9 Days Itinerary in Sri Lanka @ $750 per person

We left Bangalore early morning 8 am by train to reach Chennai by afternoon 3 pm. We had a Sri Lankan Airlines flight to Colombo that evening at 9 pm, as flights to Colombo work out cheaper from Chennai. After short 75 min flight in which we were offered a cup of juice and a small sandwich we landed in Colombo around 11 pm.

If you don't have ETA then there are payment counters just before immigration queue. If you do, then you can directly join the queue. It was long queue but short quick and easy process and we cleared in about 30 minutes. Immigration form expects your Sri Lankan address so you should have at least one/first hotel booking done in advance.

After exchanging money, we looked for taxi for our hotel. Since we didn't have mobile data yet and didn't buy SIM, we couldn't book Uber or local ride hailing PickMe and just asked around counters for quotes. Most were quoting similar rates but we found Airport Taxi to be slightly expensive. Do confirm if toll is included in the price quoted or not. We booked one from Airport Tourist Driver's Association booth for 3,000/- including 250/- toll.

We had booked Ashan's Cozy Apartment via booking.com, and it turned out to be home stay. It had a large AC room with 6 person capacity, with private but outside bathroom. There were no lifts though and we had to lift our luggage through two flights of stairs. WiFi was okay but patchy.

Next day we left around 10 am for Colombo City tour. Independence Square is simple structure commemorating Sri Lanka's independence from Britain in 1948. There is small museum (closed on Sunday) and park nearby and you can just hang out for an hour or so there.

Gangaramaya Temple (5:30 am - 10 pm, 300/- entry ticket) is must see place. There are two separate temples accessible with same ticket so keep hold of ticket till you visit both. One on the Beira Lake is small and other one is huge with many smaller temples, exhibits, museums, and sitting areas. Main temple was stunning in beauty and had very peaceful ambiance. You can also do boating on Beira Lake (130/- for 30 min, 70/- for child) and there is small island to walk around near smaller temple. We met a snake charmer on the side walk who let us touch and play with monkey and python for 200/-.

We drove by local Pettah market and Red Mosque (cannot go in) which looked very much like any Indian market. Our driver also drove around ministers and military leaders homes. Dutch Hospital Shopping building nearby houses upscale restaurants (approx. 4000/- per meal), one of which, I am told, 'Ministry of Crab' requires few days' advance reservations.

Evening was spent at Galle Face Green which is beach side area full of activities. It's a rocky beach so at best you can wet your toes, but there was lot of local crowd, food stalls, kite flying (100/- cheapest), and horse riding (100/- for 5 min). It was good 3 hour spent just looking at Colombo Port and enjoying sea breeze. Before dinner, kids spent time playing in Viharamadevi Park. Pre-Christmas period had parts of town in lights and decors.

Other attractions we skipped are National Museum (9 am-6 pm, last entry 5 pm, 250/- adult, 150/- children), Kailawasanathan Hindu Temple (6 am-10:30 am, 4:30 pm-7 pm), Seema Malakaya Temple, Isipathanaramaya Buddhist Temple, Bally's Casino, Water World Lanka (aquarium, 600/-). We stopped over at Asokaramaya Buddhist Temple on third day morning for 20 min which is good but not a grandiose temple.

After leaving hotel around 10 am, we reached Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage around 1 pm. Story behind orphanage is that it takes care of abandoned calves and tends them to youth, though for tourist purposes you can consider it open zoo. There is also separate zoo nearby and you can also take elephant ride. Orphanage has three broad time slots: milk feeding to calves, fruit feeding to elephants, elephant bathing, so you should try to plan your arrival at beginning of one of these. You will be shuffling between hold area for feeding and river for bathing. One ticket (700/- SAARC adult, 350/- SAARC child) gets you multiple access to all events. Sri Lanka can be very hot even in December and afternoons are worst. Despite that you can easily spend 2-3 hours here watching elephants eat, play, relax, dance, and what not. They even have huge hose spraying elephants in river, though we expected more frolicking in water it was still good experience.

