Sri Lanka – Tea Country, Luxury Resorts & Wildlife – Premier

Start your Premier escape with an overnight flight to Colombo.

Touch down in Sri Lanka this morning, where you’ll be welcomed to the country by your friendly Premier Collection tour manager. From here, board a coach for a drive to coastal Negombo. Over the centuries, the city was ruled by the Portuguese, Dutch and British empires, and the drive through the city streets will reveal a fascinating collection of contrasting colonial influences.

Enjoy a welcome drink as you check into your first hotel and take some time to freshen up before meeting the rest of the group and your tour manager for an introductory talk. Afterwards, settle in for a special welcome dinner at the hotel and the rest of the evening at leisure.

Once you’ve had breakfast this morning, you’ll be free to spend the rest of the day as you see fit. If you’re keen to see more of Negombo under your own steam, set out to explore some of the many Roman Catholic churches that have earned the city its moniker, ‘Little Rome’. Alternatively, you can head to Sri Lanka’s commercial capital, Colombo, on an optional sightseeing excursion.

On this morning’s tour, you’ll be guided around the city’s grand Fort District, the commercial centre of the city, where you’ll find Pettah Bazaar, one of the oldest and most popular open-air markets in the country. Here, amongst a warren of street food vendors and artisan stalls, experience daily Sri Lankan life at its most authentic. Continue to upscale Cinnamon Gardens, a neighbourhood built on the foundations of an 18th-century cinnamon plantation, to see its array of mansions, parks, and government buildings. Of the district’s highlights, the Independence Memorial Hall is perhaps the most impressive, and you can admire it from outside. Complete today’s optional tour with stops at the Galle Face Green, a coastal park in the heart of the city, and the magnificent Lotus Tower, South Asia’s tallest self-supporting structure.

As the sun sets this evening, reconvene with the group and head to the Negombo coast for a small boat ride across Negombo Lagoon. Joined by only seven other passengers, you’ll be perfectly placed to unwind amongst some of Sri Lanka’s most enchanting settings. This delightful sprawl of gold-sand beaches, mangrove swamps, and fishing boats is home to a wide array of wildlife, including over 100 bird species, reptiles and tree-climbing toque macaques. After some time on the water, head back to shore and return to the hotel for dinner.

Get ready for a day on the road, with breakfast at the hotel, and trade ‘Little Rome’ for ‘Little England’ on a scenic inland drive to pristine Nuwara Eliya. On the way, stop in rural Kitulgala, a quiet rainforest town which is best known as a filming location for David Lean’s 1957 war epic, The Bridge on the River Kwai.

Here, meet a local chef for a culinary masterclass on the seasonings, produce and techniques that go into Sri Lanka’s most popular dishes. After learning more about each local delicacy, you can try them with an included lunch in the village, ahead of your onward journey to Nuwara Eliya, the former colonial enclave of the British Empire. As you drive, pass several tea and spice plantations which were once operated by the planters and officials of British Ceylon.

Arrive at the hotel later this afternoon, check in, and head back out alongside your tour manager and a local wildlife expert for a leisurely sunset stroll. Choose between a nature walk through nearby Kurawatta’s wildlife-rich trails, home to more than 50 native bird species, or a visit to nearby Hethersett village, a former colonial hub. At the end of your evening walk, head back to the hotel for dinner.

Once you’ve had breakfast, head south across Sri Lanka’s Central Highlands for a visit to Horton Plains National Park, a sprawling reserve that’s home to cloud forests and rolling grassland hills. Here, you’ll witness some of the park’s most recognisable vistas on for a 9-kilometre circular hike.

Start the day’s activity at the Horton Plains Visitor Centre, where a series of interactive exhibits will introduce you to the park’s local flora and fauna species. You’ll then be joined by a specialist guide for the start of your hike. Across this approximately three-hour walk, you’ll see the World’s End escarpment, where the plateau gives way to a 1,200-metre drop, before continuing to Baker’s Falls, shrouded by the mist of its twin cascades.

Later, stop for an afternoon high tea and taste some of the region’s most popular blends, before heading back to the hotel for the rest of the day at leisure. If you haven’t already, you can take a treatment at the spa or try one of the cocktail lounge’s signature tea-infused tipples.

Enjoy a leisurely morning and breakfast at the hotel before heading out into the Central Highlands for an insight into the region’s tea-farming heritage and a private tour of a Ceylon plantation. Meet the local pluckers to learn more about the techniques used to harvest the best leaves, before changing into some traditional attire and heading back into the fields for your chance to pluck your own tea leaves.

This afternoon, head down to the Heritance Mini Tea Factory, to see how each leaf is transformed from field to cup. Sample a selection of locally produced teas, each with its own distinct flavour and intensity, before collecting the leaves you picked earlier as a memento of your time on the plantation.

The rest of the day will be yours to spend as you see fit and dinner will be served back at the hotel tonight.

