Seductive Sri Lanka (2022)

Day 1

Arrival

Upon arrival, you will be met and assisted at the airport and taken to the Shangri La Hotel in Colombo.

Colombo is Sri Lanka’s capital – it is a port city with a rich colonial heritage, and is a potpourri of races, religions and cultures. Colombo is a city of contrasts, where mansions, lush gardens, fine dining options, shopping malls packed with designer brands exist alongside underprivileged areas and lively street markets. Despite its small size (37.31 km²), Colombo offers a large selection of experiences ranging from taking a tuk tuk ride, visiting Pettah market and eating Kottu to playing a round of golf and having high tea at one of the hotels overlooking the Indian Ocean.

Due to members of the group possibly arriving at different times, dinner tonight is not included but can be taken at the hotel or you can enjoy room service at your leisure.

Day 2

Colombo and Floating Market

Today, you will meet your travel mates after breakfast at the hotel and will enjoy a Colombo city tour, exploring shopping and city sights with an optional visit for a spa treatment.

A throbbing metropolis, Colombo, is not only the country’s commercial capital, but also the turbine that impels over 50% of the national GDP. Drive along the streets around the crystal white Racecourse, the horse racing hub in 1893. Then, you will take a ride to Pettah and explore the Floating Market – an offbeat shopping experience. You’ll feel the buzz surrounding this area which features parks, commercial complexes and even an F1 track! The designer boutiques, top-notch cuisine outlet and even the ‘walk-over fish tank’ have transformed this colonial masterpiece into one of the trendiest shopping and hangout zones in Sri Lanka.

Enjoy a chilled beer at the historic 17^th Dutch Hospital complex while gazing through fancy windows showcasing the best fashion, jewelry and handcraft brands. Smell the scent of incense while listening to the chiming bells of the Gangaramaya Buddhist Temple nearby.

The welcome dinner tonight at the Shangri La Colombo’s Shang Palace restaurant, the first round is on your hostess Jean.

Day 3

Matale and Kandy

After breakfast, you will check out and transfer from Colombo to Kandy (approximately 4 hours), visiting Matale spice gardens en route. An agricultural zone in the Central Province, Matale is an important area of the island growing tea, rubber, vegetables and spices. Spearheading the Rebellion back in 1848, Matale today takes immense pride in its story woven around its spice culture. You will make a stop at a spice garden where you will learn about the therapeutic properties of spices while enjoying a refreshing cup of herbal tea! Spend some time people watching –  witnessing the colors, voices and fragrant smells.

Continue on to Kandy (approximately 1 hour) and check into the Kandy House. You can spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Kandy is home to the The Temple of the Tooth Relic, one of the world’s most sacred Buddhist places of worship. Situated amid green hills, lush tea plantations and rice paddies, Kandy is gorgeous and charming due to its beautiful Sinhalese architecture and delicious cuisine.

Dinner tonight is on your own, recommendations will be provided but you can take your meal right at the hotel, perhaps first with a drink by the pool.

Day 4

Botanical Gardens of Peradeniya and Kandy

After breakfast at The Kandy House, you will head to Peradeniya where you will visit the Botanical gardens. The Royal Botanical Gardens of Peradeniya were first developed as a pleasure garden under royalty and later harmonized by the British. You will walk into this 147-acre bliss of an experience, passing well-tended lawns, pavilions and an octagon conservatory and be greeted by the vast expanse of a magnificently landscaped lush green turf.

Return back to Kandy and spend the day exploring the city sights and enjoying a cultural show in the evening! Kandy is a World Heritage site and was the last royal capital of Sri Lanka under King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, before it was brought under the British rule in 1815. Experience an ancient Kandyan legacy engraved around its crown jewel, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic of Lord Buddha. A stroll across this small lakeside oasis – cradled among the misty hills – is bundled with world class brands, bazaar, an arts and crafts center, as well as a gem museum and lapidary.

Glide through fresh fruits and vegetables in the Kandy market. Fine tune the evening by stepping to the beat of traditional music and drumming amplified by a cultural show enhancing the rich and vibrant culture of the Wonder of Asia.