We left orphanage by 4 pm, and found one restaurant still serving lunch! After basic rice and curry lunch (250/-) we reached Kandy by 7 pm that night and checked into our home stay Jily Stay. Room was cozy with three bed, sofa, and bathroom. There was no AC but only standing fan which we found okay for the weather there. Breakfast was included and owner lady was kind enough to serve bowl hoppers, canned juice, bread, and banana next morning.

About 9 am we left for local sightseeing. First stop- Kandy Lake view point. We spent about 30 min taking pictures and moved on to famous Temple of Tooth Relic. Temple has many small free temples, and one main paid (1,000/- for SAARC adults, child free) temple. Finding the ticket counter can be bit tricky though, as we just followed the crowd (and it was a lot, shoulder to shoulder) and didn't see one, until we were stopped (we looked like foreigner, I guess, even as Indians and Sri Lankans look much alike) and had to go out (locals go free). Photos are not permitted and honestly you don't get to see the alleged tooth of Lord Buddha. You will not miss anything even if you skip this temple. World Buddhist Museum and Kandy Garrison Cemetery are some attractions nearby the Tooth Temple but we couldn't really find them at place Google Maps mentioned!

After lunch in market nearby (few pure vegetarian dosa restaurants), we retired for afternoon nap. About 3 pm we left for Bahiravokanda Viewpoint Temple (250/- entry ticket) which houses large Buddha statue on top of hill and where you can also climb up to head of statue (stairs bit out of sight). It was great view from the top and breeze was amazing. Temperature had cooled down by now.

Around 4:30 pm we left for culture show which our driver had arranged. I had read of three locations for culture show: Kandyan Art Association & Cultural Centre, Kandy Lake Show, and Mahanuwara YMBA, and we ended up with YMBA one. It was slotted for 5 pm, though didn't start till 5:30 pm, but you should reach by 5 pm anyway to pick front seats. Honestly, I was underwhelmed by the quality, but for 1,000/- per adult it wasn't expensive. Whole dance had amateurish feeling and not well rehearsed. You would have seen better dance at your college festival, for example.

Post dance, we had planned to walk around the Kandy Lake but it was dark and there were no lights or activity around. Other attractions we skipped in Kandy are Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya (1,500/- entry ticket) and Udawattekele Sanctuary (jungle to walk around for 2 hr, 500/-). You can also make a day trip to Sigiria via Dambulla Cave Temples (ticket 3,000/-) and Matale Hindu Temple which has famous Pidurangala Rock (ticket 500/-) and Lion Rock (ticket 5,500/-) for hiking.

We left for Ella via Nuwara Eliya on fifth day morning about 10 am. This route is one the most picturesque drive filled with lush green valleys and waterfalls all the way. Many people take 7 hour train journey on this route which is even more breathtaking. There are many tea gardens on the way. Pedro's tea factory is famous (we skipped) but there are many on the way and I think any would have been fine. Hanuman Temple en route on hill top, run by Chinmaya Mission Trust, had amazing views and good books on sale on Hinduism. They also had lunch buffet but we found that to be bit expensive (750/-). Ramboda waterfall view point is also notable.

We stopped so many times to take pictures that it was 4 pm when we reached Nuwara Eliya and we still had 2 more hours to go. Hence we skipped following attractions worth visiting in Nuwara Eliya: Victoria Park (300/- ticket) and Gregory Lake (200/- entry ticket, offers boating, rides, etc.), and Lover's Leap waterfall.

Seeta Amman Temple en route is also beautiful, and one of the two spots in Sri Lanka associated with Ramayana. Legend has that this temple was Ashok Vatika where Seeta Ji was kept by Ravana. This temple is free and that was surprise too as pretty much everything is ticketed for foreigners. Do consider donating here. There is also place where Seeta supposedly took Agni Pareeksha (called Agni Pravesh) but we skipped it.

