12 daysSri LankaAges 18–40
12 days · Sigiriya, Kandy & Ella
12-Day Sri Lanka Tour is a group trip for solo travellers aged 18 to 40 who want the island in one go: the ancient cities of the Cultural Triangle, the hill-country train to Ella, a calm elephant safari at Udawalawe and three nights on the south coast. Your Trip Host is with the group throughout, and a licensed local guide leads the visits and the drives. It's the fullest way to see Sri Lanka without rushing any of it.
Updated
From, per person
$1,210 / £905 / €1,060 / A$1,720 / CA$1,710 / NZ$2,130 / ₹1,16,000
Free to reserve
Sarthak's best travel memories come from going solo: hostel dorms, a new activity most days, new cultures and new food. SoloNomads grew out of that.
Sarthak travels with every group, from the first day to the last, so there's always someone on hand to sort things out when plans change and to make sure nobody gets left out.
In every country, a licensed local agency and licensed local guides look after the ground services, so you get local know-how too.
Negombo to Mirissa, 6 stops in 12 days.
6 stops
12 days
Day 1
Arrive whenever your flight lands; Negombo is about 15 minutes from the airport, so there's no long transfer to start with. The Trip Host meets everyone at the hotel in the late afternoon for introductions and a run-through of the next 12 days. We walk down to the beach for sunset, then a welcome dinner of Sri Lankan curries at a local restaurant.
Day 2
A private van takes about three and a half hours inland to Sigiriya. We stop along the way for a proper look at the countryside: rice paddies, roadside fruit stalls, the odd elephant crossing sign. The afternoon is free to settle in, cool off in the hotel pool if there is one, or walk out to see Sigiriya Rock from below before tomorrow's climb.
Day 3
We're at Sigiriya's gate for the early climb, before the heat and the crowds build, up stone steps and metal stairways to the summit of this 5th-century rock fortress for the view over the surrounding jungle. Back down by mid-morning for Dambulla's cave temples, a Buddhist monastery in use for over 2,000 years and painted floor to ceiling with murals. After lunch, a licensed guide takes us round Polonnaruwa's ancient city on foot and by bike, past the carved Gal Vihara Buddhas and the ruins of the old royal palace.
Day 4
A van of around two and a half hours brings us to Kandy, with a stop at a spice garden on the way to see how cinnamon, pepper and cardamom actually grow. In the evening we visit the Temple of the Tooth for the drumming and the evening viewing of the relic chamber, quieter than the daytime crowds and a different atmosphere altogether.
Day 5
A slow morning walk around Kandy Lake, then free time in the market for anyone who wants to browse for tea, spices or something to bring home. In the evening, a cultural dance show with drumming and fire-walking, a Kandy tradition since long before it became a tourist fixture. We also check the group's seats on tomorrow's train from Nanu Oya, which we reserved on the day bookings opened, 30 days ahead.
Day 6
The day everyone remembers. A private van takes us up into tea country to Nanu Oya, about 3 to 4 hours on the winding hill road, with a stop on the way for a walk through the plantations and a cup made from leaves picked that morning. From Nanu Oya the train climbs on to Ella through tea estates, pine forest and small hill stations. Cyclone Ditwah closed the railway between Kandy and Nanu Oya in late 2025, so we drive that first part until it reopens. We book reserved seats as soon as the 30-day booking window opens; if the reserved carriage is already full, we carry on by van on the mountain road instead.
Day 7
An early walk up Little Adam's Peak for sunrise, a short climb with a view back over the whole valley, easier than its name suggests. Afterwards we walk to the Nine Arches Bridge, a working railway viaduct that trains cross several times a day. The rest of the day is free: a café by the tracks, a longer hike up Ella Rock for anyone who wants more of a climb, or simply a slow morning with a book.
Day 8
A van of about two and a half hours brings us down out of the hills to Udawalawe. In the afternoon we head into the national park in open jeeps: wide grassland with some of the largest elephant herds anywhere in Sri Lanka, plus buffalo, crocodiles and a long list of birds. Afterwards we stop at the Elephant Transit Home nearby, which rehabilitates orphaned wild calves for release back into the park and lets you watch a feeding from a viewing area, no contact involved.
Day 9
A shorter drive, around two hours, brings us to the coast at Mirissa. The rest of the day is yours: your first proper swim of the trip, a walk along the beach, or just a nap after over a week on the move. Dinner is at a beachfront spot as the sun goes down.
Day 10
A full day with nothing booked. Some of the group usually go out on an optional whale-watching trip, booked locally, which runs roughly November to April and depends on conditions on the day. If you go, pick a licensed operator that keeps to the recommended distance and won't chase a sighting. Others spend it on the beach, in a hammock, or trying a surf lesson at one of the beach breaks nearby.
Day 11
A morning drive to Galle Fort, the old Dutch-walled town on the coast, for a wander through its cafés, courtyards and the ramparts walk with the sea on one side. We're back in Mirissa by the afternoon for one more stretch on the beach, then a farewell dinner together to close out the trip.
