Exploring the Best of Sri Lanka: A Two-Week Itinerary

Hello explorers!

I’m back from two weeks in beautiful Sri Lanka, and it was one of our best trips ever. There are several reasons for this, but I can sum them up in three things: the incredibly friendly people, the delicious food, and the amazing variety the country offers such as sandy beaches, the beautiful national parks and amazing mountain towns.

Here’s what you can expect from this blog post:

• A detailed 2-week itinerary covering Sri Lanka’s main tourist route
• Tons of first-class food recommendations
• Tips and tricks on what we would have done differently, so you can learn from our mistakes 😉

How to get to Sri Lanka?

If you’re flying from Europe to Sri Lanka, you will most likely arrive at the country’s international airport in Colombo. From Germany, there are direct flights from Frankfurt, but there are also plenty of indirect options with stopovers in the Middle East, such as Dubai or Sharjah.

We flew from Berlin to Colombo and decided to include a one-night stopover in Dubai since we had never visited the city before. Spoiler: we didn’t really like it—so you won’t find much more about it on this blog 🙂 On the way back, we actually had two stopovers because the overall flight price was cheaper that way. One of them was in Istanbul, whose airport we found quite impressive. After this journey, we also became big fans of Turkish Airlines, but that’s a story for another time.

How much time do I need to visit Sri Lanka?

One big advantage of Sri Lanka is its size. The country is quite small, similar to the size of Bavaria, making it a great destination for a two-week vacation, something that many people in the corporate world can realistically take.

Fourteen days is enough time to explore the main tourist route without constantly rushing from place to place. If you don’t have the possibility to take two full weeks off you can most likely still make it work in about ten days by skipping a stop or moving between places a bit faster – or simply change your job 😉

Of course, if you have more time, you can easily extend your stay. You could spend extra days relaxing on one of Sri Lanka’s many beautiful beaches or explore parts of the country that are a bit more off the beaten path, such as the north-east.

What can I visit in two weeks in Sri Lanka?

After arriving in Colombo, you can explore the main tourist route in two ways. You can either start your trip with the beaches in the south or travel inland first to visit the cultural and natural attractions before heading to the coast.

We chose to go to the beach first, but if we did the trip again, we would probably do it the other way around. Ending the trip with a relaxing few days at the beach seems like a nicer way to finish the holiday.

We visited the places in the following order, however the exact opposite order would also be possible.:

Mirissa (3 nights)
Tangalle (2 nights)
Udawalawe National Park (1 Night)
Ella (3 nights)
Kandy (1 night)
Sigiriya (3 nights)
Negombo Airport (1 night – to catch the early flight)

Depending on your preference, you can choose to spend more time at the beaches or explore the highlands. We decided to spend fewer days at the beach because we really enjoy adventures, but looking back, the beaches were so beautiful that we would probably do it differently next time and visit additional beach towns.

Mirissa

Mirissa was our first stop in Sri Lanka and a great place to start the trip. The small beach town on the south coast is known for its relaxed atmosphere, beautiful beaches, and plenty of restaurants and cafés right by the ocean. The beach itself is long and perfect for swimming, relaxing, or simply watching the sunset.

Mirissa is also famous for whale watching, which is one of the main activities in the area. We joined a tour by the company Raja and the Whales which cost 50$ per person which is a reasonable price for this activity. Compared to many other tours, it also felt very sustainably organized, and you could really sense that the well-being of the animals was their top priority.

What we did in our 3 nights in Mirissa:

Visited Secret Beach (which is not so Secret anymore- but still beautiful)
Climbed Coconut Tree hill
Whale watching
Last but not least: Sipped our first King Coconuts 🙂

Our accommodation in Mirissa was Secret Mirage Mirissa. A very cute family-owned home stay located on the hill on the way to Secret Beach. We really enjoyed staying there as the family were great hosts that provided home cooked fresh breakfast in the morning, laundry service and a great sense of hospitality. The room was great too: very well built, super clean, with hot water in the shower and a nice surprise—a sea view over the bay. It was the perfect start to our trip in Sri Lanka.