Have breakfast at the hotel, check out, and board a coach for the drive to wild Yala. On the way, stop at the Elephant Transit Home in Udawalawe, a conservation centre focused on rehabilitating orphaned and injured elephant calves back into the wild. Established in 1995 by the Sri Lankan government, this centre cares for up to 60 calves at any given time and aims to stabilise the species’ endangered wild populations. With a tour of the facilities, you’ll learn more about the young elephants, and you may even get to watch a feeding session.

From here, continue to Yala, home to one of Asia’s most impressive natural parks, where you’ll check into your next five-star hotel. This evening, settle in and make the most of the hotel’s amenities at leisure before reconvening for dinner.

Rise early this morning for the first of your two included Jeep safaris and head out under the rising sun to spot Yala National Park’s native species. This vast protected wild space covers almost 1,000 square kilometres, and having been designated in 1938, it’s one of Sri Lanka’s oldest national parks.

Your experienced driver will stop at several popular watering holes on this excursion, giving you the best chance to view herds of Sri Lankan elephants and water buffalo, as well as the elusive sloth bear. You’ll also pass through scrub forests and open plains, many of which are known haunts of the park’s resident leopard population, as well as a selection of coastal lagoons, where saltwater crocodiles can also be found.

Return to the hotel for a late breakfast and the rest of the afternoon at leisure and perhaps venture back out for more thrilling animal encounters with an optional sunset safari. On this evening excursion, delve deeper into Yala National Park and revisit a few of the most popular spots at sunset and experience the reserve in a different light. There’ll be just as many memorable wildlife-spotting opportunities as the temperatures begin to fall and animals will be at their most active.

This evening, reconvene at the hotel’s restaurant for dinner.

There’s another chance to witness Sri Lanka’s remarkable local wildlife today with another morning game drive in Yala National Park. Venture back out under the softer light and keep an eye on the skies for the reserve’s colourful birdlife. Of particular interest is the Malabar pied hornbill, with its peculiarly shaped beak, and the black-necked and painted storks that patrol Yala’s wetland areas. You can also spot peacocks in their natural habitats and perhaps even catch sight of the brightly coloured bee-eaters.

Later this morning, head back to the hotel for breakfast and make the most of its first-class facilities with a full afternoon at leisure. As the midday temperatures peak, you can cool off in the swimming pool, or perhaps enjoy a treatment at the spa, before settling in for dinner at the hotel’s restaurant this evening.

This morning, once you’ve had breakfast, journey west to historic Galle for a guided tour. Stop on the way at a local community to learn more about mee kiri (buffalo curd), a traditional Sri Lankan delicacy, and its preparation. Here, you’ll see the full process, from the heating and inoculating of the raw milk to its fermentation, and can try the finished mee kiri. This Sri Lankan treat can be eaten in savoury or sweet dishes, but it’s most often served with kithul (palm) treacle.

Continue to Galle and take a tour of the city’s historic Fort district, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was first built by the Portuguese in the 16th century and later developed by the Dutch East India Company. Despite having watched over the city’s harbour for more than 400 years, the area’s ramparts, churches and merchant houses are remarkably well preserved.

After some time to explore, stop at a restaurant for lunch and travel to Tangalle, the final stop on your Premier tour. This evening, settle in at leisure and join your fellow travellers for dinner.

Today, start with breakfast at the hotel, and set off on a tour that will showcase one of Sri Lanka’s most significant craft industries, toddy tapping. This time-honoured practice involves climbing palm and coconut trees to harvest the rā (sap) from their flowers. On this insightful excursion, you’ll watch local craftsmen at work, accompanied by an agriculture expert, who will guide you through each step of the production process. Afterwards, you can try a traditional Sri Lankan toddy, a mild palm wine made from the fermented rā, alongside a selection of cocktails and regional snacks.

This afternoon will then be at leisure, and you can choose to return to the hotel or continue exploring coastal Tangalle before dinner.

It’s your final full day in Sri Lanka, and you’ll be free to spend it as you see fit. If relaxation is on your mind, take advantage of the resort’s wellness centre for a spa treatment or perhaps take part in a morning session in the yoga pavilion. Alternatively, you’ll be only a few metres from the seafront and can make the most of Tangalle’s idyllic gold-sand beaches at leisure.

Those who are keen for more excitement can take part in a wide variety of water sports on today’s optional excursion. With its calm coastal lagoons and warm waters, Tangalle’s seafront is well suited to kayaking, snorkelling and windsurfing excursions, and you’ll have the chance to try your hand at each one before returning to shore.

Those visiting between November and April will also have the chance to spot the native and migratory marine wildlife that dwells beneath the waves on an optional whale-watching cruise. With Sri Lanka’s monsoon season over, the seas tend to be much calmer during this period and animal sightings are more frequent. Accompanied by an experienced captain, you’ll be taken to the most popular spots for whale sightings. On the open water, you’ll have the best chance to see blue whales surfacing and perhaps catch a glimpse of the region’s sperm whales and spinner dolphins breaching.

This evening, head back to the hotel for a final dinner in Sri Lanka.

Have one more breakfast and check out, before heading back to Colombo for your overnight flight back to the UK.

Land in the UK this morning.