Sri Lanka holidays, planned by people who live here
Hand-picked hotels from US$45 a night, a private driver from one to the next, and a planner on WhatsApp who builds the trip with you.
Ways to see the island. Each one is a starting point: we'll change the hotels, the pace and the stops to suit you.
Suggested route 10 nights
Sigiriya, Kandy, Ella, Yala and the south coast
Everything, without rushing. Two nights at every stop, so you unpack once and stay put for a day.
Price based on
Suggested route 10 nights
Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Haputale and the south coast
For people who would rather go high and then go flat than tick off ancient cities. Four nights in the hills, four on the coast.
Price based on
Suggested route 10 nights
Anuradhapura, Sigiriya, Kandy, Yala and the south coast
The ancient capitals first, in the order they were built, then a safari at Yala and two nights on the south coast.
Price based on
Or start from nothing
Most of what we send out is not one of the routes above. Tell us how long you have, what you want to see and what you'd rather skip, and a planner writes the itinerary from scratch — same partner hotels, same driver included, same one quote.
Or email contact@genuinesrilankans.com
Honest advice on each area, what it's good for and what it isn't, with the partner hotels we'd send our own family to.
Not coach tours or group trips. Your own driver, your own pace, and hotels chosen for the way you like to travel.
Set routes that cover the island without rushing, and a driver who knows every stop.
Two nights at each stay, with a Bawa hotel or a beach finish added to the plan.
Short drives, rooms that fit everyone, and a driver who's happy to stop whenever you need.
Fewer places, longer stays, and day trips from one base instead of packing every morning.
Every one visited by our team. Rates are partner rates, quoted for your dates.
Sigiriya & Dambulla
Built into a cliff above the tank by Geoffrey Bawa, and slowly being taken back by the jungle.
Kandy
A big hotel in the hills just outside Kandy, with the town close enough for the temple but far enough to be quiet.
Kandy
A long-established Kandy hotel on the bank of the Mahaweli, closer to town than most.
Ella & the hills
Chalets built on a working tea estate, looking straight across at Little Adam's Peak.
Hotels by Geoffrey Bawa
We can put Heritance Kandalama, or another Bawa hotel, on any of our routes.
See Heritance KandalamaPrivate experiences run by our own team, added to the same quote as your hotels.
Which is why the driver is included in every price on this site, rather than sold to you as an extra.
The airport to Ella. About three to Kandy, and two and a half from Sigiriya to Kandy — before anyone stops for lunch or a temple. The hotels are the easy part; the distance between them is what tires people out.
The same person who quotes your trip is the one on WhatsApp while you are here, and the same driver is with you throughout. Our own team, answering from Gampaha — not a rota, and not a call centre.
There is no card field anywhere on this website. A planner quotes your actual dates, and you change the hotels, the pace and the order until it fits. Nothing is owed while you are deciding.
Lankan Hotels is a website operated by Genuine Lanka Holiday & Tours (Pvt) Ltd, licensed by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority under SLTDA/SQA/TA/02496. It is a booking channel, not a separate company: every trip booked here is arranged and invoiced by that company.
There is no checkout on this website and no card form. You agree the trip with your planner, and they confirm in writing what is due and when before anything is payable.
Talk to a planner in Sri Lanka, however suits you best.
Send your dates and who's travelling. We'll reply with a plan and real prices.
Start a chatPrefer email? Tell us what you have in mind and we'll write back with a full plan.
travel@genuinesrilankans.comStraight answers from the people who plan these trips every day.