Food recommendations in Mirissa:

Akesh Juice Bar and Restaurant (Home made food close to our Homestay)
Capybara Cafe (great for co-working and fancy drinks such as Pink Latte)
Dhana’s Curry Pot ( delicious All-you-can-eat- buffet for 4€ per person)
Cafe Mamba Coffee (great lunch spot)

Overall, Mirissa felt like the perfect place to arrive, recover from the long journey, and slowly get into holiday mode. Looking back, we could have spent easily 1 or 2 nights longer there.

Tangalle

Tangalle is a quieter beach town on Sri Lanka’s southern coast, perfect if you’re looking to escape the more touristy areas. The beaches here are wide, often nearly empty, and perfect for long walks, swimming, or just relaxing with a book and the sound of the waves. We loved the laid-back vibe of Tangalle. Unlike Mirissa, it felt very peaceful, and it was easy to find a quiet spot on the sand even in the afternoon.

There are also a few local restaurants and cafés where you can enjoy fresh seafood while watching the sunset.If you’re visiting for a couple of days, Tangalle is a great place to slow down, recharge, and enjoy the natural beauty of Sri Lanka’s southern coast.

One day we rented a scooter and explored the beaches nearby, took a surf lesson at Kudawella Surf School ( can definitely recommend it!) and had a delicious curry after at Febjune Restaurant.

We stayed at Shiva’s Beach Cabanas, right at the very end of Tangalle Beach, next to the mangroves and a local Wildlife Turtle Project. I want to mention this to raise a little awareness, as we were initially quite confused about it.

On the afternoon we arrived in Tangalle, we took a long walk along the beach and came across a turtle nesting center, where turtle eggs are buried to help the little ones safely make it to the sea. So far, so good.

The strange part came when a local approached us and asked if we wanted to see the big turtles nesting at night. We had already heard at our accommodation that Tangalle Beach is famous for turtles coming ashore to lay their eggs. The “guide” said he offers night tours to watch the turtles from a distance.

Even though we were curious, something felt off. After checking reviews, it became clear that some of these tours exploit the turtles, disturbing them while nesting just so tourists will pay. Please, if you visit, do not support this practice.

Another thing worth mentioning is that the sea at the end of Tangalle Beach, where we stayed, is not safe for swimming. The waves are usually very high and the current can be dangerously strong. Unfortunately, there have already been deadly accidents involving tourists, so it’s important to be careful. But don’t worry, you can still enjoy the Indian Ocean along the coast. Along the beach there are several natural pools where you can safely get into the water and enjoy the sea. And the long beach walks alone are already a good reason to stay at Shiva’s Beach Cabanas.

Tangalle is the perfect spot to relax, read a book to the sound of the ocean, and recharge before heading inland to explore the country. That’s exactly what we did before continuing to our next stop: Udawalawe National Park.

Udawalawe

Udawa… Udawale… I definitely had a few difficulties pronouncing the national park’s name the first couple of times. All you really need to know is that this is the place to see plenty of wildlife—most prominently the Asian elephant, and lots and lots of them.

The small town of Udawalawe spreads out around the park, and many guesthouses are located quietly along the road leading to the national park. Because of that, it doesn’t feel crowded at all.That was also the case with our homestay, Leel’s Safari Cottage, where we spent one night and had probably the best accommodation of our whole Sri Lanka trip. Leel is an amazing host with a great eye for architecture and a real sense of hospitality. His mom cooks delicious homemade Sri Lankan curry for dinner and prepares an abundant breakfast so you’re well ready for safari day. You can also book the safari directly with Leel, like we did, as he has his own jeep.

There is the option to book a 12-, 6-, or 3-hour safari. We chose the middle one, as it seemed like enough time to go deeper into the national park without spending the whole day there. And we were not disappointed. As soon as we entered the park, we saw wild elephants—and after driving around for a bit, we spotted even more.

