Sri Lanka: Wild Family Adventure

Discover the Pearl of the Indian Ocean with your loved ones on a fun-for-all getaway

Explore Sri Lanka, where enchanting wildlife, ancient ruins and mystical landscapes make for an unforgettable family trip. This activity-packed adventure uncovers the country’s many treasures: we climb the ancient rock fortress at Sigiriya, spot elephants on safari and raft down the Kelani Ganga river. And that’s just the start. We also take a train ride through the tea hills, enjoy an authentic cooking class, and visit the Elephant Transit Home to learn about their vital conservation work. Finally, we head to the palm-fringed beaches of the south coast, an idyllic end to a trip that will be talked about for years to come.

People, Places & Planet

We work hard to create trips that improve life for the people and places we visit and look after the planet we explore. Find out more about our sustainable travel ethos and practice here, and find out about the work of the Exodus Travels Foundation here.

Some sustainable travel highlights of this trip include:

People

How this trip helps improve life for local communities.

• The use of a local guide means our customers will be well informed about local traditions and cultural-social sensitivities.
• This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally owned hotels and restaurants, the emphasis on eating locally produced food, and by supporting other local enterprises.
• We have financially co-sponsored a local tsunami relief project, which has enabled 25 families to be rehoused and for two schools to be equipped with toilets, running water and outdoor swings.
• In collaboration with a German operator and the village temple, we have previously helped towards 10 large water tanks and an eye clinic in a remote village with a donation of 200 pairs of glasses.
• We also assisted a principal agent of UNICEF in development of daycare and education of school children of the estate-sector labourers in the hill country.

Places

How this trip helps protect and conserve local landscapes and nature.

• Read about our commitment to nature protection and restoration here, including our rewilding commitment for every customer who travels.
• By travelling in a small group, led by a local guide, we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment.
• Our trips adhere to ABTA’s industry-leading animal welfare guidelines to ensure the best possible practices with regard to working animals and wildlife viewing. Our animal welfare policy can be found here.
• By visiting Minneriya National Park, Sigiriya rock fortress, rafting in Kitulgala and the Elephant Transit Home, our entrance fees directly contribute to their upkeep.
• Our game drives in Minneriya and visit to the Elephant Transit Home promote animal welfare and financially contribute to conservation projects in those areas.
• We work with our partners on the ground to proactively eliminate or reduce waste, for example eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles and instead providing refills for reusable bottles.
• The Exodus Travels Foundation has launched the Community Kickstart Project to help our destination communities recover and rebuild following the impact of COVID-19. In Sri Lanka, we’ve contributed to the Yala Park Driver Support initiative, more details can be found here.

 Planet

How we seek to keep the carbon footprint of this trip low.

• Read about our climate action here, including our carbon reduction and compensation commitments.
• Accommodation and restaurants in the itinerary use locally sourced food which has not been transported long distances.
• Vegetarian and vegan options are available at most of the accommodations and restaurants.
• This trip favours locally owned and run accommodation.

Tips for sustainable travel on this trip

• Leave no trace: We do all we can to ensure we leave no rubbish behind in the wild and beautiful places we visit; we ask that you do the same. If there are no recycling facilities in-country, we’d ask you to consider bringing recyclable materials home with you.
• Plastic waste reduction: Please bring your own reusable water bottle on this trip; filtered water will be provided where tap water is not drinkable.
• There is a large number of stray dogs in Sri Lanka and you may encounter some during your trip. Our local operators are aware of this and we are monitoring any animal-welfare concerns.

Cultural respect:

• You should not touch someone’s head as this is considered disrespectful.
• It’s polite to use your right hand when shaking hands or handing money and small objects to someone else.
• It is common practice to remove your shoes before entering someone’s home.
• Especially when visiting temples, clothing should cover shoulders and be on or below the knee.

Is this trip for you?

This trip is graded Activity Level 3 (Moderate). For more information on our trip gradings please visit the Activity Level Guidelines page.

Though this trip has been designed for nine to 12-year-olds, it’s also suitable for 13 to 16-year-olds. Our Family trips are aimed at children in the primary age group, so if your child is in the secondary age group, they may find it a little easier. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip please do not hesitate to contact us.

Drives: Although this is not a particularly demanding trip, three of the drives are long (up to three hours with one drive up to five hours) and some are on winding mountain roads that can be affected by the rains, which occasionally cause short delays. The longer drives are broken up with many stops for a view or refreshing drink.

Weather: Temperatures can be hot on the plains and moderately chilly in the hills, but because we use an air-conditioned bus, this is not normally a problem.

Sigiriya: The final ascent at the Sigiriya rock fortress is on open metal stairs fixed against the rock side. There are handrails on either side but those with a strong fear of heights may prefer to stay on the lower level, where the lion ‘paws’ are.

