Two weeks of itinerary with kids
Hi all! I am a family with 2 children age 5 and 9. We love adventures and wildlife. We spent the last year exploring Borneo for wildlife and Chiang Mai for all the adventurous activities.
We will love to have some suggestions on how to spend 2 weeks in Sri Lankan during the first week of December! We will be renting a car outside of city and we are aware that we will need a temporary driving license in the country. What car would you suggest? Are the roads narrow? We are quite flexible with our itinerary and okay to stretch it to 15 nights. We will love to explore the safari, whale watching, snorkelling, turtle hatching.
Day 1 - Fly into Colombo
Day 2 - Mirissa ( Whale watching )
Day 3 - Yala National Park
Day 4 - Yala National Park
Day 5 - Ella (Ravana falls, Ella Rock)
Day 6 - Ella
Day 7 - Sigiriya (ATV)
Day8 - Udawalawe
Day 9 - Udawalawe
Day 10 - Arugam Bay
Day 11 - Arugam Bay (snorkelling)
Day 12 - Galle
Day 13 - Colombo
Day 14 - Colombo
Arugambay season ends by September. By Dec southwest season just started where you get better snorkeling chances like Hikkaduwa or Unawatuna beaches.
So i suggest to do in this order instead.
Hikkaduwa beach -> Mirissa -> Yala -> Udawalawe -> Ella -> Kandy -> Sigiriya -> Colombo
Roads are wide enough to drive a car.
Edited: 12:04 pm, January 05, 2025Would be better if you consider the options beyond the South .Southern belt is bound to be filled with Winter travelers and I wonder if it would be to the liking of the two teenagers in your entourage.
Suggestions ;
Wild life -Wilpattu, Minneriya, Kaudulla [all in the North West/ North Central regions].These parks would be alive with the rains in Oct/Nov.
Beach - Nilaweli /Passikudah[ would be less crowded compared to South]
Mountains- Try NuwaraEliya/ Kandy region [ yet again little off the tourist trail but equally if not more beautiful than Ella] You could bridge both the towns with the Train.
Hello,
Arugam Bay beach is not good at that time (monsoon period). So you should give more weight to the southern beaches.
This is the more logical route of your current itinerary.
BIA>>> Galle/ Hikkaduwa > Mirissa > Yala > Udawalawe > Ella > Sigiriya > Colombo >>> BIA
#2 not sure if you are replying to a different post, the OP here has young children (5&9) not teenagers
Thank you #1 and #3!
Are there any particular family friendly activities you will recommend? And also any particular beach resort, safari accommodations you will recommend? Prefer to keep it under USD$300 a night.
Thank you!
There are many activities around each location. You can refer the 'top questions about Sri Lanka' for details. Here are some of them you can consider to do with kids FYI.
Hikkaduwa/Galle : Hikkaduwa snorkeling beach, Turtle conservation sites, Mask museums, Galle fort, Rumassala jungle beach, Moonstone mines.
Mirissa : Coconut tree hill, Guided tour at white tea factory Ahangama, Temple/Kovil at Devundara
Yala : Safari & Pilgrims city Kataragama
Udawalawe : Safari and Elephant transit home (Milk feeding)
Ella : Rawana pool club and Nine arch bridge, Ella Rock is bit difficult with kids. But you may try to climb Ella Little Adam's Peak instead.
Nuwara Eliya : Moon plains , Lake Gregory, NanuOya water falls, Ambewela farms,
Kandy : Temple of the tooth, Peradeniya gardens, Nelligala temple, Tea museum and birds park Hanthana
Sigiriya : Rock fortress (Not sure with Kids), Safari at Minneriya or Kavudulla parks, Dambulla golden temple for sun set experience
Hope this help.
Ravana Falls is nothing special... There's might be better waterfalls in the area. Little Adams peak and zipline are fun in Ella .
Thank you all for your ideas!
I shall go ahead to plan
Colombo -> Hikkaduwa -> Mirrisa -> Yala -> Udawalawe -> Ella -> Sigiriya -> Colombo
If you have any interesting / beautiful accommodations or hidden gems for us, feel free to suggest! Am keen on Glamping too!
Kottawatte Village @UW, one of your stops, has decent value-for-money tented rooms. Will be there ourselves too this spring.
-Erik> & [Sandya]