The landscape is beautiful, and besides the elephants we also saw buffalos, crocodiles, many different birds, chameleons, and plenty of other animals. Of course, the elephants were the main stars.

Another great thing was that there were not too many jeeps in the park, so it never felt overly crowded. Our driver—and the drivers of the other jeeps as well—kept a respectful distance from the animals, which meant the elephants didn’t seem stressed or disturbed. Unfortunately, this was not always the case in other places in Sri Lanka, but I’ll come back to that later in the blog post.

In the end, we even saw a few baby elephants and a small confrontation between a male and a female elephant. Overall, I can definitely recommend spending a day in this national park.

Ella

After the heat and wildlife of Udawalawe, our next stop was Ella, a small town in Sri Lanka’s hill country surrounded by lush green mountains and tea plantations. The climate here is noticeably cooler, which already makes the place feel very different from the coast and the national parks.

Ella has become one of the most popular stops for travelers in Sri Lanka, mainly because of its beautiful scenery and the many hikes you can do in the area. The town itself offers lots of small cafés, restaurants, and guesthouses spread along the main road, as well as homestays located higher up in the hills with amazing views over the valley—such as ours, Idyll Homestay.

For us, Ella ended up being one of our favorite stops on the trip since we did plenty of activities there besides visiting the main sights like the Nine Arches Bridge or Little Adam’s Peak. One reason for that was the weather. When we arrived it was quite cloudy with some rain, so instead of hiking and visiting nearby waterfalls we decided to try a few different things that we probably wouldn’t have done if the sun had been shining—and I’m really glad we did.

Some of our favorite experiences in Ella were:

• A Sri Lankan cooking class at White Elephant Cookery Class

We cooked four different vegetarian curries, coconut roti, dahl, coconut sambal, and even learned how to make fresh coconut milk—before sitting down together to eat everything afterwards. (Highly recommend!)

• A visit to the Tea Factory Uva Halpewatte with a tea tasting at the end

You can choose between visiting the factory itself or touring the surrounding tea plantation. We chose the factory tour to see the machinery, as we did a plantation tour the following day. It was really interesting to see how many steps it takes to produce tea before it ends up in the small tea bags we buy in Europe.

• Picking tea leaves and learning how organic black tea is made at Organic Tea Queen – Ella – Ella (definitely a must-do!)

This is definitely a must-do if you’re interested in seeing a smaller, local tea business as a contrast to the large factory tea production. You’ll learn how to make five different kinds of tea, and I promise—after this visit, you’ll feel like a real tea expert, just like we did 😉

• Meditating with a monk (yes, you read that right!) at Mahamevnawa Buddhist Monastery

First of all, the temple itself is absolutely stunning and easily one of the most beautiful temples we visited in Sri Lanka—if not in all of Southeast Asia. The architecture is very elegant and peaceful, with bright white buildings, golden details, and carefully designed gardens surrounding the temple grounds. Everything feels incredibly calm and harmonious, especially with the temple sitting high in the hills around Ella.

Another special thing about the monastery is that the monks living there offer a free guided tour of the temple every day. Unfortunately, we didn’t know about this beforehand, but we would definitely recommend joining it if you visit for the meditation anyway.

After the tour, there is also a free one-hour guided meditation every day at 5 pm led by one of the monks. Meditating there in the quiet hills around Ella was a really unique and memorable experience.

If you are interested in staying longer, the monastery also offers free 3- and 10-day meditation retreats. You can find more information here: https://meditatewithamonk.com.

• A full-body Ayurvedic massage — let’s just say it was an interesting experience, Marco would say

Ayurvedic massage is a traditional healing treatment that comes from ancient Indian medicine and is very common in Sri Lanka. It usually involves warm herbal oils and long, flowing massage movements that are meant to relax the body, improve circulation, and restore balance. Even if it might feel a bit unusual at first, it’s a unique experience and a great way to try a traditional part of Sri Lankan wellness culture.

