Sri Lanka Family Holiday
This family tour is perfect for families during the long school holidays in summer for families who are into surfing. Discover Sri Lanka on a private, tailor-made tour and experience the best surf spots and the most exciting attractions. This Sri Lanka family holiday will create life memories. Surf at one of the best surf spots in the world at Arugum Bay, climb Sigiriya Rock Fortress, taste the world famous teas and spot magnificent elephants and leopards during a jeep safari in Wilpattu National Park.
This holiday to Sri Lanka with your children will be truly memorable.
We know what’s is like to have boread children on holidays. Let’s make it interesting for them! We create fully bespoke itineraries, so we can personalise every aspect of this holiday
Our Suggested Day By Day Itinerary
This tour can be fully personalised and upgrades are available.
Sri Lanka tailor-made holidays will be designed to suit your preferences.
PACKAGE DETAILS
Price Includes:
- Return economy flights from UK London/Manchester/Birmingham. Contact us for flights quotation from different countries.
- Excursions,
- Entry fees,
- Transport: Private A/C Car with Chauffeur Guide
- Hotels: Mixture of Mid-range hotels on Half Board & Breakfast Only basis
- Based on Family of 4 sharing 2 rooms. For different number of family size please contact us for quote.
Day 1 – Fly to Colombo
Today you will start your Sri Lankan adventure by flying to Colombo International Airport.
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Day 2 – Arrival → Colombo
“Ayubowan” & ‘’Vanakkam’’ Welcome to tropical paradise. You will be welcomed and greeted by your guide or The Earth Trip representative on arrival at the waiting area at Colombo International Airport. You will be transferred to your hotel in Colombo.
- Board Includes:
- Breakfast
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Day 3 – Colombo Tuk Tuk Tour → Sinharaja
Discover the sights of the capital of Sri Lanka by tuk tuk. You will see Colombo Fort, Independent Square, Old Parliament, Pettah Bazaar and Galle Face.
Colombo Fort is the business district of Sri Lanka with skyscrapers and big international hotels. The Fort was built by the Portuguese and partly by the Dutch, then the British later took control. In 1870, the British destroyed the Fort for urban development, and then they rebuilt some of the remaining buildings within it now. Colombo Fort is home to the Fort Railway Station, the President’s House and the Presidential Gardens, a palatial neo-classical building which was originally the home of the British Governors and is now the residence of Sri Lanka’s President.
The Lighthouse Clock Tower is situated in Chatham Street and was commissioned by the wife of Governor Sir Henry Ward in the hope that it would teach the Ceylonese to be punctual. This area is good for shopping for tea, souvenirs, and for exchanging money.
Independence Square is known as one of the most prominent locations in Colombo. It is commonly used as a place where Sri Lankans come together in unison for significant national celebrations and cultural activities. The Independence Commemoration Hall is also used to host ceremonies that mark national unity. This unique and outstanding monument positioned in the heart of Sri Lanka’s commercial capital Colombo, commemorates the country’s independence from foreign rule. Sri Lanka gained independence on the 4th of February 1948 from the British who were the final colonial rulers of the country.
Opposite the Presidential Secretariat (old Parliament), is Galle Face. Here, every walk of life comes to relax and sit on the grass whilst watching the sunset over the Indian Ocean. Next to Galle Face is the grand Renaissance-style structure of Galle Face Hotel, South Asia’s leading Grande Dame, and the Galle Face Hotel is a testimony to both Sri Lanka’s colonial past and its independent present. You can enjoy the English high tea on the Victorian style veranda or sip a Martini facing the sea and enjoying the sunset
You will travel to your accommodation at Sinharaja Rainforest National Park with your driver.
