Introduction
Beach vacationers with a spirit of discovery and a thirst for adventure will feel at home on the still largely undiscovered east coast of Sri Lanka. The coast offers lonely beaches, coves gently sloping into the sea and constant warm temperatures in summer. Water sports enthusiasts can go diving, snorkeling, sailing, and surfing. There are spectacular surf spots in the southeast.
Enjoy 4 dream coastlines, 13 mini excursions, 2 safaris, cooking classes, and charming beach resorts in 3 weeks. Your stay by the sea will be enriched by interesting short trips. On the way to the east coast and back, you will visit a selection of the most important sights of Sri Lanka and get to know the country and its people.
Visit wild elephants, cook spicy food, ride the perfect wave, dive with baby sharks and relax on endless beaches!
Why this travel package?
Sri Lanka beach vacation in 3 seaside resorts & 1 surf spot on the pristine east coast
Change from beach life: short trips inland & to the south coast
Charming beach resorts with breakfast
Excursions & transfers in an air-conditioned vehicle with a licensed private driver
Recommended travel time: May to October

20 days east coast – beach vacation for explorers
Starts in:
Colombo
National Park safari: 2
(Toyota High Luxury Jeep)
Ends:
Airport/Hotel
Sights: 16
(2 UNESCO World Heritage Sites)
Duration: 20 days
(with breakfast)
Places visited: 5
(19 nights)
Day 1: Airport - Minneriya - Habarana
Welcome to the tropical paradise!
Highlights
- Visit a farming village
- Jeep safari in Minneriya National Park
You will be met by your private driver in an air-conditioned vehicle at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo and set off straight away to Habarana in central Sri Lanka.
Here you get to know the everyday life of rice farmers. The ox cart takes you to a traditional farming village. The farmers will guide you through the vegetable garden and across the fields, show you their daily handicrafts, and describe their problems with wild elephants and the consequences of climate change.
The village women prepare a typical lunch that is eaten in the hut of the farmworkers. Here you can eat with your fingers!
A very special meet & greet awaits you in the M inneriya National Park: groups of up to 200 pachyderms gather in the afternoon to swim and drink at the reservoir. In the jeep, you get closer to the animals and see their companions up close: birds, monkeys, buffalo, crocodiles, and other wild animals.
Overnight and breakfast in Habarana
JETWING VIL UYANA
Day 2: Habarana - Sigiriya - Trincomalee
Highlights
- Sigiriya Lion Rock (UNESCO World Heritage)
- Drive to the east coast
The 200 meters high Sigiriya Lion Rock is located in an idyllic, ancient garden, surrounded by the remains of a former palace complex. The fortress is Sri Lanka’s most important and most visited UNESCO World Heritage site.
The history of this place dates back 7,000 years when King Ravana founded this amazing complex. Researchers suspect that the original palace lies undiscovered inside the rock. Allegedly one sees otherwise closed crevices open from time to time …
The rock palace experienced a second heyday in the 5th century under King Kasyapa. The king’s son used the rock as a refuge from his brother and had elaborate buildings, a water supply that was groundbreaking for the time, and refined water gardens, which can still be seen today.
Halfway up the ascent, you will reach the “Cloud Girls”: well-preserved, centuries-old wall paintings made of natural paint. On the summit plateau, the ruins of the extensive royal palace invite you to climb. The strenuous ascent over 1,860 steps is rewarded with a pleasant cooling breeze and a wide view of the surroundings.
In the afternoon, arrive at your first beach resort in the Trincomalee area of the east coast.
Bed and breakfast in Trincomalee
UGA JUNGLE BEACH
Day 3 to 7: Beach days in Trincomalee
Highlights
- Relaxation – bathing – lazing around – hammock – wellness – sunbathing – sport – water sports
Untouched dream beaches and ideal conditions for a relaxed beach vacation are offered by the still very pristine east coast in front of Trincomalee. In the European summer months, you can swim here and in the neighboring towns of Nilaveli and Uppuveli in the gently sloping sea, and, depending on the season, go sailing, snorkeling and diving.
