Kandy Full-Day Tour

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Colombo, Sri Lanka

12 hours (approx.)
Pickup offered
Group discounts
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

This day trip from Colombo to World Heritage-listed Kandy takes you to many popular attractions in the region. Learn about Ayurvedic medicine at the New Paradise Spice and Herbal Garden in Mawanella, see the Temple of Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa), and visit a batik factory and the Gem Museum. Lunch and round-trip transportation from your hotel or cruise port are included.

Family friendly
Excellent value for money
Perfect introduction for first-time visitors
Get inside tips from a local

What's Included

Hotel pickup and drop-off in Colombo (or port pickup)
Lunch
Transport by private vehicle
Driver/guide
Bottled water
Fuel surcharge

Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
Food and drinks

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

We pickup all travelers from Colombo, Negombo, Kaluthara hotels, Train Stations, Bus stations.

Itinerary

Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Susantha Spice and Herbal Garden

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Kandyan Art Association

1 hour • Admission Ticket Included

Kandy Lake

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Kadugannawa

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Hemachandras (Kandy) Limited Jewellers

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Infant seats available
Child rate applies only when sharing with 2 paying adults
At time of booking, cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible

Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
Infants must sit on laps
Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate
Note: Itinerary is designed according to time availability. Sanota Walkers will not responsible for any deviation as per client’s/Chauffeur request.
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.5

based on 24 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Our guide was very polite...

Anja_V, May 2025

Our guide was very polite and friendy and positive, but somehow his knowledge of history, social matters, geography, etc. was limited, as well as English language. Read at least Wikipedia before you go, so that you will know what you are looking at. A tour itself was well organised, I only regret we didn't have time to walk Kandy streets. A mean of transport (a car) was ok.

Response from Host, May 2025

Dear Sir/Ma'am, Thank you very much for your feedback. We're glad to hear that you found the tour well organized and the guide friendly and positive. We appreciate your comments regarding the guide’s knowledge and language skills, and we will certainly take this into consideration for future improvements. As this is a 12-hour one-day tour, we carefully plan the itinerary to ensure everything can be completed within that time. Unfortunately, it's not possible to go beyond the planned route. Kandy indeed offers much more to see, but exploring it in depth would require at least two days. For this tour, we selected only the key highlights to make the most of the limited time. We value your input and thank you again for sharing your thoughts.

Picturesque

Maria_D, Jan 2025

Kandy - what a picturesque view (from the view point). Deshan our guide extremely knowledgeable of the area, very accommodating /flexible with the itinerary- more than happy to exclude and/ir include items on the itinerary (subject to time commitments). A long day but worth it. Would definitely recommend a visit to kandy and to have deshan as our guide - thank you

Response from Host, Jan 2025

Thank you very much for your wonderful review! We truly appreciate your kind words and are thrilled to hear that you had a great experience. We look forward to welcoming you back on your next visit to Sri Lanka

Totally worth it, terrific driver/guide; highly recommend!

Renee_C, Jan 2025

The quality of such a trip, first and foremost, is based on the driver. Deshar, besides being a terrific driver who made us feel safe through the chaotic country roads, was just very pleasant to be with. He shared his knowledge about the places we visited, and much more about Sri Lanka, answering gamely any question we threw at him about culture, history, politics, economy. Since it is quite a long drive, this was great for us, it being our first time in this country. It is a beautiful lush countryside along the way, and Kandy is situated in rolling hills. Because of the higher altitude, it is refreshingly cooler than the coast. Not as developed, you also feel a more sincere feeling of Sri Lanka compared to being in Colombo. The Sacred Temple of the Tooth Relic, for example, was filled with quiet local crowds, many families, mostly dressed in white, making offerings of flowers. There are some tourists, too, but they are mostly respectful and not so many. It is truly worth the visit. We were also lucky to be there as a parade of dancers were entering to celebrate the first harvest. As Deshar pointed out, these are not paid dancers for entertainment; they come of their own volition for the purpose of worship. The Spice and Herb garden was also an interesting visit, learning and seeing the plants of Sri Lankan Ayurveda medicine from a student of Ayurveda medicine, and of course ending with a shoulder massage was terrific! It was my first time tasting real organic, unaltered sweet cinnamon bark. Who knew the stuff we always use for baking has lots of other added spices!? Expect to offer a tip for the massage, and a visit to the store. We also visited a "Gem museum". The owner has collected some antique jewelry, which are on display, but of course, this is primarily a jewelry shopping occasion. I had no intention to buy anything, but in the end I did. The attendants were not pushy, but instead are gentle and knowledgeable. It is a long day, and you do spend a lot of time in the car, but we are so glad we took this trip. Seeing only Colombo or the beach resorts is like not really seeing the real Sri Lanka. Of course, if you have the time, it is better to spend more time in the interior of the country. We will have to do so on a future trip.

