Bentota River Safari By BTM (Mangrove & Wildlife Encounter)
Recommended by 97% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Galle, Sri Lanka
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Explore our promoted experiences
Overview
Enjoy a relaxing 2-hour private cruise along the Bentota River, taking in views while spotting wildlife. Nature lovers can see birds, lizards, monkeys, and possibly crocodiles. Choose a pickup time from early morning to late afternoon. Hotel pickup and drop-off from many river locations save you the hassle of finding a meeting point.
- Receive personalized attention on a private cruise
- Learn more about the local biodiversity from your guide
- Spot eagles, bee-eaters, cormorants, and many other birds
- An ideal safari activity for travelers with limited time
What's Included
- All taxes, fees and handling charges
- GST (Goods and Services Tax)
- Environmental Management Charge (Reef Tax)
- Local taxes
- Bottled water
- Local guide
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to your preferred meeting point, or request pickup.
Itinerary
1
Bentota River
2 hours • Admission Ticket Included
Bentota Travel Mart (Pass By)
Bentota Beach (Pass By)
Beruwala (Pass By)
Kosgoda (Pass By)
Ahungalla (Pass By)
Balapitiya (Pass By)
Maggona (Pass By)
Payagala (Pass By)
Kalutara (Pass By)
Waskaduwa (Pass By)
Wadduwa (Pass By)
Ambalangoda (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Boat Trip can be started anytime before 4pm at your convenient time.
- A minimum of 2 people per booking is required
- Infant seats available
- Most travelers can participate
- This is a full package activity which includes entrance fees, activity charges, transportation and taxes for above mentioned activities & attractions.
- 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
Stephen_G
Enjoyable experience. I would recommend it. Polite and friendly both the driver and boat guide. We saw a number of local wild life.
Reviews
4.9
based on 111 reviews
Stephen_G, Feb 2026
Enjoyable experience. I would recommend it. Polite and friendly both the driver and boat guide. We saw a number of local wild life.
Brenda_H, Dec 2025
Fantastic tour. We had a very enthusiastic guide who ensured we had a memorable experience. We saw 3 crocodiles
Ana_R, Dec 2025
We enjoyed a River Safari with Bentota Travel Mart agency. They were very professional. All the process, from the booking, the pickup service and the safari was smooth and save. The guide, Harinda, was great, kind and informative. The thing we liked most was the respectful way in of how Harinda approached the animals. We sighted several Srilanken birds, a large crocodile, and a snake among the others. It was expensive but it was really good
Daniel_B, Apr 2025
We loved this! Never seen a mangrove forest up close and it felt like an unanticipated bucket-list experience. Our guide Hari was a lovely guy, very knowledgeable about the ecosystem and with a genuine passion for nature. We saw a chameleon, huge monitor lizard, baby crocodiles, and various birds including kingfishers and a sea eagle, and fed mango to some langur monkeys. Absolute bargain at the price. Highly recommended!
Livia_N, Dec 2024
A very well planned and executed excursion! Our boat driver was super experienced and tried really hard to show us as much as possible. Small crocodile, varans, frogs and monkeys (to which we even gave some nuts) were all part of the safari.
The driver had fresh pineapple and coconuts for us too, which was very nice of him!
Thibault_F, Nov 2024
It was a great experience. I'm so happy to have started early. Avoided a lot of the traffic in the mangrove.
Harindra was great. He took the time to explain, to stop to show us interesting wildlife and was very considerate all along. His boating skills were also appreciated. He was not speeding through
Naila_R, Oct 2024
We had an amazing afternoon! We saw monkeys, crocodiles, an owl, eagles and several other things along the way! Harindra was extremely knowledgeable and somehow could spot all the camouflaged animals/reptiles! Beautiful scenery, definitely recommend!
Chris_r, Aug 2024
Absolutely loved our tour. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and made our tour memorable.
We saw a lot of wildlife and thoroughly enjoyed it. Even the heavy rain didn’t take away from the experience
Kaitlyn_L, Jul 2024
Sumal is the best captain I could ever imagine! The tour wouldn't be as amazing without him. He is passionate and communicative. He has sharp eyes and locate various animals for us. He's the only captain that brings peanuts so we can feed the monkeys. He also prepared great fruits for us. I can't be more grateful that we were having the tour with him! 100% recommended!
Eden_F, Jun 2024
We had such an amazing time on the river boat safari in Bentota! We booked through Viator and the whole process was super smooth. We got all the info we needed the day before and on the day of, they let us know when and where to be for pick-up, which was great.
Our boatman, Sumal, was just fantastic. He was so friendly and welcoming, and had such a good eye for spotting wildlife. Thanks to him, we saw baby crocodiles, monitor lizards, owls, and a bunch of other cool birds. And those monkeys! They were the friendliest monkeys we’ve ever met. It was so much fun feeding them.
Sumal also stopped to cut up some fresh pineapple for us, which was the sweetest we’ve ever had, and he gave us some king coconut water that was super refreshing. It really added a nice touch to the trip. He also gave me a beautiful flower and it was so sweet! He offered to take pictures of my Husband and I as well.
Overall, it was a wonderful experience from start to finish. Sumal made it really special, and we couldn’t have asked for a better guide. If you’re thinking about doing a river safari in Bentota, definitely go for it!
KatrinNina_O, Feb 2023
It was a great trip. Our driver was very friendly and helpful. In Bentota we went on a boat with Sumal and he was the perfect guide. He knows everything about this area and we had the chance to see monkeys, iguanas, birds, flying foxes, a little crocodile and of course the mangroves. It was a lot of fun. On the way back we stopped at a turtle farm and got a lot of information about this cute animals and the chance to hold and help them. It was a wonderful experience!
Response from Host, Jul 2023
Greetings from Bentota Travel Mart !
Thank you for taking the time to share your recent experience with Bentota Travel Mart. 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 the activity memorable and enjoyable.
Big Thanks from BTM
Weam_Z, Dec 2021
Excellent service, on time, friendly, knowledgable, a once in a lifetime experience. We booked just a few hours before and they showed on time. They were really helpful i poiting out things to see and even took us to a herb garden free of charge
Response from Host, Dec 2021
Dear Weam ! Greetings from Bentota Travel Mart ! Thank you very much for the wonderful review about Bentota River Safari & Our service. it means a lot for us. I do hope that you would keep on recommending about our service and automatically it would make a huge difference in taking Bentota Travel Mart to another level. Looking forward to see you again in Sri Lanka again
Big Thanks from BTM
Kerstin_G, Nov 2023
Tolle Mangroventour. Einzigartige Mangroven, doch leider waren keine Riesenkrokodile zu sehen, auf die wir uns sehr gefreut hatten. Mein Mann und ich waren alleine im Boot, so dass es eine private Tour war. Das war natürlich total Klasse. Unser Tourguide hat uns zusätzlich mit frischer Ananas und Kokosmilch verwöhnt!Insgesamt ein tolles Erlebnis!
Dan_H, Aug 2023
God service fra start til slut. Fik en masse historier, og blev serviceret . Levede op til vores forventning
From $32.00
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
Compare Similar Experiences
Current
Bentota River Safari By BTM (Mangrove & Wildlife Encounter)
111
2 hours
Free Cancellation
From
$32.00
Customers Who Bought This Tour Also Bought
Attractions in Galle, Sri Lanka
More attractions near Galle, Sri Lanka