And last but not least: sipping a delicious chai (my Indian friends will probably roll their eyes if I say “chai tea”) at the cozy café Té Kadé while it was raining outside again. We’ve been there 3 times – not gonna lie. We also bought some high quality tea to bring back to Berlin – which did not disappoint!

Restaurants we tried in Ella:

Té Kadé – as already mentioned – great Chai but also great lunch options. For Dinner there was always live music!
The Clay Pot Ella – one of the best restaurants of our trip. Please come for an early dinner at 7 to avoid the long queue afterwards.
Matey Hut – a bit overhyped but still yummy!

All in all we spent 3 nights in Ella which was the perfect amount to discover this part of Sri Lanka a bit better. Unfortunately we weren’t lucky with the weather but this didn’t stop us from exploring 🙂

Kandy

Our next stop was Kandy, one of the most important cultural cities in Sri Lanka and located right in the middle of the country. Compared to the smaller towns we visited before, Kandy felt much bigger and busier, but it also has a very special atmosphere thanks to the surrounding hills and the large lake in the center of the city.

Kandy is best known for the Temple of the Tooth, one of the most important Buddhist temples in the world, which attracts pilgrims from all over the country. Because of this, the city has a very strong cultural and religious significance in Sri Lanka.We visited the temple at 6 PM and would definitely recommend doing the same, as one of the daily ceremonies takes place around that time. The atmosphere is very special, with many locals coming to pray and bring offerings.

Before heading to the temple, we had another interesting stop on our agenda: the cultural show at the Kandyan Cultural Centre. Every day at 5 PM, the center hosts a performance showcasing traditional Sri Lankan dance and music. The show includes colorful costumes, rhythmic drumming, and several traditional Kandyan dances that tell stories from Sri Lankan history and culture and costs only around 5€ per person.

A little tip: message the number listed on Google Maps for the Kandyan Cultural Centre on WhatsApp a day in advance to reserve your tickets (it doesn’t cost anything extra). That way you’ll have a good chance of getting seats in the front row and enjoy the show even more!

One place we unfortunately do not recommend in Kandy is the Municipal Market. We went there hoping to find well-priced spices and tea to bring back to Berlin so we could cook the Sri Lankan curries we had just learned.However, the market turned out to be quite a rip-off, with vendors trying to charge ridiculously high prices—around €20 for 500g of spices, while the local price would probably be less than a quarter of that. So just be aware of possible scams and maybe consider buying your spices in a supermarket instead.

Nevertheless, Kandy was still an interesting stop for us to experience a more local and lively side of the country before continuing our journey further north.

Sigiriya

We spent 3 nights in Sigiriya but to be honest 2 nights would have also been enough. One of the most famous sights in Sri Lanka is Sigiriya, also known as Lion Rock. Rising almost 200 meters above the surrounding jungle, the massive rock can already be seen from far away and is one of the country’s most impressive landmarks. However, another thing that is impressive is its entrance fee: 30$ per person.

Because of that we decided not to climb the Lion Rock but Pidurangala Rock instead which is on the opposite side and has amazing views of the Lion Rock. And it costs only a tenth of its price: around 3$ per person. The views were amazing on a cloudy day so I imagine it to be even nicer when the sun is fully on.

Another thing we did when we stayed in Sigiriya was to visit the impressive cave temple in Dambulla. We can also definitely recommend it, although the price is around 10$ per person.

What we noticed in general is that prices tended to be higher and entrance fees were asked almost everywhere once we left Ella and headed further north toward Kandy and Sigiriya. We also encountered the occasional scam in this area.

All in all, we have to say that we enjoyed the south coast and the highlands more. However, we would still highly recommend doing a full round trip yourself to form your own impression—Sri Lanka is truly one of our favorite destinations to visit!

I hope you enjoyed this Sri Lanka 2-week-itinerary and let me know if there are questions in the comments or via mail – I’m happy to help 🙂