Exclusive: Southern Sri Lanka Sightseeing Private Day Trip
Badge of Excellence
Colombo, Sri Lanka
- 12 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Explore our promoted experiences
Overview
Your guide covers the highlights of Sri Lanka’s south coast on this day trip from Colombo, Negombo or Mount Lavinia. Walk along the ramparts and cobblestone pathways that crisscross the Dutch Fort of Galle, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Visit a mask factory in the coastal town of Ambalangoda and take a memorable boat ride on the Madu River of Balapitiya, finishing at a turtle hatchery. You’ll learn about Sri Lankan culture and nature from a knowledgeable guide along the way.
- Sri Lanka south coast tour, led by a knowledgeable guide
- Explore the World Heritage–listed Galle Fort
- Check out estuarine life with a boat ride on the Madu River
- Discover mask making in Ambalangoda and visit a turtle hatchery
- Enjoy lunch at a popular local restaurant
- Hotel transport available from Colombo, Negombo or Mount Lavinia
What's Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in Colombo, Negombo or Mount Lavinia
- English-speaking chauffeur guide
- Boat ride in Balapitiya
- Visit to Mask Factory
- Entrance fee - Turtle Hatchery
- LunchLunch at a Local Restaurant near Madu River
- Tips to guides, restaurants. Tipping is expected
- Personal expenses
- Entry fee to Dutch Museum$10.00 per person
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Operating hours.6:00 am
Itinerary
1
Galle Dutch Fort
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
2
Ariyapala Traditional Masks Museum
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
3
Balapitiya
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
4
Kosgoda Sea Turtle Conservation Project
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Infant seats available
- Most travelers can participate
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
dipitlow
Imran was an absolutely amazing tour guide. Took us to all the right places and provided lots of information about the locations and sites we were visiting. The vehicle was large, clean, and had air conditioning. I recommend this tour!
Reviews
4.5
based on 24 reviews
dipitlow, Jan 2020
Imran was an absolutely amazing tour guide. Took us to all the right places and provided lots of information about the locations and sites we were visiting. The vehicle was large, clean, and had air conditioning. I recommend this tour!
Response from Host, Jan 2020
Thank you for taking the time to share your recent experience with Beyond Escapes. We value your feedback and most generous compliments on our service and we are so glad that we were able to provide you an exceptional service. And also, we are very happy that all our efforts have been successful in making your tour memorable and enjoyable.
ShadmaanAhmed_S, Aug 2019
Our guide Thusara was a very knowledgeable and intelligent. He has renovated the trip itinerary to include places that were not even mentioned so that we get even more wholesome experience of Southern Sri Lanka. Throughout the trip he was very compassionate and energetic and has beyond what would normally be expected from a tour guide. He wished our day end with wide smile and "Eid Mubarak", which was something that truly made my parents smile and talk about after the trip. I will definitely use this company/s service (and preferably look out for Thusara) in the future when I visit Sri Lanka again. Take lots of love! <3
Anne_L, Mar 2018
this trip was great. Our drive was very good but a little bit quiet - we really would have liked a bit more info on the places we were visiting. The boat trip out on the lagoon was really good and we enjoyed the stops at Cinnamon island and the temple too.
David B, Nov 2017
The trip was well organized, very scenic, and informative.
I think you have to be a history and environmental lover to enjoy this trip as there is a lot of focus on the history and environmental work being done in Sri Lanka.
Just one warning - the visit to the Dutch Fort at Galle is self-guided, so make sure that you come prepared with fort information or visit the museum to get a map and orientation. Make sure you walk around the full circumference of the walled fort. Also a lot of walking required, so bring good shoes, hat, and sunblock.
I learned a lot and saw things I never thought I would see including water monitors, blue kingfishers, cormorants, fishing boats, floating coconut stores, cinnamon preparation and a floating session through a mangrove swamp - fascinating.
