1 week Sri Lanka itinerary

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
7
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
7
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
7
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
5
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
7
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
6
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
65 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
231st/457
Top 50%
continent
Asia
country
Sri Lanka
Length of time
Around a week
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$170 (typically $100 - $240)
Time of year visited
December
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Beaches Forests Train journey
All Tags
Bird spotting Boat trip Bridges Buddhist site Castles / Fortresses Christian site City Walls Gardens Hiking Hilltop towns Jungle Lakes Local villages Mountains Museums Old town UNESCO world heritage site Wildlife - Dolphins Wildlife - Whales
Wow Factor
Two scores: first is the wow factor which ranges from ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️, and a separate category for the truly "gash". The second is the more analytical travel experience score, which considers 6 varied criteria to give an overall score out of 100.
⭐⭐⭐

Summary

Sri Lanka is often described as “India-light”, and that’s actually a good way to think about it. You get many of the same types of experiences as India – ancient temples and ruins, tea plantations, wildlife, tropical beaches and busy towns – but in a much smaller area and generally in a more manageable, less intense way.

The big advantage of Sri Lanka is how much variety you can fit into a relatively short trip. In about a week you can see ancient cities, climb Sigiriya, take one of the world’s most scenic train journeys through tea plantations, go on safari to see elephants (and possibly leopards), and then finish on a tropical beach. There are not many countries where you can pack that much variety into a single one-week trip without constantly flying around.

It’s not the most spectacular country in the world in any single category – the exception being the train journey through the tea plantations – but the classic Sri Lanka route is well established and works nicely for a week-long trip in South Asia.  Top tips:

 

  1. Time of year – the experience of Sri Lanka varies dramatically by season.  Basically, December to March / April is the best time for this itinerary as it is dry (and nicely cooler) season in the south coast and Hill Country.  April to September is best for the north of the country and the Ancient Sites, again because it is drier
  2. Prioritise time in the Tea Country – the beaches in the south are lovely, Galle is nice for an afternoon, and its worth dedicating half a day to try and see a Blue Whale in Mirissa, but the highlight is the Tea Country for not just the tea estates, but also the hiking and pretty “Old English” feel towns
  3. Book your trains in advance – you DO NOT want to be standing.  I’ve read in a few guide books that it doesn’t really matter if you stand – I think that’s ok for a hour or so, but for longer it really isn’t fun. It’s Sri Lanka – 2nd and 3rd class unreserved will have people crammed in to the point that you can’t sit on the floor and need to stand.  Tickets become available 30 days in advance and are super cheap (US$7 for first class just about everywhere), so jump on the train website (really not as bad as people whinge about) or, if left it late, buy at the stations (only the large stations such as Colombo, Kandy and Nanuoya sell reserved seating tickets)
  4. You’ll want a driver for parts of the trip – some parts of the journey you cannot take a train, such as from Galle up to the Tea Country, and some parts you’ll want a driver to take you around the immediate sites, such as the tea factories and estates.  Considering you only have a week, and potentially can share the cost among multiple people, it’s just easier to get a driver for the day.  They’re typically US$50 for the day and it also has the benefit of being able to speak in detail with a local as they proudly show you their country.  I rented Siri (+94 77 779 8962) for my drive from Mirissa to Ella, who was very knowledgeable; and Yoga (+94 75 165 0205) for around Nuwara Eliya.  I’d recommend both
  5. I wish I’d . . . visited the Uda Walaw National Park.  Would have been great to see more of the wildlife, and it fits perfectly into the route
  6. For more details on each of the experiences, see the detailed travel entries for:

Highlights

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#1 Sitting with the windows open as you watch your old train slowly snake its way through the beautiful tea plantations on the route from Kandy to Badulla and the most dramatic part of Sri Lanka’s Hill Country. You’ll spend the first couple of hours gawping and taking photos, and then, after a while, just relaxing and soaking up the peaceful nature of the place, with its quiet towns and tea plantation workers slowly getting on with their day

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#2 Staying overnight in the gorgeous hill village of Ella and having the day to explore the walking routes nearby, in particular Little Adam's Peak with its views through Ella Gap

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#3 Exploring the tea estates to learn the history of the trade that dominated Sri Lanka for a century, whilst also indulging in High Tea in one of the wonderfully restored old Tea Factories, such as the Heritance near Nuwara Eliya

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#4 Wandering and finding one of the super picturesque spots where the train passes by, such as Nine Arches Bridge in Ella

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#5 Seeing Pilot Whales, Bottle-nosed Dolphins and hundreds of Spinner Dolphins up close . . . and the chance to see the much bigger Blue Whales / Fin Whales / Sperm Whales . . . on a whale-watching trip from Mirissa

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#6 Walking through the Horton Plains at the roof of Sri Lanka to the sharp-drop view of World's End

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#7 The beautiful beaches and coastline all the way from Mirissa to Tangalle

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#8 Nuwara Eliya's "Little England" - nestled up in the middle of Sri Lanka’s Tea Country, Nuwara Eliya was one of the old colonial centres for the tea industry and, with the combo of old quaint buildings, race course, golf courses and, well bloody drizzly bleak weather, is affectionally known as “Little England”. As an Englishman I can confirm I felt right at home!

