Golden beaches, ancient temples and laid-back safari
The island nation of Sri Lanka might be small, but beyond its Indian Ocean-lapped shores you’ll find a country of startling beauty and genuine warmth.
Cinnamon and spices brought traders to Ceylon from around the world – first the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch, who fortified the ports of Colombo and Galle, before the British arrived for the tea. This history has lent Sri Lanka a diverse culture, reflected in the country’s cuisine and architecture.
It is home to hundreds of miles of palm-lined beaches, rolling hills of verdant tea plantations punctuated with nimble-fingered pickers, millennia-old temples sat alongside faded colonial mansions, and ancient forests where herds of elephants roam.
Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms date back thousands of years, gloriously preserved at UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as Kandy, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, the area between which is known as the Cultural Triangle.
It is an island with swathes of wilderness and some fine safari, whether it’s leopard spotting in Yala National Park, or encountering herds of elephant, surviving here in a higher density than anywhere else in Asia, in remote parks such as Gal Oya. Birders will be in their element with over 400 different types of birds to spot, while whales and dolphins populate the island’s warm coastal waters, and five of the world’s seven turtle species come to nest in Sri Lankan sand.
Highlights
Explore UNESCO World Heritage Sites, such as Kandy, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa
Spot wild elephants, leopard and all the other wildlife Sri Lanka has to offer on safari
Enjoy exciting Sri Lankan food, infamous for its rich spices
Climb Sigiriya, one of Sri Lanka’s seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Relax on the palm-covered beaches of Arugam Bay
Rachel O’Leary
Travel Designer
For any real foodie, Sri Lanka should be top of your bucket list! Imagine picking fresh ingredients from the markets in Galle before cooking a delicious Sri Lankan meal with a local chef. Or enjoying an exhilarating hike through the scenic Tea Country, then being rewarded at the end with a freshly brewed pot of fragrant Sri Lankan tea.
Rachel O'Leary
Travel Designer
Luxury accommodation in Sri Lanka
Why book with Jacada?
Personalised design
We’ll plan your trip around your specific interests, tastes and preferences, providing helpful tips and honest advice based on first-hand knowledge of the destination.
Authentic experiences
Our expert guides and brilliant travel concierges are hand-picked to provide a genuine experience, bringing your destination to life with care and passion.
Responsible travel
Our luxury trips are designed with responsible travel principles that prioritise travel experiences that are both good for you and good for the planet.
Trip Inspiration
Where to go
Colombo
Hot and busy, recent years have seen Colombo gradually transform from a place visitors could not avoid to a fascinating destination well worth exploring.
Discover moreCultural Triangle
Kandy, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa were the three great Sinhalese capitals, and together they form the area known as the Cultural Triangle.
Discover moreGalle
Galle is a stunningly atmospheric town at the southern edge of Sri Lanka with fascinating history evident at every turn through its eclectic assemblage of architecture.
Discover moreGal Oya National Park
Gal Oya National Park is something of a hidden gem, one of Sri Lanka’s least visited national parks due to its remoteness and dearth of accommodation, yet it is a place of beautiful landscapes home to vibrant wildlife.
Discover moreKandy
A world of ancient kings, ornate temples, lush gardens and vibrant traditions – Kandy is the second largest city in Sri Lanka and its cultural capital.
Discover moreKoggala Lake
A short way east along the coast from Galle Fort, Koggala is a small town fronted by one of the longest beaches in Sri Lanka and backed by a large lake.
Discover moreTangalle
A meandering stretch of rugged cliffs and beautiful sandy bays on Sri Lanka’s southern coast, all protected by a vast enclosing reef, you’ll find a collection of the island’s best beaches and a small collection of blissful resorts west of Tangalle.
Discover moreTea Country
Dotted across lush ranked fields, women quickly but meticulously harvest leaves by hand, baskets slung across their backs. Stretching across the island’s midsection, this is Sri Lanka’s tea country and quite possibly the origin of your favourite morning cuppa.
Discover moreYala National Park
Occupying the south-eastern corner of the island, the vast Yala National Park is Sri Lanka’s second largest national park and also its most popular.
Discover moreMeet your Indian Subcontinent team
When to visit
Sri Lanka‘s tropical climate means the country sees warmth and sunshine throughout the year. The north and east of the island make up the dry zone, while the western slopes of the central highlands are the wettest part of Sri Lanka.
Wildlife
May - October
Beach Break
November - March
Warm Weather
Year Round
Plan your trip to Sri Lanka
Whatever you want from your adventure in Sri Lanka, our team of expert travel designers are ready to help.
Our Sri Lanka trip was amazing. We added Sri Lanka to our already planned Maldives vacation and engaged Jacada to design our trip. Rosanna understood our goals and expectations right off the bat. She put together an itinerary that was perfect. We have engaged travel agents prior, and this was by far one of our best experiences. She is absolutely…
From the first phone call, to the moment our guide dropped is back at the airport at the end of the trip, everything went so smoothly. Great planning, great itinerary, great guide/driver, great service, a great experience!
Our itinerary to Sri Lanka and Maldives was PERSONALIZED and CUSTOMIZED! Travel agent, Leanne Anglo, personally called me, asked our desires, LISTENED, and established a FABULOUS itinerary!! Our 2-week vacation was perfect as it included so many highlights that you’d want on a wonderful, relaxing and memorable vacation. We spoke with Leanne several times over the 16-month planning stage –…
I contacted 3 highly rated travel agencies to plan our trip to Sri Lanka and Maldives (this is a way I determine their responsiveness and quality). JACADA TRAVEL came out on top! (Another company sent me e-mails and was way too willing to agree to places I mentioned without any further thought; the other company never called me for the…
I have worked with a number of travel agents over the years and have pretty much traveled the world. Our recent experience on a luxury 3 week trip to Thailand and Sri Lanka planned and managed my Jacada was simply superb. The attention to detail was outstanding at every step of the way. Our personal travel concierge, Gilda Tang, reviewed…
Plan with peace of mind
When you book a trip in today’s world there’s a lot to think about. But with the right advice and expert planning, you can do it with confidence.
If you book to travel with us but your plans are impacted by circumstances you can’t control, we’ll change your reservation or cancel your booking for a full credit towards future travel.