Geeta M, Sep 2017
Great tour. Absolutely love Galle and all the stops along the way. The turtles are adorable but beware of one of the guides there because he is a bit handsy. They should actually go to a different turtle place because that particular man was rude and inappropriate. Its unfortunate because everyone else in the entire country was relatively kind and welcoming so this was a negative start to our visit. The tour guide/driver was polite and friendly. He stopped at some nice places. The river cruise was an additional 80USD but it was spectacular and one of the best experiences we had in Sri Lanka. The mask museum was educational and quiet. The museum store also had reasonable prices for all sculptures, masks etc and I would recommend purchasing from there as opposed to any of the places in Kandy. The restaurant we stopped at for lunch was extremely expensive but I think worth it in this case. We had trouble deciding what to order and our waiter went to the side of the sea, received a fresh catch and brought it to us on a plate as an option and we loved it. All in all a great day! I wish we spent 3 of them there!
tracy, Sep 2017
Good trip very interesting and really just a great day out saw the turtle sanctuary the mask museum was brilliant The Galle fort was a bit of a disappointment but not total rubbish worth the trip
Sabrina W, Jun 2017
Loved this tour! Our tour guide, Damitha, was wonderful!! We spent time walking around the fort and got to see all the sights there. Then we went to our river tour and lunch. The lunch was simple and wonderful. The river tour was great. Got to see many different islands and go onto them. Different ones were known for growing cinnamon and another had a Buddhist monastery where we received a blessing from a monk. After the river tour, we went to the turtle sanctuary. It was amazing!!!! We just happened to show up at the perfect time and two different nests hatched. What an amazing experience!!! After being able to release some turtles to the ocean, we headed back to our hotel. Overall a wonderful day!!
Avijit_N, Jan 2017
again very poorly organised. Not much to do and see and nothing worthwhile. Over all we were forcefully convinced to spend time and money on useless herbal medicine.
Delwyn N, Jun 2016
Our guide for the day was Saneth...he was informative, compassionate and interesting.
I highly recommend this tour as it's also very hard to cover so much ground in a day.
kevin k, Apr 2016
Great!! Our guide didn't really speak English so we didn't learn anything about the Dutch Fort. Maybe a printed handout would be helpful. Our guide stopped at a silk factory and moonstone mine as well. The boat ride in the Mangroves was fantastic!! We also really loved the turtle hatchery! Highly recomm nod this tour.
Erickson M, Oct 2015
Certainly worth doing when you're in Colombo. Here's why i only rated it 3 stars:
The good:
1. My driver was very professional, polite, and knowledgeable. He was also a very calm driver despite the craziness of the other drivers around him.
2. The Old Dutch Fort reminded me of Manila's Intramuros, although the former was much well preserved. Nice to see how they lived back in the day.
3. My favorite was the visit to the sea turtle hatchery. They're doing a great thing there.
4. the river cruise was 'ok.' We didnt see much wildlife although the visit to the small buddhist temple was fun.
5. Sri Lankan's are very friendly. At least every one i met on this trip.
The bad:
1. We felt pressured to buy something or give a donation, and this was in every single place we went to, including the Moonstone mines not part of the itinerary but we were brought there, which was a good thing, but once you're there, you're pressured or coerced to buy something. So when you go on this trip, make sure you budget for these incidentals.
2. Lunch - the lunch was part of what you paid for. They just started cooking when we got to the restaurant we we waited for an hour for our food. And this was around 130pm already, and we were already very hungry, so we ended up eating around 230pm.
Overall, i dont regret going on this trip. In fact, I'm very glad i did. I just wont push it to my friends though.
Response from Host, Oct 2015
Thank you for your detailed review, we appreciate your feedback. We are glad you enjoyed many part of the tour, especially the sea turtle hatchery, and apologize for any inconvenience at lunch. We have reached out to our local supplier to convey your message about the pressure and excessive solicitation.
From $134.00
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
Compare Similar Experiences
Current
Special Offer
Exclusive: Southern Sri Lanka Sightseeing Private Day Trip
24
12 hours
Free Cancellation
From
$134.00
Customers Who Bought This Tour Also Bought
Explore Similar Things to Do
- City Tours
- Airport & Hotel Transfers
- Multi-day Tours
- Bus Tours
- Tours, Sightseeing & Cruises
- Travel & Transportation Services
- Private and Luxury
- Private Sightseeing Tours
- Colombo
- Airport & Hotel Transfers - Udawalawa
- Multi-day Tours - Udawalawa
- Bus Tours - Udawalawa
- City Tours - Negombo
- Airport & Hotel Transfers - Negombo
- Multi-day Tours - Negombo
- Bus Tours - Negombo
- City Tours - Kalutara
- Airport & Hotel Transfers - Kalutara
- Multi-day Tours - Kalutara
- Bus Tours - Kalutara