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#9 The atmospheric UNESCO World Heritage site of Galle is on most traveller’s Sri Lankan list. Deep history across the colonial times of the Portuguese, Dutch and British that you can soak up while wandering the old streets and the fort walls in an afternoon, or for staying overnight to enjoy one of the beautiful colonial style hotels

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#10 The train ride down the coast from Colombo to Galle - the views are beautiful as the train hugs the beach for a big chunk of the way

How to prioritise the highlights of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is less about mega wows, and more about a lot of nice to sees and the overall super pleasant week long journey.  I would look to prioritise them like this:

 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Train ride through Sri Lanka’s tea country
One of the world’s most scenic train journeys, passing through misty mountains, tea plantations and small hill towns — the standout experience of a Sri Lanka trip. Train ride through Sri Lanka’s tea country.

 

⭐️⭐️ Staying in Nuwara Eliya’s “Little England”
A strange but interesting old British hill station with colonial buildings, cool weather and tea plantations, worth a short stop as part of the train journey. Staying in Nuwara Eliya’s “Little England”.

⭐️⭐️ Hilltop country village of Ella
A relaxed backpacker-style hill town surrounded by lush scenery and viewpoints, nice for a night or two but more about the setting than major sights.  The Hill Country Village of Ella.

⭐️⭐️ Whale watching in Mirissa
A good place to see blue whales if conditions are right, but very dependent on weather and a bit of luck. Whale watching in Mirissa

⭐️⭐️ The historic fort of Galle
A pleasant colonial-era fort town with cafes, small streets and sea views, best visited as a short stop rather than a major destination. The Historic Fort of Galle

 

⭐️ Horton Plains and World’s End
A scenic highland park with a dramatic cliff viewpoint, but the experience depends heavily on weather and is not worth a major detour on a short trip. Horton Plains and World’s End.

 

GASH Kandy
A busy city with an important temple and a lake, mainly visited as a stop between the cultural triangle and the tea country rather than a highlight in itself. Couple of hours in Kandy.

GASH Colombo
Sri Lanka’s big, slightly chaotic capital  useful for a night at the start or end of a trip, but not somewhere you need to spend much time sightseeing. Colombo.

 

 

Day 1 – Colombo to Galle.  Start off in Colombo (the long haul arrival flights seem to land very late at night, so you’re realistically looking at waking up in a hotel in Colombo) and take the beautiful train journey down along the beaches to check out the UNESCO-world heritage fort of Galle.  Stay there  overnight

 

Day 2 – Whale watching from Mirissa and Tangalle beaches.  Early start to set off on a whale-watching trip from Mirissa (1 hour drive) to see Pilot Whales, Bottle-nosed Dolphins and hundreds of Spinner Dolphins up close . . . and the chance to see Blue Whales (the largest animal to have ever lived) as well as Fin Whales (second largest) and Sperm Whales (the largest toothed predator).  Spend the afternoon and evening around the beaches of Tangalle (1 hour drive)

 

Day 3 – Travel from the south coast to Ella.  Make this a bit of a chill out day.  The drive is only max 3 hours via the highway.  Take the afternoon to wander around Ella’s small centre with a bunch of nice restaurants and chilled traveller vibe

 

Day 4 – a day for the mini hikes around Ella.  In particular check out the super picturesque spot where the train passes by at Nine Arches Bridge (ask the locals what time the trains pass) and then the nearby Little Adam’s Peak with its views through Ella Gap

 

Day 5 – the train from Ella to Nuwara and the tea estates by Nuwara Eliya “Little England’.  Take one of the wonderful morning trains for the journey through the most beautiful spots in Sri Lanka.  In the afternoon, arrange for a driver to drive you along the gorgeous drive to the St Claire Tea Centre and then have High Tea in the superbly restored Heritance Hotel

 

Day 6 – Horton Plains and World’s End.  Arrange a taxi to take you the 1.25hrs to the start of the Horton Plains, the plateau at the top of Sri Lanka.  From there, walk the very pleasant 3hour loop via World’s End for dramatic views into the valley

 

Day 7 – take the train back to Colombo to fly out, via Kandy 

Experiences Nearby

Wow Factor Score Two scores: first is the wow factor which ranges from ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️, and a separate category for the truly "gash". The second is the more analytical travel experience score, which considers 6 varied criteria to give an overall score out of 100. LowHigh
  • Elite, unmissable
  • World-class, downsides
  • Meets the Wow Factor
  • Worth it
  • Meh
  • Gash

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Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences - from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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