Bed and breakfast in Trincomalee
UGA JUNGLE BEACH
Day 6: Trip to Trincomalee City and Pigeon Island Highlights
Highlights
- Trincomalee City Tour
- Snorkeling trip to Pigeon Island
Explore today Trincomalee with one of the largest natural deep- seas in the world. Start with a visit to the fish market and the central market. Then take a stroll through the manageable city center. You can also visit the nearby St. Stephen’s Cemetery. Here visitors can discover the names of well-known English families who found their final resting place during British rule.
Continue to Koneshwaram Temple. Situated on a cliff on the grounds of the largely destroyed Forts Frederick Hindu temple looks like hundreds of years back-ending story. A dramatic love tragedy is said to have occurred on the Swami Rock cliff in the 17th century, which is why the cliff is called ” Lover’s Leap “.
Look out for whales! Marine researchers have named this lookout point the most beautiful in the world for whale watching.
After the city tour, go underground! You cross over to Pigeon Island. It is located on a coral reef in one of the two marine national parks in Sri Lanka. Swim with baby sharks, colorful fish, and sea turtles to race and be inspired by the colorful underwater world charm.
Bed and breakfast in Trincomalee
UGA JUNGLE BEACH
Day 8: Trincomalee - Passikudah / Kalkudah
Highlights
- Drive to Passikudah / Kalkudah
Today you will get to know a new stretch of coast: Past lonely dream beaches, you head south to Passikudah.
The places Passikudah and Kalkudah await sun-seekers with a spectacular white sandy beach on a wide curved bay with crystal clear, shallow water. The offshore reef protects the bay and is home to a large variety of tropical fish.
Shallow water invites you to swim and snorkel. In some places, you can walk up to half a kilometer into the sea without getting your knees wet!
Overnight and breakfast in Passikudah
UGA BAY
Day 9 to 12: Beach days in Passikudah / Kalkudah
Highlights
- Relaxation – bathing – lazing around – hammock – wellness – sunbathing – sport – water sports
Overnight and breakfast in Passikudah
UGA BAY
Day 13: Passikudah - Batticaloa - Arugam Bay
Highlights
- Visit a coconut plantation
- Visit with bike tour & lagoon trip in Batticaloa
- Cooking & lunch with a local family
Today you could find out more about the cultivation and use of this cultivated plant, which is so important for Sri Lanka, on a coconut plantation. Finally, a delicious coconut ice cream from our production beckons.
After the sightseeing, make your way to Arugam Bay. On the way, explore the port city of Batticaloa.
Batticaloa is the second-largest city on the east coast. It is located on the largest saltwater lagoon in Sri Lanka, which stretches for 54 kilometers between Kalmunai and Chenkaladi. The inhabitants live mainly from fishing and the cultivation of coconuts and rice. Historic buildings such as the Dutch fort from the 17th-century bear witness to the 450-year influence of three colonial powers.
The city is well known for its “singing fish”: if you dip an oar into the water of the lagoon on a moonlit night and hold the other end to your ear, one hears – according to legend – fine sounds that come from mysterious marine life should.
Divers have the opportunity here to dive for the wreck of the British aircraft carrier Hermes. The hull is overgrown with corals, but very well preserved.
Explore Batticaloa by boat and bike. At lunchtime, you will meet a local family to cook and eat together.
In the evening you reach the surf – Hots pot Arugam Bay.
Overnight and breakfast in Arugam Bay
APROTA VILLAS
Day 14 to 18: Arugam Bay
Highlights
- Relaxation – bathing – lazing around – hammock – wellness – sunbathing – sport – water sports
- Ability to surf
Arugam Bay is Sri Lanka’s surfing mecca on the wild southeast coast. From April to October, the international surfing scene shapes life in the otherwise tranquil fishing village and on the beaches. Always on the lookout for the best wave, beginners and advanced surfers will find their paradise here: the sandy seabed and the small waves make surfing safe and enable long gliding. Most of the surf spots here are point or reef breaks. A good selection of surf schools offers lessons and equipment.