Response from Host, Jan 2025

Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed feedback. We're delighted to hear that your experience was both enjoyable and informative, especially with Deshan's guidance. His knowledge and attentiveness truly add value to the journey, and it's wonderful to know that he helped make your first visit to Sri Lanka memorable. We're also glad you appreciated the scenic beauty of the countryside and the serene atmosphere of Kandy. It's true that the Sacred Temple of the Tooth Relic offers a unique, authentic experience, and we’re happy you were able to witness the cultural celebration as well. The visit to the Spice and Herb garden sounds like it was a highlight, especially learning about Ayurveda and experiencing its benefits firsthand. We agree that trying the unaltered cinnamon bark is an eye-opening experience. The gem museum visit also seems to have been enjoyable, and it's great that the experience was relaxed and informative rather than sales-driven. Thank you again for sharing your reflections on the trip, and we hope to welcome you back to Sri Lanka in the future to explore even more of its rich culture and landscapes.

Excellent trip to Kandy

Archana_P, Jan 2025

This day trip was excellent and Deshan was a wonderful guide, he took us to so many places and was very knowledgable. I would highly recommend this trip where you can see all the highlights of Kandy. I will surely use this company again as it was all so well organised and efficient.

Response from Host, Jan 2025

Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback! We're thrilled to hear that you had an excellent day trip and enjoyed exploring Kandy with Deshan. It’s great to know that his knowledge and the tour’s organization made your experience special. We truly appreciate your recommendation and look forward to welcoming you again on future trips

Highly Recommend Tour - Thank you Chamika

Christina_M, Nov 2024

Our guide (Chamika) was informative, respectful and very welcoming. Vehicle was clean and provided driving water. Highly recommend this tour and other tours with this company.

Response from Host, Nov 2024

Appreciate for your feedback. We look forward to serving you again in the future!

Full day of activities. The best way to...

jamila_h, Jan 2017

Full day of activities. The best way to see Kandy if you have limited time.

Overall we loved the tour because...

Melania A, Jan 2017

Overall we loved the tour because Kandy was beautiful, and enjoyed the over-touristy stops. However, we were extremely disappointed that our driver ripped us off by charging us for a dancing show that was in fact free. The driver asked us to give him the money for the tickets outside the show and reassured us that he would organise it all. While in the show we asked other tourists how much they paid for tickets and all of them said it was free and you only donate to the dancers at your own discretion, sure enough this was the process. We felt that we could not confront the driver about the situation as it might cause us to be abandoned in Kandy which is 3-4 hours away from Colombo. Also the manner in which the driver drove us back to Colombo was erratic, unsafe and we feared for our lives.

very poor. The guide was was n't...

Avijit_N, Jan 2017

very poor. The guide was was n't that good. the experience was very shoddy nowhere near what I had expected.

Wow, what wonderful things can't I...

Ashley B, Sep 2016

Wow, what wonderful things can't I say about our experience on this trip? SRI LANKA IS MAGICAL! Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and courteous throughout our trip. Each and every site we visited was better than the one before. Although, Pinnawala was an amazing experience and made our trip to Sri Lanka whole. The Batik shop was full of wonders that we could not have imagined. Each guide at the sites was very kind and was able to truly make us feel at home. Thank you, Sanota Walkers!