There are many spice gardens before Ella city, most of which give you 10 min free (or 100/-) tour and show herbs and spice plans, and try to sell you herbal medicines. We reached our hotel Madhushanka Resort in Ella by 8 pm. This was situated in such a narrow uphill road that our driver refused to take his car and we hired a tuk-tuk to lug our bags. Room was bit cramped, one double bed, and a balcony. AC or fan was not needed here as well.

We left for Nine Arches Bridge around 8:30 am next day, which was good thing because we could see the passing train at 9:10 am. There is slippery trek down to the tracks and crowd on the tracks there made us bit surprised as being from India train tracks are not something you consider tourist places. We just saw from top and while view is good, it's not anything different just because a train passes through the bridge. You may have to hire a tuk-tuk or walk last kilometer or so as cars don't go on dirt road to view point. Many hotels and restaurants have train time tables so you can plan to coincide your trip if you like. One warning: weather post 4 pm with minor drizzle was very cold last night, and this being hill station we donned our sweaters for the day. Big mistake! Everything is so hot even there.

On our hike to Mini Adam's Peak, we pretty much all took off our shirts and walked in vests, which wasn't too bad as pretty much everyone there was white tourist in even skimpier dress. It's about an hour long hike and we were able to do with young kids too so it's nothing to be discouraged about. Hike is one-third walk (or tuk-tuk 300/- one way), one-third walk, and one-third climb on stone steps and rocks. View and breeze would have been great were not for hot sunny afternoon. There is also 4 hr hike at main Adam's Peak, aka Sri Pada.

Ella restaurants can be relatively expensive, we found, with basic meal costing 500/-. Post lunch, we drove to hike Ravana's Cave (150/- ticket). This is second spot in Sri Lanka connected with Ramayana. Legend has that Ravana had hid Seeta here after abduction. This hiking was shorter, 600 steps and some rough terrain, but more beautiful in my view, as we entered dark cave dripping water gave the environment vintage feeling. There is small tea stall on the way which was (surprisingly) reasonably priced and cup of tea with breeze and background was memorable experience.

Ravana's Waterfall (free) is also place one can spend more than an hour. It's loud waterfall which rocky access where you can get sprayed with fine mist. Ella is definitely one the breathtaking place I've seen and both hikes are worth doing.

We slotted Udawalawa National Park elephant safari for next day, and departed our hotel at about 10 am. I was under the impression that safari timings are morning 6 am or afternoon 3 pm (based on online booking websites) but realized there that safari can be done anytime 6 am to 4 pm. You will have to hire safari jeep from outside first. Drivers have all unionized, and are represented by one person, and you cannot talk to multiple drivers to bargain, so you don't really have much option. "Boss" guy quoted $95 for jeep plus entrance ticket, and later 8,000/- for jeep alone, and finally settled at 6,000/-. No need to book in advance, unless you want the jeep to pick you up from nearby hotel within 20 km. Jeep can sit 6 people so it is advantageous to combine with other tourists but we were only Asians there and other white tourists had pre-booked through tour packages so didn't bother to combine, and their guide didn't let us combine.

After booking safari jeep, you will have to buy entrance ticket which has sliding scale with number of people (8,350/- for two; another reason to join with large group). Safari lasts for 2.5-3 hours depending on your interest. Unfortunately for us, being Indians, seeing water buffaloes and peacocks dancing wasn't as exciting was it perhaps was for others. There were lots of cranes and elephants too, but having visited Pinnawala, they weren't interesting too. I regret this decision of my trip, considering that this was single most expensive attraction I paid for. Not to mention rough bouncy jungle roads gave literal pain in my neck. I'd recommend you skip this and add additional day to Nuwara Eliya. There is also another popular national park called Yala, but I've heard that that's even more expensive.

