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The Perfect Summer Holiday in Sri Lanka

14 days from £7,760 for 2025 per person

This itinerary features in our Top 10 Summer Holidays.

Sri Lanka's cultural charms and natural beauty make her the perfect destination for an exotic summer holiday. For a relatively small island, Sri Lanka has an extraordinary range of attractions: temples and forts, world-class wildlife safaris, emerald tea plantations, beautiful palm-fringed beaches and some of the best boutique hotels in the world. For those who are planning a summer holiday, we have put together what we think would make the ideal vacation following the best seasonal weather. The south coast of Sri Lanka (where Galle is located) has monsoons during summer, but the less visited east coast of the island is at its sun-drenched best at this time of year.

Get your holiday off to a relaxing start at the Wallawwa, a chic little property just 15 minutes from the airport. From here travel to Sri Lanka’s renowned Tea Country – in the solitude of Ceylon tea land, you can enjoy private walking tours through tea plantations to watch women pluck tea leaf by leaf and learn how it is harvested, dried and aged. Bed down at Tea Trails’ utterly spoiling Norwood, a colonial bungalow built for British tea estate managers in the days of the Raj. The service and attention to detail here is truly exquisite; enjoy cream teas by the log fire, dips in the swimming pool and indulgent spa treatments.

Travel on to the “forgotten” hill station of Hatton and take the stunning train journey to Haputale to spend one night in the cool Central Highlands before heading to Gal Oya National Park. This secluded wildlife paradise has some of the most beautiful lake and evergreen forest landscapes in Sri Lanka, but due to its location in the middle-eastern part of the island, it has remained almost entirely undeveloped. Stay in one of the eight spacious lodges at the Gal Oya Lodge. We highly recommend going on boat safaris where you can spot elephants swimming from island to island!

Next, is it time for you to hit the beach: Jungle Beach is a fun stylish resort with cabins built into the forest canopies. Take day trips to the old Dutch fort town of Trincomalee, which has a wide expanse of white sandy beach scattered with colourful fishing boats and the ideal spot for dolphin and whale watching excursions. Finally, head back inland to Ulagalla Resort, which is Sri Lanka’s best eco-luxury resort and a deeply romantic and pampering place to end your holiday. From here you can enjoy Sri Lanka’s most fascinating cultural treasures, including Sigiriya Rock, Anuradhapura, Mihintale, Ritigala and Dambulla.

This luxury holiday is purely a suggested itinerary; it can be booked as it is or used as a starting point for creating your perfect tailor-made tour of Sri Lanka. If you would like to see similar trips, take a look at our collection of Honeymoons, as well as our Beach, Spa and Wildlife itineraries.


Itinerary details

14 days from £7,760 for 2025 per person

Sri Lanka -Dambulla Caves
Ulagalla Anuradhapura SRI LANKA 26
Ulagalla Anuradhapura SRI LANKA 18
Ulagalla Anuradhapura SRI LANKA 19
Ulagalla Anuradhapura SRI LANKA 3
Ulagalla Anuradhapura SRI LANKA 5
Ulagalla Anuradhapura SRI LANKA 8
2 Tea country - Ceylon Tea Trails.jpg
Norwood Bungalow Bogawantalawa Sri Lanka 8
Norwood Bungalow Bogawantalawa Sri Lanka 7
Norwood Bungalow Bogawantalawa Sri Lanka 1
Norwood Bungalow Bogawantalawa Sri Lanka 5
Norwood Bungalow Bogawantalawa Sri Lanka 4
SRI LANKA - Castlereagh Lake views (1)
Gal Oya Lodge Gal Oya Sri Lanka 6
2 Tea country - Ceylon Tea Trails.jpg
Norwood Bungalow Bogawantalawa Sri Lanka 8
Norwood Bungalow Bogawantalawa Sri Lanka 7
Norwood Bungalow Bogawantalawa Sri Lanka 1
Norwood Bungalow Bogawantalawa Sri Lanka 5
Norwood Bungalow Bogawantalawa Sri Lanka 4
SRI LANKA - Castlereagh Lake views (1)
Gal Oya Lodge Gal Oya Sri Lanka 6
Gal Oya NP (4).jpg
Gal Oya 2019 (1).jpg
Gal Oya Lodge, Sri Lanka 2019 (4).jpg
Gal Oya Lodge Gal Oya Sri Lanka 25
Gal Oya Lodge Gal Oya Sri Lanka 13
Gal Oya Lodge Gal Oya Sri Lanka 7
SRI LANKA - A Walk With Vedda Gal Oya Sri Lanka
SRI LANKA - Trincomalee
Jungle Beach Trincomalee SRI LANKA 8
Jungle Beach Trincomalee SRI LANKA 5
Jungle Beach Trincomalee SRI LANKA 13
SRI LANKA - Sigiriya Monks Lion Rock
SRI LANKA - Sigiriya Rock
Sri Lanka -Dambulla Caves
Ulagalla Anuradhapura SRI LANKA 26
Ulagalla Anuradhapura SRI LANKA 18
Ulagalla Anuradhapura SRI LANKA 19
Ulagalla Anuradhapura SRI LANKA 3
Ulagalla Anuradhapura SRI LANKA 5
Ulagalla Anuradhapura SRI LANKA 8
When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.
Susan Heller

Client Testimonials

Ballyfin was great - we loved it! Best things were the amount of space, it felt like you had the whole place to yourself, the history of the house, and the staff. We'd definitely recommend it. Thanks very much for all the help getting it booked!
- Mr Wyburd, Ireland
Difficult to choose the highlight of the trip, can’t choose between… 1) Taj Mahal & Oberoi Amarvilas. 2) Ranthambore. 3) Lake Palace. We have to say a particular thank you for selecting Parmod as our driver. He is a delightful and kind man who took our holiday and our enjoyment as his responsibility. Thank you for putting together such an amazing trip for us. The balance of city and rural destinations was perfect for us and the variety of rooms and hotel types brilliant. Our driver and guides also added so much to the trip with their knowledge of India’s history and culture and their willingness to discuss it both from a professional and personal angle.
- Carruthers family, North India
Without question, you put together the best trip I have ever taken. We were shown around like visiting dignitaries, the hotels were fantastic and the itinerary was just right. Everybody I know will hear about how amazing Ampersand is!
- Leslie Siben, India

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