Sri Lanka land tour packages

Posted on by Sanjeewa Padmal (Seerendipity)

Planning is the key to having a successful Sri Lanka land package and it helps you to save money and allows you to experience the best of Sri Lanka within the available time. We are talking about the Sri Lanka land package here mainly. The airfare is decided by the demand and the distance as well as the carrier and we refrain from discussing airfare for international flights.

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Sri Lanka’s land package should not be a farfetched dream for any traveller in the world. Because Sri Lanka land packages have become very affordable for any type of budget. If you make good planning on your Sri Lanka land package it is very affordable.

Sri Lanka is a fascinating holiday destination with a tropical climate. This small paradise boasts a wealth of history, vivid cultures, rich nature, thousands of years old culture, spirituality, and adventure. The topographical features of Sri Lanka are very diverse it has clean sandy beaches green-capped mountian that rises up to 2500 meters above sea level, sparkling lagoons, terraced rice paddies, dense plantations, and many millennia-old forests. When is the best month to plan a Sri Lanka land package? Find out here.

Planning is the key to having a successful Sri Lanka land package and it helps you to save money and allows you to experience the best of Sri Lanka within the available time. We are talking about the Sri Lanka land package here mainly. The airfare is decided by the demand and the distance as well as the carrier and we refrain from discussing airfare for international flights.

The ultimate guide to planning the best Sri Lanka land tour packages

Sri Lanka land package
Minneriya national park is an important tourist site that is included in most Sri Lanka trips such as 5 days Sri Lanka wildlife tour and Sri Lanka southern tour.

It is needless to say that Sri Lanka is one of the most beautiful islands in Asia and venturing on a Sri Lanka land package is the best way to explore the stunning sceneries of the island.

Sri Lanka is surprisingly affordable for budget travellers. Sri Lank is not only a multi-faceted charming holiday destination in Asia but also one of the most affordable holiday destinations in the world. It is very easy to plan a budget Sri Lanka tour. Most things that travellers need are available here at an affordable rate such as lodging, transportation and food.

How to reduce the budget of Sri Lanka land tour packages?

The food can be obtained at a fraction of a dollar from a local restaurant while a big portion of the international meal is a bit expensive in a popular restaurant. 

One of the fascinating things about Sri Lanka is its diversity from sandy beaches to tropical rain forests, from laid-back remote hamlets to busy modern metropolis such as Colombo. The country has a multicultural society and shows great diversity in culture, festivals and food.

If you make the advance booking, at least 2 months ahead of your Sri Lanka trip, it can be unbelievably cheap. Tour operators such as seerendipity tours help travellers to organize their Sri Lanka land packages free of charge.

Sri Lanka land package can last from 1 day to several weeks depending on the budget and the time available. Usually,y most land packages meant for foreign travellers, start in Colombo, at Colombo Harbour or Colombo international airport.

Most travellers opt for the first-night stay at Negombo beach resort if they land late evening or night at the airport. Because Negombo is just 10 minutes away from the airport it allows them to relax after a long flight.

Is Sri Lanka Safe to Travel?

Sri Lanka is one of the safest holiday destinations to travel in the world. The island is one of the most peaceful countries in the world and has no political or ethnic problems. Same time the country is free of volcanoes and earthquakes.

Occasional flooding is the only natural disaster reported in some parts of the country during heavy rain but it is restricted only to a few places. Usually, no flooding is reported in the beach resorts and most other places, where travellers often go.

sri lanka boutique hotel
 

Sri Lanka Land Package: Accommodation

Accommodation is the most expensive part of any Sri Lanka land package. Therefore travellers should be fully aware of the prices of accommodation wherever they go. Don’t let accommodation rip off your wallet.

Having proper planning, especially on accommodation helps you to cut the budget of your Sri Lanka land packages by around 40%. There are a large number of good budget hotels all around the island and they are cheap, clean and safe too.

Accommodation types such as hostels and dormitories are the best types to save money. rest houses, guest houses, rent rooms or homestay accommodation also is handy when it comes to travelling on a tight budget.

The most widely available accommodation types on the island are star-categorised hotels and the price increases as the number of stars increases. meanwhile, the number of luxury boutique hotels and eco-hotels is also increased in the recent past and those properties are more expensive than most star-class hotels.

Sri Lanka Land Package: Getting around Sri Lanka

The second most important cost contributor for the Sri Lanka land packages is Transportation. Having a private vehicle with a local driver-guide is the best way of getting around Sri Lank, it is comfortable, saves time and is safe too. However, some other travellers opt for a self-driven vehicle, but it cannot be recommended for foreign travellers.

Having a private vehicle with a local driver is the best way to travel around Sri Lanka and it is the safest, most time-saving way to travel. The biggest disadvantage of Sri Lanka’s text is the cost, which is higher than many other transport methods. As alternative travellers can go for public transport such as buses and trains. But it can consume a lot of time while travelling between destinations.

