Sigiriya's sheer rock rising out of the forest under a streaked pink sky, a lake and hills behind

Destination

Sri Lanka holidaysfrom Nairobi

The Pearl of the Indian Ocean, end to end in a week.

Sri Lanka is small enough to cross in a week and varied enough that you will wish you had two. The centre is hill country: tea terraces, cool nights, and the train from Kandy that is the best three hours in South Asia. The coast is beaches and lagoons. In between are national parks with leopard and elephant, and temples that have been in continuous use for a thousand years.

Where you’ll go

Kandy. Sri Lanka’s second city, in forested hills, built around the Temple of the Tooth, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a working pilgrimage destination.

Nuwara Eliya. Tea estates, cool air and colonial architecture at altitude, best reached by rail.

Bentota. The west coast’s wide golden sand and calm water, with river trips inland.

Colombo. Street markets, Dutch and British layers, and a seafront that comes alive in the evening.

Practical notes

Draft: awaiting owner verification. Indicative only; confirmed in writing with your quote.

There is no fixed Sri Lanka itinerary on this site because the routing depends on which coast has the better weather in your month. Two monsoons, opposite seasons.
The hill-country train is worth booking in advance in reserved class; we do it as part of the itinerary.
Sri Lankan entry requirements differ by passport; we confirm yours before ticketing.

At a glance

Practical facts

Plug & voltage: G/D/M; 230V · 50Hz
Currency: LKR; Sri Lankan rupee
Time zone: UTC+5:30; (IST), no DST, 2½ hours ahead of Nairobi
Driving side: Left
Languages: Sinhala; Tamil, English

SIM & data: A TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or a Dialog or SLT-Mobitel tourist SIM at Bandaranaike with your passport.
Tipping: Small and often. Service charges appear on many bills; the driver who takes you round the island for a week is the one to think about properly at the end.
Tap water: Bottled or filtered. Hotels provide it and refills are easy along the tea-country route. Ask your hotel before you drink from the tap.

Comparing countries? The full table puts every destination we plan side by side, and when to go does the same for the months.

Getting there

The flights for this trip are ticketed at the same desk as the rest of it: Etihad Airways among the 66 airlines we ticket. Ask for the fare when you ask for the trip, and one person holds both.

Why go