Ultimate Sri Lanka Itinerary

Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, is a city filled with color, amazing people and delicious food.

One to two days in Colombo will give you enough time to experience the history, culture and heritage. Take a tuk-tuk tour (about five hours). This was a fun way to see the sites with a knowledgeable tour guide and zip through the traffic, which is very intense in the city! See significant highlights of the city, including some of the most beautiful and important Hindu and Buddhist temples, the Red Mosque, Dutch Hospital, Pettah Market and loads more. Have dinner at The Gallery Café on Paradise Road, the al-fresco restaurant is truly gorgeous – blending local-style architecture and food. Browse or shop Paradise Roadhouse, too. It's not only a restaurant but also a gallery and store filled with local artisanal home goods. Other notable restaurants include Ministry of Crab and Curry Leaf and be sure to have a cocktail at Galle Face Hotel FireBeach Bar.

To get from Colombo to the reserve, we hired a private driver and van to navigate the roads. The drive is about four and a half hours north to Knuckles Forest reserve to stay at Madulkelle Tea and Eco Lodge. The drive is gorgeous as you take in the scenery of mountains and acres of tea fields, which is what the country is most famous for. However, I will warn that if you are a nervous passenger, this trip can also be taken by plane as the roads and Sri Lankan style of driving is not for the faint-hearted! Madulkelle is truly breathtaking — the lodge is in the middle of acres of tea fields with mountains as your backdrop. We slept in giant tents and enjoyed afternoon tea, croquet, a pool table and relaxation by the pool. There is a spa, yoga and daily excursions available to see more of the surrounding area — and every meal was delicious. This was one of my favorite experiences in Sri Lanka — I loved being secluded, meeting fellow travelers and slowing down to take in the surrounding nature.

A one hour and twenty-minute drive from the reserve is Kandy — the second-biggest city in Sri Lanka, famous for the Temple of the Tooth Relic. The temple is a world-renowned place of worship where the left canine tooth of Gautama Buddha is enshrined. It is venerated by thousands of local devotees and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I will mention that my kids were less-than impressed that they did not get to see the tooth as it’s enshrined in a golden stupa inside a two-storied shrine and encased in seven golden caskets. I probably should have managed their expectations here! The temple is impressive and tours are available to understand Buddhism in Sri Lanka. We ate lunch at the quirkiest place I’ve ever seen, Helga’s Folly, which is a boutique hotel filled with stories and history. We stayed at The Hermitage by Edwards Collection, which is positioned at the edge of the Victoria Reservoir on a site where monks used to grow medicine herbs. The property is small but beautifully and carefully decorated with Sri Lankan art works and furniture.

Two hours and 30 minutes south of Kandy lies Nuwara Eliya – one of the most well-known places in Sri Lanka where tea is everywhere. The winding roads on the way to the town pass green valleys, majestic water falls, picturesque tea estates and forests. From here, you can hike the country’s highest peak, Pidurutalagala, or trek to World’s End in Horton Plains National Park. Or, if you’d prefer shorter hikes, Lover’s Leap waterfall is a good option. Take a tea factory tour, which is one of the most popular things to do here. We also took the Ella Odyssey Special Tourist train, which is the train from Nanu Oya to Ella. The train winds its way through the tea-covered mountains, and even in the rain it is gorgeous to see. It does get very busy in the tourist season, so it is imperative to pre-book tickets weeks before. The vibe is fun, with tourists from all over the world snapping photos of the fields. It's a fun journey that allows you to step back into the past, slow down and enjoy the journey. We spent the afternoon and into the evening in Ella, which is a cute touristy town with cute and very laid-back restaurants and cafes such as Chill Café Ella. Eat Indian food at the Grand Hotel or enjoy a cup of tea just as the English did it.

The drive is pretty long from Nuwara Eliya to the southern coast and beaches. Make a stop at Hambantota for lunch at the Shangri La. We stayed at Terra Resorts in Ahangama. While you could find one beach along the coast to create a base for a few days, we decided to choose two places so we could divide the coast into the more eastern beaches (Mirissa and Weligama) and then moved closer to Galle for the last stay of our Sri Lankan holiday. Angahama is a cute part of the coastline filled with yoga, surfers, cafes and smoothie bars. Take a Yoga class — there are plenty of studios offering classes — and swimming, sunbathing and sunset watching are all popular pastimes! The Sea Turtle Conservation Project is close by, as well as Koggala Lake. We ate at one of the best restaurants here, Citra, and had an amazing meal! Getting around to the other beaches and bays is easy with tuk-tuks cruising along the main road. Must-visits include Mirissa beach with Parrot Rock and Coconut Tree Hill and whale watching depending on the time of year. Weligama beach, which is the capital of surfing in this part with fantastic waves and white sand beaches. Grab yourself a surf lesson at many of the surf schools along the beach. Scuba dive with Weligama Dive Center or visit one of the many spas.

Even though the drive between Angahama Beach and Thalpe is only 15 minutes, the vibe is different. In Thalpe, we stayed at a gorgeous villa where we watched the famous Stilt Fisherman spend many mornings and late afternoons collecting tiny fish. Dine at delicious cafes and restaurants serving Sri Lankan dishes and seafood. Visit the nearby tea plantations or enjoy deep-sea diving, reef diving or deep-sea fishing from the nearby beach of Unawatuna. They joy of being in a villa was that we had a chef who cooked amazing Sri Lankan cuisine with fresh seafood — and was open to many of our questions and requests. Galle, with its iconic lighthouse, is a short drive from Thalpe. Spend a day browsing the town, which holds centuries of history in its streets, stories and historical buildings. See the Galle Fort Lighthouse, stroll along the storied alleys, shop galleries and boutiques on Pedlar Street, head to the market and eat at some of the best restaurants with delicious food. Don’t miss the Isle of Gelato!

Head back to Colombo with a deeper appreciation of tea, Sri Lankan history, memories of Sri Lanka’s hospitality and a full belly from the delicious food!