The planter's bungalow

Nine days through the old capitals and the tea, with the doors opened

Length: 9 days, 8 nights
Pace: Gentle
Bases: 6
Best months: Jan to Mar
From: $7,200 · $800/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

February and March are the clear months for both halves: the Cultural Triangle before the April heat, and the hills before the southwest monsoon puts cloud on the western slopes from May. April is punishing on the rock. October and November are the wettest weeks of the year in both regions, which at this level of house matters less than it sounds: the bungalows are the point, the fires are lit, and the estates are empty. We will say plainly that you are trading the views.

October — mixed, worth a conversation

It is October now, and this route reads mixed this month.

Prime
Good
Mixed
Out of season

The shape of it

Colombo and the westCultural TriangleHill countryThe southeastern parksWest and south coast

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

Waikkal
1 night, day 1
Dambulla
2 nights, days 2 to 3
Kandy
2 nights, days 4 to 5
Ella
1 night, day 6
Yala
1 night, day 7
Galle
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

Waikkal

Day 1 · 1 night

Day1
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 1: Airport → Waikkal
Arrive CMB, pick and drop, leisure.
- Airport → Waikkal
Meals
Dinner
Pace
Gentle

Stop 2 · Cultural Triangle

Dambulla

Days 2–3 · 2 nights

Day2
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 2: Waikkal → Sigiriya, overnight Dambulla
Morning leisure, evening Sigiriya.
- Evening Sigiriya
If you want moresafari
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Steady
Day3
Day 3: Dambulla → Polonnaruwa → Dambulla
Morning Polonnaruwa site by bicycle, evening leisure.
- Morning Polonnaruwa site by bicycle
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Gentle
Transfer
No intercity drive planned

Stop 3 · Hill country

Kandy

Days 4–5 · 2 nights

Day4
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 4: Dambulla → Kandy
Dambulla cave, spice garden, cultural show, Maligawa.
- Dambulla cave
- Spice garden
- Cultural show
- Maligawa
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Gentle
Day5
Day 5: Kandy
Peradeniya botanical, full Kandy city tour, shopping, evening leisure.
- Peradeniya botanical
- Full Kandy city tour
- Shopping
If you want moreBeragama
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Gentle
Transfer
No intercity drive planned

Stop 4 · Hill country

Ella

Day 6 · 1 night

Day6
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 6: Kandy → Nuwara Eliya → Ella
Labookellie tea tasting + factory, Nuwara Eliya city tour, Nanu Oya-Ella train ride.
- Labookellie tea tasting + factory
- Nuwara Eliya city tour
- Nanu Oya-Ella train ride
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Gentle

Stop 5 · The southeastern parks

Yala

Day 7 · 1 night

Day7
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 7: Ella → Yala
Morning Nine Arch, evening Yala safari.
- Morning Nine Arch
- Evening Yala safari
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Gentle

Stop 6 · West and south coast

Galle

Days 8–9 · 1 night

Day8
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 8: Yala → Galle
Galle city tour, evening leisure.
- Galle city tour
Meals
Breakfast, Dinner
Pace
Barely moves
Day9
Travel day · timing to be confirmed
Day 9: Galle → airport
Galle → airport.
- Galle → airport
Meals
Breakfast
Pace
Steady

What it costs

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

Comfort

$7,200

$800 a day · single supplement $1,950

The entry point at this level, and exclusive use throughout: a lakeside villa near Sigiriya, a colonial house above Kandy and a planter's bungalow in the tea, each with its own staff.

Exclusive use of all three houses, with their staff
A private vehicle and a senior driver-guide for nine days
All meals, cooked in-house
Every site fee listed below
Airport fast-track on arrival and departure

Boutique

$11,700

$1,300 a day · single supplement $3,150

The named houses: one of the four bungalows on this island with a genuine claim to the word, and a Kandy house with a view most hotels here would advertise as their own.

Everything in Comfort
An archaeologist at Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa rather than a site guide
Sigiriya at opening, arranged in advance
A working morning with the estate manager, and a private tasting
A trip director reachable at any hour for the whole nine days

Luxury

$19,800

$2,200 a day · single supplement $5,400

Whichever of the dozen houses is genuinely free on your dates, taken whole, with chefs brought in where the resident cook is not the right answer.

Everything in Boutique
A second vehicle so the party is never split
A private collection or a temple opened outside its hours
A chef brought to the bungalow for two dinners
A fixer travelling with you throughout, not reachable by phone but present

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
Polonnaruwa ancient city
$25
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Dambulla cave temples
$10
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Kandyan dance performance
$10
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
$12
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Peradeniya botanical gardens
$10
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Yala National Park and jeep
$45
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Galle FortA living town; there is no ticket.
Free
In the price
Yes, we cover it
Minneriya or Kaudulla and jeepOptional.
$40
In the price
No, paid on the day

Entrance fees for The planter's bungalow
Site	Fee	Included
Sigiriya rock fortress	$35	Yes, we cover it
Polonnaruwa ancient city	$25	Yes, we cover it
Dambulla cave temples	$10	Yes, we cover it
Kandyan dance performance	$10	Yes, we cover it
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic	$12	Yes, we cover it
Peradeniya botanical gardens	$10	Yes, we cover it
Yala National Park and jeep	$45	Yes, we cover it
Galle FortA living town; there is no ticket.	Free	Yes, we cover it
Minneriya or Kaudulla and jeepOptional.	$40	No, paid on the day

Covered by us: $147
If you do the optional ones: $40

Who this is for

Travellers who want the headline sites with an academic rather than a guide, and at the hour they are empty
Parties of four to ten who would rather take a house than book a floor of a hotel
Anyone who counts an unscheduled day in a good building as the point rather than as waste

And who it is not

Travellers booking inside three months for February or March, when the four bungalows worth having are gone
People who would rather have a large hotel with a spa and a concierge desk, which this route deliberately avoids

Included

Private vehicle and senior driver-guide throughout
Eight nights accommodation
Breakfast and dinner daily
Private specialist guiding at every site
Labookellie tea tasting and factory (day 6)
Nanu Oya to Ella train (day 6)
Yala safari (day 7)
All site fees marked included above

Not included

International flights
Helicopter charter, which is quoted per sector
Travel insurance
Visa or ETA

Make it yours

This is a starting shape, not a fixed departure. The changes people ask for most:

Charter a helicopter for the Sigiriya and hill-country sectors, quoted per sector at the time of booking
Add four nights on the south coast between December and April, or the east between May and September
Swap Kandy for a second bungalow in the tea if the ancient cities matter more than the town
Take the observation car on the hill train for a leg, with the car following to meet you

Ask about this trip Talk to a trip designer