Sri Lanka land tour packages, taxi

Sri Lanka Land Package: Entrance fee for sightseeing

Entrance ticket in Sri Lanka is expensive compared to most countries in the region. Archaeological sites, national parks, botanical gardens and most other places have different price categories depending on the customer’s country.

In most Sri Lanka tourist places, local travellers pay a nominal fee at the entrance. In most cultural sites travellers from SAARC countries pay half rate for the entrance and all other international travellers should pay the full fee.

Sri Lanka Land Package: Food

Food and drink will make a very negligible impact on the price of any Sri Lanka land package because food and drinks are very affordable in Sri Lanka. Usually, most Sri Lanka road trips are planned with daily 2 meals (breakfast and dinner), while travellers take lunch outside of the hotel as they move around in the vehicle to visit important tourist places. Sri Lankan restaurants are capable of pleasing the food requirement of every traveller, they are capable of supplying vegan food, Jain food, vegetarian, halal food and many other specialized meal.

Best time to visit Sri Lanka

The best time to visit the island is largely dependent on the places you choose for the Sri Lanka beach tour. Beach holidays in Sri Lanka can be either in northeast Sri Lanka or southwest and southern Sri Lanka. If you choose west, or southern Sri Lanka beach resorts such as Bentota Beach, Hikkaduwa Beach, Unawatuna Beach or other beaches in southern Sri Lanka, the best time to visit Sri Lanka is from November to April.

If you wish to go to east coast beach resorts such as Nilaweli Beach, Pasikudah, and Kalkudah for the beach holiday, the best time to visit Sri Lanka is from April to November, parallel to the south-west monsoon.

Usually, the prices of Sri Lanka land packages hit the rock-bottom during the southwest monsoon (from April to November), in the backdrop of cheap accommodation.

The prices of accommodation are reduced by around 50% from April to November. Since accommodation is the main cost factor of any Sri Lanka land package, the best possible price for any Sri Lanka tour can be obtained during this time of the year. Low demand is the main reason for the price reduction.

When is the best time to travel to Sri Lanka? November to April best time to travel to Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka dry weather from November to April

The travellers have the opportunity to evade the crowd at hotels, beaches and places of interest during this time. You will not encounter huge tourist traffic even in highly touristy places such as Pinnawala elephant orphanage and Kandy. The six-month period from April to November is considered to be the off-season for the tourism industry in Sri Lanka.

During the low season, the number of foreign travellers in Sri Lanka is drastically reduced while most travellers who are heading to Sri Lanka choose east coast beaches for beach holidays. Therefore, only the accommodation cost of east coast beach resorts is considerably increased during the off-season.

April to November is the peak holiday season in Sri Lanka with the highest number of tourist arrivals of the year. The hotels also record high occupancy during this period and it will not be possible to find a vacant room without an advance booking due to the high demand for accommodation.

The highest room rates on the island are recorded during this time of the year. Except on the east coast, Only the rates of east coast hotels are reduced from November to April due to the low demand.

The best travel route for a Sri Lanka Land package

The Sri Lanka land package can be done on many routes depending on the places you choose to visit. However, there are mainly 2 routes for Sri Lanka’s standard land package, the southern route and the northern route. The tour of both routes overlaps in many places such as the Sri Lanka cultural triangle and the Hill Country of Sri Lanka. Choosing the best travel route mainly depends on the monsoon pattern. When the north-west monsoon hit the country from May through October travellers should choose the southern route in order to avoid the rain and beaches on the south-west coast for a safe and enjoyable beach holiday. If the travellers choose Sri Lanka from May to October, they have to resort to the northern route as the south and west coast come under heavy rain during this period. There are a few differences between the Sri Lanka two travel routes. The main difference is as below,

Sri Lanka land package on the northern routeThis land package in cludes beach stay based on the north-east coast
Includes the northor south coast or west coastThe best time for the tour is from November through April
The best time for the tour is from May through OctoberExplore the North and east coast
Yala national park can be included in the packageYala national park cannot be included in the package
Explore the south coast and west coastIncludes the north or south coast or west coast

Sri Lanka Land Package: where to go

best travel time travel in sri lanka

It will not be so easy to decide on the travel route, itinerary and where to go in Sri Lanka, due to the vast and wonderful diversity of the island. Even though there is no real defined route for a Sri Lanka land package there are several places that should be considered to visit during a Sri Lank tour.

Places such as Cultural triangle cities, wildlife reserves, beaches, rain forests, botanical gardens, adventure sites and mountains can be highly recommended for a Sri Lanka land package. The travellers can include some of them in the itinerary depending on the time allocated for the Sri Lanka land package.