Mini Adam’s Peak: This trek is generally moderate and taken at an easy pace but the last 10 to 15 minutes of ascent is mostly by concrete steps and some short, rougher narrow paths. We recommend you wear walking shoes or trainers (sneakers) and carry water, a hat and sunscreen.

Sinhala and Tamil New Year (April departures)

The new year national festival known as Avurudu in Sinhala and Puthandu in Tamil is not celebrated by any other nation. The festivities are observed by both Sinhala Buddhists and Tamil Hindus across Sri Lanka for two days (13-14 April 2025). If you are travelling in Sri Lanka over these dates, expect to see religious ceremonies, family activities, traditional foods, colourful decorations and a general feeling of goodwill toward neighbours and friends. Parties can go into the night and it can be quite loud during this period. Your leader will happily show you some of the activities where your itinerary allows. During the new year public holiday, most shops, monuments and attractions are closed; however, your leader will modify the itinerary as required to ensure minimal disruption.

Following a review of all our trips we have categorised this trip as generally not suitable for persons of reduced mobility. However if you are a regular traveller on such trips, please contact customer services to discuss the trip and your personal condition.

Vaccinations and Health

Sri Lanka

There are no required vaccinations. However, recommended vaccinations include tetanus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis, rabies, tuberculosis and typhoid. You will also need a yellow fever vaccination certificate if you’re arriving from a country with risk of yellow fever transmission or transiting for more than 12 hours through a country with risk of yellow fever transmission. Please confirm with your doctor or travel clinic.

The risk of malaria is slight but you may wish to consult your doctor or travel clinic for further advice. Additionally, dengue fever, a tropical viral disease spread by daytime biting mosquitoes, is a known risk in places visited. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available; the best form of prevention is to take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

For detailed health and vaccination advice, visit:

• UK: The Travel Health Pro website
• US: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website
• Canada: ⁠The Canadian government’s travel health page

Visa

Sri Lanka

Travellers from the UK, US and Canada normally need a visa to enter Sri Lanka, which can be obtained on arrival (US$50, at the time of writing) at the immigration counters in the arrival halls in Sri Lanka.

Please note, the entry requirements for Sri Lanka are currently undergoing change.

The proposed move from an ETA system to eVisas has been challenged in Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court, which subsequently issued an interim order suspending the transition.

Any eVisas already acquired will be accepted.

The court order also reinstated the ETA system, which is still pending re-implementation but will hopefully be operational soon. Find more information on the Sri Lankan Department of Immigration and Emigration website.

As this is an on-going development, and likely to change at short notice, we highly recommend that you contact your local Sri Lankan embassy for the latest information.

Local customs and laws: You should be aware of local laws and customs in Sri Lanka (see: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/sri-lanka/local-laws-and-customs). The mistreatment of Buddhist images and artefacts is an offence; please note, people have been refused entry to Sri Lanka because of visible tattoos of Buddha.

Food & Drink

All breakfasts and three lunches and three dinners are included.

We suggest allowing about 7,000 rupees (US$23) per day for lunch and dinner.
You can eat out very cheaply in Sri Lanka and your leader will provide recommendations for where to eat locally however, the options may not always be suited to larger groups. Some locations you stay may have limited local restaurant choice, in which case meals will be at the hotel. Hotel meals are generally buffets; the majority offer an à la carte menu, but service can be slow. Where suitable, your tour leader will be happy to arrange a shuttle transfer into the local town or, if you prefer to be more independent, take a tuk tuk or taxi. Your leader can help recommend some good places to eat.

Sri Lankan cuisine is a fascinating reflection of the island’s heritage; there is a unique fusion of fresh local produce with spices brought to the island over the centuries by Malays, Arabs, Indians as well as the Dutch, Portuguese and English. Despite (or perhaps because of) these influences, Sri Lankan cuisine is often referred to as simply rice and curry. This is the staple dish in most restaurants and is usually a serving of rice accompanied by assorted meat and vegetable curries as well as various pickles, sambols (condiments), and a handful of tiny poppadum – all using the contrasting flavours of coconut, chilli, curry leaves, cinnamon and garlic.

Vegetarians are well catered for but please inform us before departure of any special dietary requests. Please note, the availability of certain products is minimal or non-existent in Sri Lanka. For example, wheat- or dairy-free options outside of hotels are limited. Please be prepared for this, you may need to bring these from home. Spicier food can be avoided easily and lots of the hotels will serve Western options alongside traditional food.

Mineral water is provided in large containers throughout the trip so please bring a bottle with you to refill. Please note, restaurant service can be quite slow.

Weather

Generally, expect rain at some time but with plenty of sunshine. On the plains, day- and night-time temperatures are warm to hot with Colombo having an average daytime temperature of 30C (86F). The temperatures drop as we go higher into the hills and especially at Ella where daytime temperatures are 10C-25C (50F-77F) and night-time temperatures in December could be chilly (about 10C-12C/50F-53F minimum).