Day 12
The trip ends after breakfast. Colombo airport (CMB) is about two and a half hours from Mirissa, so book flights home for the evening or later, and we'll help arrange the transfer.
Prices are per person, and reserving is free. A date goes ahead once about 10 travellers have joined. You pay nothing until then. Once it's confirmed, we send you an invoice for the full price, and you have 7 days to pay it (or until the trip starts, if that's sooner).
9 Jan – 20 Jan 2027
AvailableCore dry-season windowMax 16 people
Price
$1,210 / £905 / €1,060 / A$1,720 / CA$1,710 / NZ$2,130 / ₹1,16,000
6 Mar – 17 Mar 2027
AvailableLast reliably dry month before the inter-monsoonMax 16 people
Price
$1,210 / £905 / €1,060 / A$1,720 / CA$1,710 / NZ$2,130 / ₹1,16,000
5 Aug – 16 Aug 2027
AvailableTimed for Kandy's Esala Perahera, expected about 6 to 16 Aug 2027; the temple confirms the dates around JulyMax 16 people
Price
$1,300 / £972 / €1,140 / A$1,850 / CA$1,840 / NZ$2,290 / ₹1,24,500
You reserve your spot for free and pay nothing to join, and reservations close 7 days before departure. Once enough travellers have signed on, usually around 10, we confirm the departure and email you a confirmation with an invoice for the full trip price. You pay it by card or bank transfer within 7 days, in US dollars, pounds, euros, Australian dollars, Canadian dollars, New Zealand dollars or Indian rupees, and the price shown for each date is what you pay.
Rooms are twin-share by default, paired with another traveller of the same gender. If you'd rather have a room to yourself, ask when you reserve and we'll tell you the extra cost for that departure.
Solo travellers aged 18 to 40. Most people book on their own, and a few come with a friend. Each departure's maximum group size is shown with its dates, and we won't run a departure below our minimum group size either, so numbers stay small.
Your Trip Host travels with the group for all 12 days, handles every transfer, ticket and check-in, and is the person you go to if anything comes up. A licensed local guide leads the sightseeing and safari days alongside them. Sri Lanka's tourism authority licenses guides, and we only use licensed ones.
It starts at our hotel in Negombo on the afternoon of Day 1 and ends in Mirissa after breakfast on Day 12. Fly into and out of Colombo (CMB), and book your flight home for the evening of Day 12 or later, because the airport is about two and a half hours from Mirissa.
December to March, when the Cultural Triangle, hill country and south coast are all dry at the same time. We run it in those months, plus one departure timed for Kandy's Esala Perahera in late July or August. On that departure the Cultural Triangle is dry, but the south coast has rough seas and showers, so swimming is limited and the whale-watching season hasn't started.
Yes, everyone needs an ETA before flying. Since 25 May 2026 it has been free, for 30 days, for travellers from 40 countries, including the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and 12 EU countries (Ireland and Portugal aren't on the list). Other passports pay the standard tourist ETA fee. The rules and the country list can change, so check our Sri Lanka visa guide and apply only through the official site, eta.gov.lk, before you book flights.
Not all the way, as of early October 2026. Cyclone Ditwah damaged the hill-country railway in late 2025. The stretch between Kandy and Nanu Oya has no reopening date yet, but Nanu Oya to Ella has been running again since June 2026. So we drive from Kandy to Nanu Oya and take the train from there. Once the whole line reopens, we'll board in Kandy again. Sri Lanka Railways only opens bookings 30 days ahead and the reserved carriages can sell out within hours, so we book the group's seats the moment the window opens. If the carriage is already full, we make the same journey by private van on the mountain road instead.
Small hotels and guesthouses picked for location: near the beach in Negombo and Mirissa, walking distance to the sights in Sigiriya and Kandy, and in the town centre in Ella. Seven meals are included, so budget about $15 to $25 a day for the meals and drinks that aren't, since a local meal runs roughly $3 to $6 and a beer around $1 to $2.
Yes. Sri Lankan food is naturally vegetarian-friendly, and rice-and-curry meals can easily be made vegan. Tell us when you reserve so we can flag it to hotels and restaurants ahead of time.
Averagely fit. Sigiriya is a steep climb of around 1,200 steps, Little Adam's Peak is a gentler walk, and there's a fair amount of standing and walking around temple and ruin sites in the heat. None of it is technical, but a base level of everyday fitness makes the trip a lot more comfortable.
Insurance is a condition of joining, and it must cover medical treatment and evacuation, because private hospital care is charged directly to foreign travellers. Vaccination advice depends on your home country and travel history, so ask a travel clinic or your national health service a few weeks before you go rather than relying on general advice here.
Ask here and someone on the team will email you back within 1 to 2 business days.
From
$1,210 / £905 / €1,060 / A$1,720 / CA$1,710 / NZ$2,130 / ₹1,16,000