Itinerary Advice - East Coast
Hello! I've seen so many helpful posts on this forum so thanks in advance for your thoughts.
I am going to Sri Lanka in a few weeks with my partner and finding it quite challenging to formulate an itinerary. We only have 12 days in the country including our travel days so its v tight! We are young and active and happy to have a full-on schedule though!
Absolute musts for us is that we want to do the East coast, including at least Trincomalee and Passikudah, and we absolutely want to do Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa. We also definitely want to do the Ella-Kandy train journey and stay a day around Ella for some walks etc. We would have loved to go to Galle but can't seem to work out how to fit it in. Also we're really not that bothered about going to Kandy as have heard mixed reviews but the train journey is a must so seems silly not to stay for a night. We are super looking forward to the food but it seems that's gonna be good everywhere!
Atm the plan is spending the evening in Colombo after we arrive, going to Habarana for 2 nights for all the cultural triangle stuff, then to Trinco for a couple nights, down the east coast (2 further nights either both in Passikudah or one there and one Arugam Bay), getting to Ella via taxi and then up to Kandy for 1 night and back to Colombo/Negombo for a night before a morning flight home.
A few questions from this plan:
1) Are there any smart ways to get from the East coast to Ella or Kandy? Easier from Passikudah or Arugam Bay / somewhere else? Is a taxi the only good option?
2) How many days in the Passikudah/Batticola area is recommended?
3) This route would mean we get the Ella-Kandy train on a weekend. Is this a terrible idea or is it ok if we get some reserved tickets and the 6:40 train?
Any other thoughts from your experience also appreciated!
From the East Coast (Trinco or Pasi), come to Kandy. From Kandy - Nuwara Eliya - Ella, doing the train ride between NE and Ella. From Ella move to Galle (Udawalave NP on the way if you want to do a safari). From Galle to Colombo.
There is really nothing much in Pasikudah and Batticaloa other than the beach and sea.
Edited: 1 year agoIf you stay A'Bay as the last destination on east coast it's much easier to reach Ella via Monaragala and Wellawaya. (A4 +A23). Road condition is better and may be around 4 hrs by a car. Then Ella-Kandy train ride and give a miss to Galle.
If you stay Pasikuda as your last destination on east then You have two options.
Option 1
Go to Kandy via A26 road (18 bend road) to Kandy which is 6-7 hrs drive and do Kandy-Ella train ride. Then you can go to Galle via Udawalawe.
Option 2
Pasikuda to Ella via A26 and A5 road and give a miss to Galle.
How ever both options are quite long ride all the way to Ella/Kandy with some bad road stretches on A26 road particularly in between Mahaoya and Padiyatalawa when i travel few years ago. I did not check whether that has been repaired recently.
Edited: 1 year agoWe hated Ella, total tourist trap.
Kandy full of traffic too, not a pleasnt place at ll. Galle by far the nicest city in the country. The old city I should stay.
IBeen to Lanka several times from Matara to Jaffna. . The two places id say cannot be missed are Sigiriya and Galle. Third the tea country around Nuwara Eliya (can see tea country in Darjeeling too).
Arugam bay one of the biggest disappointments of my 39 years of foregin travel, went with great expectations and despised the place. Stayed one night and left at crack of dawn driving all the way back to where we had come from, beloved Tangalle.
Those are the unique places. Nilavelli and Trinco and East coast beaches are nice, but honestly no beach in Sri Lanka is really World class or unique.
Edited: 1 year agoI can't say anything about Arugambay other than it is a surf town full of foreign surfing-types. It is said that many foreigners (mainly Israelis) are running illegal businesses there.
Kandy is a very interesting place full of history and things to do in the city and the area. Some don't like it, but some do. Many videos posted on YouTube by tourists in Kandy are available. Watch a few and decide. Given its central location in the country, if you are touring, you probably will pass through Kandy whether you like the place or not.
Edited: 1 year agoUsually surfers stay at A'bay. Main surf point, Pottuvil point & Whisky points are popular surfing points around the Bay.
One piece of advice I would give is not to do the full train journey from Kandy to Ella, which takes about 7 hours. The nicest part of the journey is from Nuwara eliya to Ella and thats less than 4 hours. So stay in Nuwara eliya for a night or two (its a lovely place and then take the train the next morning.
Ella is a fab spot, if you want to enjoy a night with a few bars to choose from and plenty of restaurants.
thanks so much for the thoughts everyone. have taken lots of it into consideration and made some changes to the itinerary!
HI - you seem to know your stuff! I'm planning a 10 day trip in JULY and know the southern beaches will be impacted by monsoons. Musts for me are Tea Plantations, a Safari area, Sigiriya. I've hear Kandy could be left out given our tight timings. We'll likely get private cars between most places (because of time limitations) but may get a few trains.
What do you think of the below itinerary for July? Thanks in advance:
1. Columbo
2-3. Sigiriya
4-5. Ella (or Nuwara Eliya)
6-7. Udawalawe National Park
8. Hikkaduwa Beach (chill, do a cooking course etc if weather bad)
Columbo Airport
Yes could work. Uw is for 1 night. Compare cabs with a round trip driver up to hikka. Erik
