This itinerary involves a lot of driving, but does showcase the best of Sri Lanka’s national parks, wildlife and beaches, exploring the stunning east and south coasts of the island. The itinerary can also be altered to include an internal flight to reduce the amount of driving, or alternately extra nights can be added to spread out the driving. If you enjoy taking in stunning landscapes, seeing wildlife and relaxing on beaches, this is for you.
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Description
1 night – Waikkal
2 nights Wilpattu National Park
3 nights – Trincomalee
2 nights – Kandy
2 nights – Yala
1 nights – Udawalawe
3 nights – Mirissa
✈️ UK to Waikkal (1 night): On arrival, a warm welcome awaits from your personal driver who will be ready to transport you to Waikkal on the western coastal belt of Sri Lanka. Throughout your holiday, your dedicated driver will be at your service, ensuring seamless transfers between your hotels and offering you the flexibility to explore any additional sightseeing spots along the way. Situated along the picturesque western coast of the island, Waikkal offers pristine beaches, fringed with swaying palm trees and lapped by the gentle waves of the Indian Ocean. The real draw though, especially for nature lovers, is the nearby Muthurajawela Marsh. This expansive wetland ecosystem boasts a labyrinth of waterways and mangrove forests that are teeming with wildlife, including numerous bird species, amphibians, and reptiles. The best way to view the marshes is on a boat safari. As you wind your way through the marshes, your tour guide will help you spot the diverse array of bird species from herons and kingfishers to owls and egrets, plus mammals including the fishing cat and the endangered Sri Lankan leopard. Also, don’t forget to scan the waters for reptiles including crocodiles and water monitors.
🚗 Waikkal to Wilpattu National Park (2 nights): Heading inland and into the heart of the country’s wilderness, your driver will escort you to your next destination: Wilpattu National Park. The park is the largest and oldest national park in Sri Lanka and boasts dense forests, expansive grasslands and lakes – all home to a huge variety of creatures and best explored on a jeep safari. Some of the creatures your tour guide will help you to spot include the leopard, elephant, and sloth bear plus various bird species including painted storks, crested serpent eagles, and peafowl.
🚗 Wilpattu National Park to Trincomalee (3 nights): Next, you’ll travel to the north-eastern coast of Sri Lanka to discover the historic town of Trincomalee. Beyond Trincomalee’s fascinating cultural heritage and landmarks lies a paradise for nature lovers.
The nearby Pigeon Island National Park, boasting vibrant coral reefs and a wealth of marine life, is a great place to take in Sri Lanka’s stunning natural beauty. It’s also home to a fascinating variety of bird species including the Nicobar pigeon, after which the island is named. The area’s picturesque beaches are perfect for snorkelling and dolphin watching, and for those who prefer to stay on dry land, there are plenty of glass-bottom boat trips for you to enjoy the underwater life.
🚗 Trincomalee to Kandy (2 nights): For the next stop on your itinerary you’ll head to Kandy, a picturesque town in the heart of the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka. Here, nestled amidst rolling hills, lies the Temple of the Tooth Relic, believed to house a tooth belonging to Lord Buddha. Just a short walk away you’ll find the serene Kandy Lake, which is surrounded by lush greenery including a variety of trees, shrubs, and flowering plants, and home to various bird species.
🚗 / 🚂 Kandy to Yala (2 nights): For the next part of your adventure, you can choose between a direct private transfer to Yala or opt for a beautifully scenic train journey that takes you from Kandy to Ella, located approximately three-quarters along the route. Upon reaching the train station in Ella, your driver will be ready to take you on the final part of your journey via car to Yala. The train journey from Kandy to Ella is renowned for its stunning scenery, passing through picturesque tea plantations, mist-covered mountains, and lush green valleys, and is very popular with our eShores clients. Yala itself is home to Yala National Park, the country’s most visited national park. Boasting dense forests, expansive grasslands and coastal lagoons, the best way to get up and personal with the wide range of wildlife is to take a jeep safari where you can spot the Sri Lankan leopard, elephants, sloth bears, and various species of birds.
🚗 Yala to Udawalawe (1 night): From one iconic park to the next, your driver will transfer you from Yala to Udawalawe, renowned for its large herds of Asian elephants which roam freely in their natural habitat. Along with the elephants there is a range of other fascinating wildlife, including leopards, sloth bears and water buffalo. In the centre of the park, the Udawalawe Reservoir offers fabulous opportunities for birdwatching.
