Why travelling to Sri Lanka worth it- 7 days Sri Lanka tour

Posted on by Sanjeewa Padmal (Seerendipity)

The Sri Lanka 7-day tour is one of the ideal itineraries to experience the tropical island of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka, a land with intricate beauty and rich culture, has a complex history that goes back many thousands of years. The complex history of Sri Lanka has left marks on the lives of people, their culture, religion, food, and lifestyle. Sri Lanka offers a countless number of activities and places. From UNESCO world heritage sites in the cultural triangle to national parks teaming with wildlife and pristine palm-fringed beaches, the scenic hill country of Sri Lanka surely captivates and inspires the mind of every traveller.

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A trip to Sri Lanka allows the travellers to get connected with nature, as they get plenty of opportunities to interact with Mother Nature, making it easy to get away from the everyday hectic and stressful life.

7-day Sri Lanka tour on southern route

This Sri Lanka 7-day tour takes place on the popular southern route, which is the most popular route for Sri Lankan trips among travellers. The Sri Lankan tour on the southern route touches most parts of the island, from the cultural triangle of the north-central province to Kandy and Nuwara eliya in the central province, Yala and Mirissa on the south coast, and Bentota and Colombo on the west coast of Sri Lanka. The south coast is the best for a Sri Lanka trip from October to April. During this period, most of the country, especially the south and west coasts, remained largely dry, making it suitable for outdoor activities.

Transportation for a 7-day Sri Lanka tour

This 7-day Sri Lanka tour is highly customizable as it is a private tour. You will get a dedicated vehicle as well as a dedicated private driver guide who is able to communicate with you in your preferred language. The private taxi is the most sought-after transport mode in Sri Lanka; it saves time and gives you maximum safety and comfort.

What is included in the 7-day tour to Sri Lanka?

This 7-day Sri Lanka trip includes entire ground transportation from day one to the last of the trip by an air-conditioned modern vehicle. The same vehicle and dedicated driver/guide accompany you throughout the trip. The tour also includes daily breakfast and dinner at the hotel and all entrance fees and activity costs.

Is this a family-friendly tour?

7 days Sri Lanka Tour is a family-friendly tour; since this is a private tour, there are no disturbances to other people or disturbances to you from other people.

Can we extend the duration of the trip?

The duration of the 7-day Sri Lanka tour can be extended as per your requirements. We get a lot of inquiries from our valuable customers about extending the duration of the trip so that they can stay longer on the beach. You can add a few more days to your trip at the beginning of the trip or at the tail end of the tour.

7-day Sri Lanka tour with Beach holiday

The tour itinerary featured in this article does include a beach stay; however, it is very brief, and your beach stay is only 1 night. The beach holiday can be extended as many days as you need, and Seerendipity Tours is very happy to make the required amendments to the itinerary for that. This tour itinerary is planned only for 7 days in order to allow the guests to enjoy the various parts of Sri Lanka within a week.

Languages of the 7-day tour to Sri Lanka

The tour can be booked in many languages. However, the standard package includes an English-speaking tour guide. The trip can be booked with other language-speaking guides, such as french, German, Italy, Arabic, Hindi, Russia, etc. Depending on the language you request, there may be additional changes.

How to get more details on this programme

In order to get more details on this programme and to book this Sri Lanka trip, please write us at admin@seerendipitytours.com or WhatsApp us at 009477440977.

Sri Lanka 7-day trip itinerary

  • Day1: Colombo
  • Day 2: Colombo >> Sigiriya
  • Day 3: Sigiriya >> Polonnaruwa
  • Day 4: Sigiriya >> Kandy
  • Day 5: Kandy >> Nuwara Eliya
  • Day 6: Nuwara Eliya >> Yala
  • Day 7: Yala >> Colombo

Sri Lanka 7-day tour map

7 days Sri Lanka tour map

7-day Sri Lanka tour in detail

Day 1 of the 7-day tour

On this 7-day tour, you will be greeted and welcomed by a representative of Seerendipity Tours. Then you will drive to the hotel in Colombo, check in, and relax. On the 1st day of the trip, no important activities are planned due to the fact that most travellers are tired as they land in Colombo and like to have a rest on their first day of the trip. Some travellers, mostly those from Europe and America, fly for more than 20 hours and are very tired as they land in Colombo.

