relaxing evening that we were in need of.
Day 10:
Dambulla -> Kandy
Bus from Dambulla to Kandy. We ended up on a non public bus, costing a bit more but it was certainly worth it for the air con and slightly less cramped atmosphere.
- Explore the city of Kandy (UNESCO World Heritage Sight).
- This wasn’t my favourite stop to be honest. Our accommodation was pretty awful, and the weather wasn’t great either. We did find some good dosas to eat though!
Day 11:
Kandy -> Nuwara Eliya
Take the famous Sri Lanka train ride from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya.
- Explore Nuwara Eliya on foot.
Day 12:
- Horton Plains World’s End hike: Set up a ride through your accommodation to take you from Nuwara Eliya to Horton Plains National Park. Here, you will do the World’s End hike. You have to leave super early (5am or earlier) to get there before the mist rolls in and obscures the view, but it is worth it.
From here make your way to Pattipola train station – have your driver wait for you while you do the hike.
- Pattipola -> Ella
Arrive in Ella after taking one of the most beautiful train rides in the world.
Days 13 – 15
After settling into Ella the night before, it is time for 3 full days in this lively, more touristic than some, area of Sri Lanka.
Top things to do:
- Nine Arch Bridge
- Time it so you will be there for a train passing over the bridge.
- Little Adam’s Peak hike
- Sri Lankan cooking class
- Visit a Tea plantation (unfortunately these were all shut on my trip as it was over a holiday period)
- Enjoy the many bars and restaurants
Days 16 – 21:
Ella -> Arugam Bay
Take two buses to get to Arugam Bay.
This point is probably not the best itinerary advice, spending longer than intended at this destination. As we happened to be in Arugam Bay during the Easter attacks, we stayed put for longer than planned. However we were more than happy that it was Arugam Bay we ended up spending almost a week in, it felt safe and the people were very friendly.
- Enjoy the beach with bars and restaurants right on it.
- Surf at Whisky Point
- Tuktuk ride from Arugam Bay. Lessons are available.
- Elephant Rock Point for sunset: Take a tuktuk to Elephant Rock Point, do the short climb to the viewpoint and watch the sunset. Ask the tuktuk driver to wait for you – it is a bit isolated and you don’t want to be getting stranded when it is starting to get dark!
After a couple of days or so you could head to Yala National Park. However we skipped this after spending more time than planned in Arugam Bay, satisfied enough with having already been on safari in Minneriya National Park. The longer relaxed period was nice after a fair bit of travelling around.
Days 22 – 24:
Arugam Bay -> Mirissa
Bus to Matara, then Matara to Mirissa.
- Mirissa Beach
- Be sure to check out the market stall while on the beach – beautiful, very cheap clothing and accessories.
- Turtle Point
- Parrot Rock Bridge
- Coconut Tree Hill
- Great sunset spot
- Explore the street art
- Chill out, dinner and drinks at the beach restaurants
Days 25 – 26:
Mirissa -> Galle:
Take the bus from Mirissa to Galle.
Galle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Galle Fort
- Lighthouse
- Follow the Fort Walk
- Sunset from Fort wall
- Walk the European-like streets of the Old Town and enjoy the ample choice of eateries.
Day 27:
Galle -> Negombo
Take a taxi to Negombo.
Spend the day in Negombo, or go straight to the airport depending on what time your flight to leave the country is.
My travel mate was spending the night here so we just chilled out at her accommodation during the day, before a lovely extremely inexpensive curry and myself catching a 3am flight out of Sri Lanka.
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Hopefully this one month in Sri Lanka itinerary can help inspire you for your trip. Having followed this itinerary, tweaking it where necessary if you so desire, will leave you feeling satisfied at your one month glimpse of this incredible country!
