Beach Beach Beach! (east)

Nine days on the coast the monsoon forgot

Length: 9 days, 8 nights
Pace: Gentle
Bases: 6
Best months: May to Sep
From: $1,305 · $145/day

per person, twin share, excluding international flights.

IndicativeThese prices are modelled from market rates and have not been costed yet. We will quote a real figure when you enquire.

When this trip works

While the southwest monsoon soaks the rest of the island, Trincomalee has flat water and sunshine. From October the northeast monsoon closes it and the south reopens. March and April are the turn, when the coast is coming good but not yet reliable. In May the coast is already excellent and it is the Sigiriya leg inland that carries the heat, which is the one thing to weigh before booking that month.

Coming outside that window? Beach Beach Beach! (south) is the same idea built for the other monsoon.

October — out of season

It is October now, and this route reads out of season this month.

Prime
Good
Mixed
Out of season

The shape of it

Colombo and the westCultural TriangleEast coastHill countryColombo and the west

6 bases, 5 changes of hotel. The longest stay is 2 nights in Trincomalee.

Negombo
1 night, day 1
Sigiriya
1 night, day 2
Trincomalee
2 nights, days 3 to 4
Pasikudah
2 nights, days 5 to 6
Kandy
1 night, day 7
Colombo
1 night, day 8
Fly home

Day by day

Breakfast, lunch and dinner, where they are included that day.

Stop 1 · Colombo and the west

Negombo

Day 1 · 1 night

Day1
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 1: Airport → Negombo
Pick and drop, leisure.
- Airport → Negombo
Meals
Dinner
Pace
Barely moves

Stop 2 · Cultural Triangle

Sigiriya

Day 2 · 1 night

Day2
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 2: Negombo → Sigiriya
Morning fish market, lagoon boat ride, check-in.
- Morning fish market
- Lagoon boat ride
If you want moreevening safari
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Steady

Stop 3 · East coast

Trincomalee

Days 3–4 · 2 nights

Day3
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 3: Sigiriya → Trincomalee
Morning Sigiriya, village trek, proceed to Trinco and check-in.
- Morning Sigiriya
- Village trek
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Barely moves
Day4
Day 4: Trincomalee
Trinco city tour, fortress, Koneshwaram, Fort Frederick.
- Trinco city tour
- Fortress
- Koneshwaram
- Fort Frederick
If you want morePigeon Island
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Gentle
Transfer
No intercity drive planned

Stop 4 · East coast

Pasikudah

Days 5–6 · 2 nights

Day5
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 5: Trincomalee → Pasikudah
Leisure.
- Trincomalee → Pasikudah
If you want morewhale watching
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Barely moves
Day6
Day 6: Pasikudah
Full day at leisure.
- Pasikudah
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Gentle
Transfer
No intercity drive planned

Stop 5 · Hill country

Kandy

Day 7 · 1 night

Day7
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 7: Pasikudah → Kandy
Cultural show, temple.
- Cultural show
- Temple
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Full days

Stop 6 · Colombo and the west

Colombo

Days 8–9 · 1 night

Day8
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 8: Kandy → Colombo
Full Kandy city tour + botanical, shopping, evening leisure.
- Full Kandy city tour + botanical
- Shopping
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Gentle
Day9
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 9: Colombo → airport
Colombo → airport.
- Colombo → airport
Meals
Breakfast
Pace
Gentle

What it costs

One route, three levels of hotel. The itinerary does not change.

Comfort

$1,305

$145 a day · single supplement $445

Well-run three-star hotels and family-owned guesthouses, chosen for location and the people who run them rather than the star rating.

Private air-conditioned vehicle and driver-guide throughout
Daily breakfast
All transfers and road tolls
24-hour local support line

Boutique

$2,025

$225 a day · single supplement $770

Small boutique hotels, tea-estate bungalows and design-led beach houses. Twelve rooms rather than a hundred.

Everything in Comfort
Breakfast and one further meal daily
Park fees and site entrances as itemised
A trip designer on WhatsApp for the duration

Luxury

$2,970

$330 a day · single supplement $1,335

The best rooms on the island: colonial bungalows, private villas and lodges with their own naturalists.

Everything in Boutique
All meals, and a private chef where the property allows
Private guiding at every site rather than shared
Airport fast-track on arrival and departure

per person, twin share, excluding international flights.

Entrance fees, itemised

Site fees in Sri Lanka are high and rising: Sigiriya alone is thirty-five dollars. Most operators bury them in the exclusions. Here is the whole list, with what we cover and what we do not.

Sigiriya rock fortress
$35
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
$12
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Kandyan dance performance
$10
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Peradeniya botanical gardens
$10
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Minneriya or Kaudulla and jeepOptional.
$40
In the price
No, paid on the day
Pigeon Island National ParkOptional. Fifty dollars for a non-resident before the boat. We list it rather than bury it.
$50
In the price
No, paid on the day
Snorkel hire and boat, Pigeon IslandOptional.
$20
In the price
No, paid on the day
Whale watching, TrincomaleeOptional. Seasonal, May to September.
$40
In the price
No, paid on the day

Entrance fees for Beach Beach Beach! (east)
Site	Fee	Included
Sigiriya rock fortress	$35	Yes, we cover it
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic	$12	Yes, we cover it
Kandyan dance performance	$10	Yes, we cover it
Peradeniya botanical gardens	$10	Yes, we cover it
Minneriya or Kaudulla and jeepOptional.	$40	No, paid on the day
Pigeon Island National ParkOptional. Fifty dollars for a non-resident before the boat. We list it rather than bury it.	$50	No, paid on the day
Snorkel hire and boat, Pigeon IslandOptional.	$20	No, paid on the day
Whale watching, TrincomaleeOptional. Seasonal, May to September.	$40	No, paid on the day

Covered by us: $67
If you do the optional ones: $150

Who this is for

Travellers coming in the northern summer who want a beach holiday that actually works
Anyone who wants flat, clear water rather than surf

And who it is not

Visitors between October and January, when the northeast monsoon shuts this coast completely
Surfers: Trincomalee is flat by design. Arugam Bay is the eastern surf answer and it is a different trip