Day 2 of Sri Lanka 7-day tour

On the second of the Sri Lanka 7 days tour many interesting activities are lined up starting from exploring the ancient capital of Anuradhapura. You will leave your hotel in Colombo after taking the delicious Sri Lankan breakfast. 

Sri Lankan meals

Hotels across Sri Lanka offer delicious meals which include local as well as foreign foods. Most hotels offer a buffet for breakfast and dinner, while lunch is mainly offered as a set menu or Alacarte. After breakfast, you hop into your private vehicle and head on to the cultural triangle of Sri Lanka, which is tucked away about 200 km from Colombo and the drive takes about 4 hours 30 minutes. However, your guide will stop a little time on the way in order to show you interesting places like coconut plantations, and vegetable gardens and for a snack if you need.   

Visiting Anuradhapura on 7 days Sri Lanka trip

Anuradhapura is considered the first capital of Sri Lanka, dating back to the 3rd century BC. It was the capital of Sri Lanka for more than 1000 years, and hundreds of kings ruled the island from Anuradhapura. This fascinating historical city is packed with ancient temples, palaces, gardens, stupas, and many other historical monuments. Your city tour in Anuradhapura starts with the sacred bo-tree. Later, you will stop at many ancient monuments and Buddha statues. The Anuradhapura city tour is a perfect opportunity to learn about the ancient culture and history of Sri Lanka. The final stop on the Anuradhapura city tour is the Jetawanrama stupa and monastery complex.

Other than historical monuments, Anuradhapura is also very rich in fauna and flora. Most of this abandoned city is covered by pristine forest cover. It is not hard to spot a couple of wild animals here, such as monitors, mongos, monkeys, and jackals.  Your Anuradhapura city tour lasts about 4 hours. After the city tour, you will proceed to a hotel in Sigiriya, where you will stay for 2 nights.

Day 3 of Sri Lanka 7-day tour

The tour on day three starts a bit early, and your first stop will be the Sigiriya Rock Fortress, which is about 20 minutes away from your hotel. The day starts early in the morning, even before breakfast. An early morning hike allows you not only to see the breathtaking scenery from the top of the rock but also see the sunrise.

The Sigiriya rock hike

The hike of Sigiriya Rock is steep but very rewarding. It takes around 2 hours with few stops along the way, to reach the top of the mountain. Most building on top of the buildings are in a ruined state and the breathtaking scenery across the countryside in the lower elevated area is well worth it. The travellers can witness the wilderness of Minneriya national park, Sigiriya forest and eco-park, many lakes, rice paddies, and small village sandwiched between the forests. The green cover is vast and it spreads far and wide as far as the eye can see. Sigiriya is one of the oldest urban cities in the world dating back to the 5th century AD. The visitors are able to witness ancient paintings, landscaped gardens, decorated caves, swimming pools, natural fountains and many other ancient constructions at the site.

Polonnaruwa ancient city tour

After a memorable guided tour at Sigiriya rock fortress you diver to the hotel and have breakfast. Later in the day, you will be visiting the Polonnaruwa ancient city, which is another UNESCO world heritage site in Sri Lanka and has a bit of similarity to Anuradhapura. Polonnaruwa was the second most ancient city in Sri Lanka dating back to the 10th century AD. During the hop-on hop-off City tour you will be stopping at many places such as temples, palaces, Stupas, gardens and the cultural museum of Polonnaruwa. The Polonnaruwa city tour lasts about 2 hours.

Minneriya national park safari

Day three of the 7 days Sri Lanka itinerary wind up with an opportunity to witness the wildlife of Sri Lanka at Minneriya national park. You will hop into a 4-wheel drive jeep and drive along narrow, rugged lanes in the forest in search of animals such as wild elephants, buffaloes, leopards, monitors, jackals, deer, crocodiles and many other creatures. The Minneriya national park safari is an optional activity and subject to the availability of time after completing the mandatory activities at Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa.

Day 4: Sri Lanka 7 days tour

You will hop into your private vehicle after breakfast and head on to the city of Kandy, which is the capital of central Sri Lanka. Kandy was the last capital of the Sri Lankan monarchy and is considered the cultural and spiritual hub of Sri Lanka. Kandy is one of the 8 UNESCO world Heritage sites in Sri Lanka. The drive from Sigiriya to Kandy takes around 4 hours with 2 stops along the way. First, you will be stopping at the Dambulla golden temple. You will reach the hotel in Kandy for lunch. In the late afternoon, start your Kandy city tour.