- Board Includes:
- Breakfast
- Dinner
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Day 4 – Sinharaja Rainforest National Park
After an early breakfast take a walk into the wilderness, where time stands still at this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sinharaja Rainforest National Park is a treasure trove of natural wonders encased by sheer wilderness waiting to be discovered. Here you will be welcomed by a thick air of humidity, the incessant noise of birds and insects, and an endless canopy of tall trees. Sinharaja Rainforest National park is a primary tropical rainforest and biosphere, regarded as a biodiversity hotspot in Sri Lanka. More than 60% of the trees are endemic and many of them are considered rare. In Sinharaja you can spot endemic mammals, bird species, butterflies, insects, reptiles and rare amphibians. As well as an interesting spectacle known as ‘bird wave’, where birds tend to move in mixed feeding flocks, invariably led by the fearless Greater Racket-tailed Drongo and the noisy Orange-billed Babbler. These are just two of Sri Lanka’s 26 endemic birds that can be found here in addition to the 20 rainforest species, including the elusive Red-faced Malkoha, Green-billed Coucal and Sri Lanka Blue Magpie.
You will have an opportunity to swim under the waterfall or river. Along the way you will visit a remote community cut off from the rest of the world. There are more than 20 communities that live in Sinharaja Rainforest and their livelihood is dependent on this forest. You will be able to enjoy the Kitul ‘palm syrup’ made by these communities.
- Board Includes:
- Breakfast
- Dinner
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Day 5 – Sinharaja → Ella
Today you will travel from Sinharaja to Ella. Ella is described as one of the most breathtaking locations in Sri Lanka. Ella is surrounded by high mountains in the central hills and through a gap in the mountains you can see all the way to the ocean off the Hambantota coast line. This special gap with breathtaking views is called Ella Gap.
- Board Includes:
- Breakfast
- Dinner
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Day 6 – Train to Haputale, Lipton Seat & Tea Factory
Today you will experience one of the most breathtaking train journeys. You will travel from Ella to Haputale through tea plantations and rolling hills on a scenic train. This train journey is recorded in the Guinness Books of Records as one of the world best scenic train journeys. Your guide will pick you up at Haputale Station upon arrival.
You will then visit Lipton’s Seat and Dambatenne Tea Factory.
Lipton’s Seat is located on the top of Poonagala hill; this is quite literally the point from which the Scottish tea baron Thomas Lipton would often proudly survey his tea plantations. On a clear day it offers a spectacular view of the mountain ranges, lakes and valleys all the way to the southern coast. You can hike to the point through lush tea plantations or you can opt to drive up in comfort with your guide.
Visit to Dambatenne Tea Factory – it was built in 1890 by Sir Thomas Lipton himself, this colonial tea factory is still in operation today. The term “Ceylon Tea” was coined here, and Lipton’s Tea was founded and sold its first pound of tea from the precincts of this very factory. The factory tour is an education in the intricate processes involved in the fermentation, rolling, drying, cutting, sieving and grading of tea, and the comprehensive tour culminates with an authentic tea tasting experience. Please note it is closed on Sundays.
- Board Includes:
- Breakfast
- Dinner
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Day 7 – Ella → Arugam Bay
Today you will travel to Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka’s surfing hub in the South East. A crescent shaped bay in the dry zone of the island, it sees little rain and plenty of sun soaked days.
Rest of the day at leisure.
- Board Includes:
- Breakfast
- Dinner
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Day 8 – Surfing & Lahugala Safari
Arugam bay is a beginner and intermediate surfers dream with an endless supply of right hand sand bottom points. The area is extremely beautiful and is the most traveller friendly and surfer friendly zone in the region.
In the afternoon visit the small Lahugala National Park. The park is comprised of Lahugula Tank and a magnificent swathe of dry mixed evergreen forest, dotted with lofty rosewoods and satinwoods. The park is best known for its elephants where up to 150 congregate during July and August. The park also promises chances of spotting varying species of deer and members of the cat family like the Sri Lankan leopard and fishing cat. The tank is good for spotting a wide variety of aquatic birds.