🚗 Udawalawe to Mirissa (3 nights): To round off your unforgettable Sri Lankan journey, you’ll head to the beautiful beaches of Mirissa. Here, you can bask on the pristine beaches and snorkel in the crystal-clear waters. With its idyllic setting it’s the perfect way to savour the last few days of your holiday in Sri Lanka.
✈️ Mirissa to UK: You’ll board your flight back to the UK; with countless memories and photos of the wonderful Sri Lankan wildlife you’ll have encountered.
Why choose eShores?
One to One Service
Our experienced personal travel consultants will ensure you find the most suitable holiday, whilst taking care of every last detail. Everything from start to finish will be effortless.
100% Tailor Made
We can use any hotel, in any destination, so we will craft an itinerary to suit your exact needs. Also, as we can provide any itinerary, the only holiday we'll offer, is the one that's right for you.
Fully Protected
Our ATOL bonding provides you with the financial protection you need and as a member of the Travel Trust Association, you'll have 100% financial protection. Covering you for any eventuality.
Competitive Pricing
As a tour operator & travel agent, we'll search the market to ensure that we find you the best price. Also as an online business, we can ensure our prices are as competitive as possible.
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AlisonFletcher
Brilliant trip organised by Dave, included Helsinki, Tallin, Vilnius and Riga. (4 different countries) Everything ran smoothly. Dave organised hotels, flights, taxis, ferry and coach. Have used this company a few times and can't recommend highly enough they are fab 😀
Posted 2 days ago -
Sandra
As always, Chris was extremely helpful and knowledgeable. He gave me good advice on my travel plans and booked the holiday on my behalf. I've used eshores a number of times, and will continue to do so.
Posted 5 days ago -
Harrison
We haven’t been on our trip yet but based purely on the experience of booking the trip we are pleased with the result. It started with a bit of a hiccup as we spoke to a member of staff who never came back to us but when we reached back out again we were placed in the hands of Andy who has helped us book a 2 week trip to India including the golden triangle and then a few days on the beach. Andy was very patient with us with our changes to our tailor made holiday, even when we asked him to explore different areas only to revert back to the original plan. He also recommended moving the holiday back one week which created a saving of over £700 which meant we could upgrade the room for our beach stay in Goa. Andy was also available on weekends if we wanted to speak and regularly picked up the phone as opposed to keeping it to purely email dialogue. Hopefully the holiday will be amazing but based on the booking experience I would recommend eShores if you’re looking to book a tailor made holiday
Posted 5 days ago -
Wendy
I spoke to Lynette who was extremely helpful in understanding the trip that myself and my sister in law wanted from Thailand. Myself and my sister in law are both 72years young and we are really looking forward to our trip.
Posted 6 days ago -
Dawn
Excellent service from Matt at eShores. So very helpful and nothing was too much trouble. I booked Mya holiday after all his hard work finding me the perfect holiday that I wanted. Superb service and not pushy all all.
Posted 1 week ago -
Amrik
We have booked two big holidays this year for a group of 8 and a group of 10, Rachel has coordinated our holidays with the utmost excellence, during the consultation we changed countires hotels and even flights but it did not phase Rachel one bit. Exceeds customer expectations by helping advising and supporting throughout the holiday. We are off to Thailand and Dubai in August and then followed by India and Thailand in November, I have rang emailed Rachel many times during the booking and I got very prompt responses even on her days off. Rachel is a credit to EShores and EShores is setting standards regarding customer focus.
Posted 1 week ago -
IainWilliam
I can’t praise Lynette at EShores enough. She has organised my trips perfectly to the point that I wouldn’t use anyone else. She listens to what I want or to the problem I have and comes up with a solution. Nothing is too much trouble. Try them out yourselves and I bet you become a repeater too!
Posted 1 week ago -
Kevin
At short notice, I needed a quote to travel through the USA (July the 20th) I emailed eShores with an idea of what I wanted to do, within a short period of time I had a response from Matthew, After several amendments to my holiday which wasn't any trouble to Matthew, Holiday all booked, now looking forward to travelling through the USA Have to say, the service I had through eShores was fantastic, well done Matthew for working through the changes,
Posted 1 week ago -
Marcus
Dealt with Adam who was great, I went back and forth many times, nothing was a problem for him. We got there in the end and Adam arranged a 3 place holiday to Malaysia and Singapore. We go on 5th August, will if update review when we return. EShores so far brilliant hats of to Adam.
Posted 1 week ago -
Jill
We as a family used eShores last year to go to USA, and they were brilliant, my husband and 1 are going to Italy with them this September and we have just booked again to go back to USA with them next May, very efficient and Matt is lovely to deal with
Posted 1 week ago
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