Dambulla golden temple

Dambulla Golden Temple is one of the most important tourist attractions in the cultural triangle of Sri Lanka. It is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in the world and has been a place of worship among Buddhists for more than 2000 years. A flight of steps takes the visitors to the main temple, which comprises five spacious natural caves. The caves harbour a large number of Buddha statues, numbering 150, and the inner walls of the cave are hidden with Buddhist paintings. The hike at Dambulla is not as difficult as in Sigiriya, and it takes merely about 30 minutes to reach the rock cave temple from the foothills of Dambulla Mountain.

Spice / Herbal garden

After seeing the Buddha statues and ancient paintings at Dambulla Golden Temple, the journey continues further into the interior of Sri Lanka. The second stop is planned after about a 30-minute drive from Dambulla in Matale, the city popular for spices. You will be visiting a spice garden, and one of the guides will show you around the garden while explaining about the various spices, their usage, and the benefits of each of them. You can start your Kandy city tour late in the afternoon. Your guide will stop at many interesting places during the city tour. Some of the interesting places are the Tooth Relic Temple, Kandy Lake, the cultural museum, the Gem Museum, the Kandyan Cultural Show, and the Kandy Upper Lake Viewpoint.

Tempe of the tooth relic

Sri Lanka is a country with thousands of temples from north to south and east to west, but none of the temples are as important as the tooth relic temple, and none of the temples are as sacred as the tooth relic temple. The temple of the tooth relic, also known as Dalada Maligawa, houses the left eye tooth of Buddha, which is one of the most sacred insignia for Buddhists around the world. Today, the temple of the tooth relic is the most visited temple in Sri Lanka, and it is flooded with Buddhist devotees and tourists every day.

Kandyan cultural show

The Kandyan cultural show takes place in the city of Kandy and showcases traditional dance and music performances by Sri Lankan people. Drummers, flautists, singers, and dancers power the performance. The cultural show lasts about an hour.

Day 5: Sri Lanka 7-day tour

Day five of the 7-day Sri Lanka tour includes the Hills Country train journey, which is one of the most popular and scenic train journeys in the world. The hill country train trip is one of the most popular activities among travellers, especially among foreign travellers.

Hill country train journey

The hill country train trip allows you to witness the breathtaking scenery in the hill country across the rolling hills, endless tea gardens, vegetable plots, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, and patches of forest.

You will board the Nuwara Eliya-bound hill country train from Kandy. The train trip from Kandy to Nuwara Eliya lasts about 3–4 hours. Upon reaching Nuwara Eliya railway station, your guide will pick you up and drive you to the nearby hotel.

Nuwara Eliya city tour

In the evening, your guide will show you around Nuwara Eliya. The city tour includes visiting Victoria Park, Gregory Lake Esplanade, and downtown Nuwara Eliya.

Day 6: Sri Lanka 7-day tour

Today you will drive to the south coast of Sri Lanka. You begin the journey at an elevation of 1800 metres from sea level and by the time you reach Yala, you are merely 50 meters above sea level so you can expect a huge strikingly different contrast against Nuwara Eliya from vegetation to landscape, and climate. You will be checked into a hotel near Yala national park by noon.

Yala national park safari

Yala national park safari begins at 2.00 pm as the sun starts to decrease heat in the forest. As the temperature decreases the wild animals starting to move into the forest in search of water and food. During the mid-day sun, the animal movement is minimal due to the scorching heat of the sun. Your Yala national park safari lasts 4-5 hours and the day windup with the dinner at the hotel.

Day 7: Sri Lanka 7 days tour

On day seven of the Sri lanka 7 days tour, you will drive to Colombo via south and west coast of Sri Lanka. You will drive along the coastal belt while absorbing the beautiful coastal scenery. Your guide will stop a few times along the way, in order to give you time to enjoy the beautiful beaches on the south coast such as Tangalle, Mirissa, Weligama and Galle. You will stop in Galle for lunch and to explore the Galle Fort, which is another UNESCO world heritage site in Sri Lanka.

About The Author

Sanjeewa Padmal (Seerendipity)

administrator

The focus of this site is Sri Lankan travel. We at Serendipity Tours (Private) Limited, attempting to impart our valuable experience as travellers who have explored most parts of the country over the last decade. We are helping our valuable readers plan their memorable Sri Lanka trip with our travel expertise and experiences. In case you require any additional information, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at admin@seerendipitytours.com. In addition, we can plan your vacation package or any other Sri Lankan travel-related needs.

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