Sun-seekers who just want to bathe and relax have a good view of the spectacle on the water from their hammock. The crescent-shaped beach has a coral reef that has an abundance of houses tropical fish and wonderful snorkeling.
Overnight and breakfast in Arugam Bay
APROTA VILLAS
Day 18: Excursion to Pottuvil
Highlights
- Visit Pottuvil Point
- Boat trip through the mangroves of the Pottuvil lagoon
- Visit Pottuvil -Point, one of the most beautiful beaches in the area, and popular surfing -Spot. The beach is picturesquely between the lagoon and sea.
Then explore the mysterious world of the mangroves. During the two-hour canoe tour through the Pottuvil lagoon, you will experience the tranquility and beauty of a mangrove ecosystem. The mangrove forest is home to a wide variety of birds including sea eagles, kingfishers, and pelicans. Macaque monkeys frolic in the trees and crocodiles, lizards, freshwater snakes and a variety of fish and shrimp lurk in the water.
An ecotour information center offers the opportunity to learn more about flora and fauna.
Overnight and breakfast in Arugam Bay
APROTA VILLAS
Day 19: Arugam Bay - Kataragama - Kirinda - Tissamaharama
Highlights
- Drive to Tissamaharama
- Visit to Kataragama
- Visit of the Kirinda Raja Maha Viharaya
- Jeep safari in Yala National Park
Today the return journey starts in stages with interesting stops on the south and west coast:
The pilgrimage city of Kataragama is one of the most important places of pilgrimage in the south of Sri Lanka for believers from all three regions of the world and the indigenous people of the country. Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims as well as the Veddas meet here for a colorful religious spectacle with dancers and torchbearers.
Visiting the place is impressive, especially at the time of the great pilgrimage festival in summer: Here the visitor experiences believers walking in a trance through glowing ashes, walking over boards of nails, and sticking small skewers through their tongues.
The Kirinda Raja Maha Viharaya temple is located on a rock directly on the south coast. A temple is said to have stood here since the 2nd century. The contrast between the wild roaring sea and the unshakable silence of the temple visits a special experience.
The rocky beach is lonely, and swimming is very dangerous because of the strong ocean currents. However, a short hike along the beach leads to a hidden natural pool in which you can swim safely.
Yala National Park on the eastern south coast is Sri Lanka’s most popular national park. Here you can watch a variety of animals such as crocodiles, elephants, mongooses, and monkeys, but also one of the largest leopard populations on the island.
Anyone who has decided to stalk the “Big Five” of Sri Lanka has the chance to see elephants, sloth bears, and leopards in front of the photo lens.
Overnight and breakfast in Tissamaharama
UGA CHENA HUTS
Day 20: Tissamaharama - Galle - Airport
Highlights
- Visit the historic port city of Galle (UNESCO World Heritage)
- Transfer to the airport
This road trip on the panoramic road on the Indian Ocean leads through lively seaside resorts along the south coast of Sri Lanka. The most beautiful beaches on the island are lined up here like pearls. You reach the historic port city of Galle with its imposing colonial buildings and tropical flair.
Before the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century, Galle was the island’s main port and reached the height of its development in the 18th century during the Dutch colonial era. Magnificent buildings and the fortress around the old town bear witness to the eventful history of the historic port city.
A stroll through the walls of the fortress well-preserved and restored by the partly old town with its lovely shops and cafes experiencing you the distinctive colonial flair. On the promenade in front of the lighthouse, snake charmers and cliff divers provide easy thrills!
Now it’s time to say goodbye! Hopefully, you will leave our beautiful island relaxed and with many wonderful memories! Get home well!
Ayubowan!
Services
Entrance fees according to the itinerary
Accommodation in a double room with breakfast
Transfers and round trip in an air-conditioned vehicle with an English-speaking private driver
Transfer to the airport / extension hotel
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