We reached out hotel Kiss Lanka Surf Palace in Weligama by 8 pm, though to our distress found weather very hot, room closed, no AC, and no fan! We had to cancel the room on spot - and owner was kind enough to understand - and find another room immediately. Booking.com showed a nearby and cheap option (a relief, for such short notice) called Hispaniola Inn but our worry only extended as we found place deserted with only one old guard. Turns out hotel was new and we were first customer! Hotel owner was in different city, and they didn't have much experience running hotel, and local representation (father of owner) didn't speak English, so every conversation was phone call to the owner. After lot of discussion, having few other reasonably priced options, we decided to stay there. Apart from that hassle, this was really nice room, large double bed, with AC, chairs, safe, fridge, etc.

We went to Tangalle beach next morning, having read it to be the best beach among all, in a coastline which spreads from Bentota to Hikkadua to Galle to Mirissa to Matara to Tangalle. Well, it's okay but I wouldn't call it best. Beach is small, clean and quite with literally no waives! There was thankfully a changing room there and police on duty.

We spent about 3 hour playing around, had lunch, and reached at Matara beach by 4 pm. This beach had children play area which kids enjoyed a lot, and breeze was great, so it was fun to just sit and watch. There is small (free) island temple nearby. After dinner at Mayura restaurant (cheap, tasty) nearby, we retired for the day.

Our driver had arranged for Whale Watching tour (5,000/- per person, kids free) next morning, through Mirrisa Whale Horizon ship for which we left at 6 am. Unfortunately, we didn't see any whales but saw two pods of dolphins. You go very far out in the sea and water is rough and wind is strong, and this is something unique about this experience. However, apart from that this is also skip-able activity I feel, since even in best case scenario you are going to see just back and fins of Whale.

I also felt that ship crew knew no whales were going to be around but they just went anyway, and intentionally had rough ride, so that by 4 hours in, most passengers had vomited and given up, and they had easy time convincing passengers to return back without watching whales while at the same time making it appear passengers' decision. I won't necessarily blame Horizon for this though, as all ships pretty much had same routine.

If you do go, note that wind is strong (no need for caps), and it can be cold (light jacket is fine), water and sandwiches are provided free, and ticket prices may differ for lower deck and upper deck. We were fairly exhausted by the time ship returned at 1 pm - there is something in strong breeze which is simultaneous pleasant and exhausting even if you have done nothing but sat on a boat - and went to our hotel for lunch and nap.

In evening, we went to nearby Weligama beach which is famous for surfing lessons and I took one for 2,000/- for 90 minutes plus tips. There were hundreds of people trying out surfing there. It was different experience, though I do pity my instructor given my utter failure to be to able to learn anything that day.

Last and tenth day was return to Colombo to catch a 2 pm flight back. For most routes in Sri Lanka taxis run at about 30-40 km per hour, due to hilly terrain, single lane roads, and random traffic jams. Except this return Expressway covered 150 km in less than 3 hours.

You can sell your excess local currency back before check in. I was provided USD back in smallest denomination of $5 bills. I don't know if they carry $1 bills. Expert tip- Use bank's exchange rate night before (e.g. for Sampath Bank) to have just enough amount in LKR (plus 20-30/- extra) to sell back, and spend rest of it. Airport has free WiFi as well.

Adios Sri Lanka, or as locals call it often, Ceylon!

We reached Chennai by 3:30 pm, booked an Uber to Kyambadu and hailed private AC sleeper bus to reach Bangalore at midnight of new year!!

Note on Food

Sri Lankan food is generally cheap, and hence we didn't pack any of Maggie or MTR packets. We found that for vegetarians options are very limited. Whole cuisine essentially has 5-7 options:

* Rice & Curry - staple and most common option, 150/- at roadside cheapest way to fill your tummy, rice with mix of curries, common being (dry) dahl, (gravy) potato, (dry) banana flower, jackfruit, mango, etc.

* Rotti - paratha like bread made from white flour (maida), with fillings, veg and meat (okay to eat, bland in taste)

* Kottu - paratha like bread pieces mixed with veg/meat crumbs (didn't like)

* Pittu - lumpy rice, eaten with curries

* Hopper - string or bowl shaped, made from dosa batter, eaten with potato or dal curries (good, tasty)