- Board Includes:
- Breakfast
- Dinner
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Day 9 – Surfing & Sunset Walk to Crocodile Rock
Your family can have another day of fantastic surfing in Arugam Bay,
In the evening have a relaxing sunset walk to nearby Crocodile Rock. From a distance the rock looks like a pair of sun bathing crocodiles. The area has a wild environment, with elephants roaming around and eagles sweeping overhead.
- Board Includes:
- Breakfast
- Dinner
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Day 10 – Arugam Bay → Kalkudah Bay
Today you will travel from Arugam Bay to the pristine Kalkudah Bay in the east. Rest of the day at leisure.
- Board Includes:
- Breakfast
- Dinner
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Day 11 – Relax at Kalkudah Bay
Relax on the beach of Kalkudah Bay,
- Board Includes:
- Breakfast
- Dinner
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Day 12 – The Cultural Triangle- Polonnaruwa
Today your family will enjoy a tour of the ancient city of Polonnaruwa.
Polonnaruwa was the medieval capital of Sri Lanka, and today it is one of the most beautiful centres of Sri Lanka’s cultural heritage and a UNESCO Heritage site. With its comparatively brief history and a dozen rules, it has far more complete preserved ruin than Anuradhapura. Visit the ancient ruins and Gal Vihara complex, where 3 gigantic Buddha’s statues are carved out of a single rock. You also will be able to see the toque macaque monkeys, found only in Sri Lanka.
- Board Includes:
- Breakfast
- Dinner
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Day 13 – The Cultural Triangle – Sigiriya & Minneriya
Climb the magnificent Sigiriya Rock and see the elephants at Minneriya.
In the morning you will visit Sigiriya which is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is proposed to be the 8th wonder of the world. Sigiriya, a massive rock in the green scrub jungle, is perhaps the most memorable place for visitors to Sri Lanka. The site was known from ancient times as a hermitage for Buddhist monks. A well-planned monastic complex included caved temples, bathing pools, lovely ponds and Asia’s oldest surviving landscaped gardens. The “Lion stairway”, the “mirror wall” and the “water gardens” are its other highlights. The ruins of the capital built by the parricidal King Kassapa I (477–95) lie on the steep slopes and at the summit of a granite peak standing some 370 m high also known as ‘Lion’s Rock’, which dominates the jungle from all sides.
Afternoon drive for a safari to see the elephants at Minneriya.
After lunch around 2pm enjoy a Jeep Safari at Minneriya National Park. It’s on the banks of the Minneriya reservoir, which was built in the 4th century A.C. Minneriya is a hide-out for many elephants, where you may see herds of elephants, with approximately 50 to 60 elephants in a herd. During July to September, one of the world’s top ten wildlife spectacles takes place, known as ‘The Gathering’, where more than 250 elephants gather around Minneriya water tank in search of food and water. Apart from elephants, it is a habitat for migrant and resident bird species like Grey heron, Open built storks and Painted storks. In addition you may see three different species of monkeys: Silica makake, Pink faced leaf monkey and Grey langur.
- Board Includes:
- Breakfast
- Dinner
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Day 14 – The Cultural Triangle – Dambulla → Wilpattu
Dambulla Golden Rock Cave Temple is a vast isolated rock mass 500 ft high with 1.6 kilometre around the base. The impressive Rock Temple dating to the first century B.C is found here. The caves of Dambulla sheltered King Walagamba during his 14 years of exile from Anuradhapura. When he regained the throne, he built the most magnificent of Rock Temples to be found on the island. The complex consists of five caves with over 2000 square metres of painted walls and ceilings. It is the largest area of paintings found in the world. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. In the first cave is a recumbent image of the Buddha 14 metres long, cut out of the Rock. There are images of deities associated with Buddhism all around. The frescoes on the ceiling date back to the 15th – 18th centuries. In the second cave, the finest and the largest of all, there are 150 life-size statues of Gods from the Buddhist religion along with numerous images of the Buddha himself.
Afterwards you will travel to your accommodation in Wilpattu.
- Board Includes:
- Breakfast
- Dinner
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Day 15 – Wilpattu National Park
In the morning you will take a full day safari to discover Wilpattu National Park.