Sri Lanka weather west coast

Depending on the time you travel to Sri Lanka the beach stay either should be on the east coast or southwest coast. The west coast has the best weather for beach holidays from November to April. You can experience the dry weather condition during this time of the year on the western and southern beaches. East has the best climate conditions for beach holidays from April to November.

Sri Lanka Land Package in Summer

Sri Lanka is a popular long-haul holiday destination in the world and attracts nearly 2 million visitors a year. Sri Lanka’s winter holiday is more popular than Sri Lanka’s summer holiday, hence the majority of tourist traffic heads into Sri Lanka during the winter season.

Most numbers of tourists arrived from Europe to Sri Lanka until 2015 but as the number of tourists arriving from Europe dropped during the last several years and the number of Chinese travellers increased, China has replaced Europe as the most important tourist-generating country for Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka land package in the shoulder season

The so-called shoulder season in Sri Lanka is from September to November. These 3 months have a mix of rain and dry weather. Usually, this is the transition period between the rainy season and the dry season. The travellers can see some rain in the month of September but towards the beginning of November most parts of the island experience very sunny weather with very few rains. Shoulder Season is one of the best times of year to plan your Sri lanak tour package due for 3 main reasons, as below

  • Experience dry and sunny weather
  • lost cost
  • less crowded hotels and tourist sites

The busy travel season in Sri Lanka

The busiest period for Sri Lanka’s tourism sector is the winter season (from November to April), the European tourist traffic head into the island during this period. Sometimes there is a large number of arrivals into the country from America and Asia during this period. Due to the large influx of tourists in the country during the winter, it creates an unnecessary rush, especially for accommodation and creates a bubble in price.

Summer is unpopular for Sri Lanka land packages compared to winter

When the winter season is approaching, travellers set off for Sri Lanka. But, the island is visited by few tourists during the Sri Lanka summer holiday (From April to November).

For travellers, who travel to Sri Lanka during the winter season, the holiday costs nearly two times the cost of the Sri Lanka summer holiday. Due to the high demand, during the winter the rates for air tickets, hotels, transportation and for most other services are higher compared to the rates during summer.

What are the 2 best benefits of Sri Lanka land packages in summer?

  • Fewer tourists in hotels and tourist attractions
  • Travel bargains

Travelling in Sri Lanka during the summer is the most rewarding for your pocket. During this period the rates are at the rock bottom for flights and accommodation. Tourist resorts are with only a few tourists meaning you have peace of mind during the holiday. Following are some of the good reasons to plan your holiday to Sri Lanka between April and November.

  • Bargains

The travellers can enjoy bargain prices with regard to the facilities during the summer holiday in Sri Lanka.  Airfares drop nearly to half the price of the regular peak season (from November to April). 

Try to avoid the school holidays; there are increases in airfares during the summer school holidays. In some instances, the airfares increase even higher than the peak season airfares.  

But generally, November to April during the summer is the best period to fly from and to Colombo for a bargain price. However, due to the low demand, there will be very few charter flights operating to Sri Lanka during this period.

While saving on airfares, this is also the best period to save on accommodation in Sri Lanka. Hotels are rarely half-filled during the period and most hotels are maintaining very special bargain rates, in order to encourage people to stay in their properties.

  • The weather during the Sri Lanka summer

The climate is greatly varied across the island of Sri Lanka. The west coast of Sri Lanka experiences the most number of rainy days from April to November. This is the monsoon period on the West Coast means more rain and less sunshine. But, East Coast is having a sunny and warm climate during the same period.

The sea on the east coast is very calm and clear while the sea is very shallow. This is the best time to travel to the east coast, for sun worshippers. The sea is at its best for sea bath, diving, snorkelling and other water sports. The climate is dry, warm and sunny, this is the best time for outdoor activities on the east coast.

  • Fewer travellers

Another reward for your choice to travel during the off-season is the freedom of the sights and attractions. These places have hordes of the crowd during the peak season and make you contend with other travellers. Even though there are fewer visitors during this period, all the sights and activities are operating as usual.

Kandy esala ceremony, Festivals of Sri Lanka
The Eala ceremony is the most beautiful and important cultural event in Kandy and attracts a large number of tourists to the city
  • Exposure to the local cultural events

Fewer foreigners mean more opportunities to interact with the local people and their culture. Sri Lanka is a country with one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Try to understand the way the local community think and act. They are also a very helpful and friendly community and love sharing their experiences with you.

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  • Beautiful Scenery

April and May are considered to be the most beautiful months of the year. Most of the trees and plants are shining with tender leaves, flowers and fruits. Most seasonal fruits are producing their fruits during this period. April is the festival month of Sri Lanka and the whole country is filled with the festival spirit. Local customs, traditions, foods, sports and sweetmeats appear in April when the Sinhalese New Year is celebrated.