Wilpattu National Park (‘Land of Lakes’) is situated on the Northwest coast near the ancient city of Anuradhapura. It is the largest and oldest National Park in Sri Lanka, consisting of 140,000 hectares of mostly dry zone evergreen forest cover and a coastal belt to the West. This is one of best places to see leopards in Sri Lanka alongside Yala National Park. The open grassy plains are set within the thick dense scrub jungle. The wetland includes around 48 shallow natural lakes known as Villus, natural basins that are filled up with rainwater and two salt water lakes. These natural lakes are the most important parts of the complex eco-system in the park.
The park is home to elusive leopards, elephants, sloth bears, water buffalos, Mugger Crocodiles, Spotted and Barking deer, wild boar and pythons. Alongside these wild animals you may be able to see many endemic birds include the Ceylon Junglefowl, Brown-capped Babbler, Ceylon Woodshrike and Black-capped Bulbul in riverine habitats. Butterflies recorded include the Great Eggfly, Great Orange Tip, Glad-eye Bushbrown, Blue Mormon, Common Mormon, Common Rose and Crimson Rose. Diverse varieties of colourful butterflies can be seen in the park as well. You may see the wild animals, particularly elephants, near lakes in the early morning and late afternoons. The wildlife is abundant around the lakes and coastal belt, here you may spot the White Ibis, Open Bills, Painted Storks Spoonbills, Egrets, Whistling Teals, Kingfishers and you may also see the water buffalos, monitors and crocodiles.
- Board Includes:
- Breakfast
- Dinner
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Day 16 – Wilpattu → Negombo
Today you will travel to Negombo.
Negombo is located approximately 37 kilometres north of the commercial capital of Colombo in Sri Lanka. It is located at the mouth of the Negombo lagoon. The wide sandy beaches and the safe sea are the major tourist attractions of Negombo. Water sports and diving are also extremely popular, with a few well preserved coral reefs and a 50 year old shipwreck that serves as an artificial reef for many varieties of fish. It is common to use the town for the first or the last night of your stay in Sri Lanka, on your way to or from the airport. Negombo is perfectly located within 7 kilometres from Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake.
- Board Includes:
- Breakfast
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Day 17 – Negombo → Departure
You will be transferred to Colombo Airport to fly home. Travel time will be approximately 45 minutes.
- Board Includes:
- Breakfast
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Tailor Your Tour -
Potential Highlights
- Surf at one of the best surf spots in the world at Arugam Bay
- Climb up the stunning Sigiriya Rock fortress (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
- Observe large herds of elephants at Minneriya National Park Safari
- Explore the Medieval City of Polonnaruwa (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
- Tea plantation experience & learn the process of tea making
- Spot the elusive leopard at Wilpattu National Park Safari
- Marvel at the ‘bird wave’ at Sinharaja Rainforest Hike Bird Walk
- Panoramic train journey through tea hills and waterfalls above 1500 metres
Our itineraries are purely suggestions. Are there more activities you want to experience? Is there specific wildlife you wish to see? We can create a bespoke itinerary just for you.
Tailor Your Tour
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Request A Video MeetingTailor Your Tour -
Potential Highlights
- Surf at one of the best surf spots in the world at Arugam Bay
- Climb up the stunning Sigiriya Rock fortress (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
- Observe large herds of elephants at Minneriya National Park Safari
- Explore the Medieval City of Polonnaruwa (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
- Tea plantation experience & learn the process of tea making
- Spot the elusive leopard at Wilpattu National Park Safari
- Marvel at the ‘bird wave’ at Sinharaja Rainforest Hike Bird Walk
- Panoramic train journey through tea hills and waterfalls above 1500 metres
Our itineraries are purely suggestions. Are there more activities you want to experience? Is there specific wildlife you wish to see? We can create a bespoke itinerary just for you.
Tailor Your Tour
Sri Lanka Family Holiday – summer surfing fun 2025-2026
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