Your local guide will suggest a magnificent dinner in town for the group to enjoy either before or after the performance (this meal is not included but you will find most meals quite affordable, ranging from $10 USD pp).

Day 5

Hatton

After breakfast at The Kandy House, you will head to the Peradeniya railway station and board the train to Nanu Oya (a 2:40 hour ride). Enjoy the train ride watching the countryside pass by you. Upon arrival, you will be met by a chauffeur and will continue on to Hatton (1 hour drive), where you will check into a luxury room at the Tea Trails Relais & Chateau Hotel and spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Enjoy the lush tea fields, and visit a century old factory, for the gentle education in the art of Ceylon Tea. You will meet with your travel mates at teatime, around 4pm, for a proper English tea. Then, you will meet up at the hotel’s restaurant for dinner around 7:30pm before retiring to your beautiful room for a calm night’s rest.

Day 6

A Day at Tea Trails

The day at Tea Trails starts with the wonderful tradition of Bed Tea. Served by your butler as part of a gentle wake-up call. The butler will also draw your bath.

Then, an early morning walk followed by an English or Sri Lankan breakfast. A unique aspect of Tea Trails’ cuisine is the use of fresh, home grown vegetables, herbs and teas from the surrounding estates. Basil, rosemary, thyme, tarragon, sage, parsley and mint inspire and enliven the chef’s menus every day. Scrumptious afternoon cream teas in gardens curiously English and exotic at the same time. A four-course dinner that is at once contemporary with its garden-fresh ingredients married with choice wines, best shared in good company. Or a fabulously aromatic, authentic Sri Lankan rice and curry for lunch – a definite harbinger of the afternoon siesta.

Tea Trails is all about the time-honored planters’ traditions: Roaring fires and the comfort of a single malt whisky while the mists roll in or a stiff gin and tonic after a long day’s walk in the tea gardens, accompanied by the spicy flavors of Sri Lankan nibbles to stimulate the appetite.

Here at this very special and unique destination hotel you’ll find plenty to do. Walking the tea trails and discovering how they grow and produce tea, of course spa time and relaxation are de rigeur. You will not tire of this beautiful location miles from anywhere! Plus having your own butler will make you feel like the princess that you truly are!

If you wish, you can take dinner on their own or meet up with your travel mates to share the day’s discoveries over a meal with wine.

Day 7

Transfer to Galle

After breakfast at Tea Trails, you will head to Galle (approximately 5 hours’ drive) stopping along the way for lunch. Upon arrival, you will check into the Galle Fort Hotel and spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Perched on Sri Lanka’s southwest coast, Galle wears its history on its sleeve. Windswept beaches and nodding palms surround its colonial-era showpiece, a 16th-century Portuguese-built fort, while the rest of the city is trimmed with Dutch-style houses, quirky shops, whitewashed mansions, and heritage museums.

Dinner is not included tonight but there are so many places to discover in Galle, you will decide with the group and enjoy a meal together in town.

Day 7

Galle

After breakfast at Galle Fort Hotel, spend the day exploring – including an afternoon tour of Galle’s city sights.

The epic southern capital, Galle is the intersection where classic Dutch architecture meets a tropical setting creating a vividly picturesque atmosphere. Walk the Dutch-haunted streets listening to the creaks of wooden saloon doors and observe how European architecture mingles with South Asian traditions. Its original ramparts and bastions showcase evidence of a heritage preserved for more than three and a half centuries. Walk clockwise within the fort to observe the ‘old gate’ which carries the British coat of arms. Flanking the old gate is the Zwart bastion – the oldest of all – as well as the lighthouse standing 18 feet tall in all its glory next to the Point Utretcht Bastion.

Hop into the Dutch Hospital Shopping Complex to be mesmerized by an array of souvenir selections.

Dinner is not included – you can choose to stay in or go out!

Day 9

Leisure Day in Galle

After breakfast at Galle Fort Hotel, you will spend the day at leisure with a vehicle available for you use, perhaps for some last-minute shopping or sightseeing.

Tonight, you will enjoy an extravagant dinner at Amangalla. This meal is included in the trip and the first round is on Jean. Furnished with period chairs and tables, crisp white linen and antique silverware, the high-ceilinged Dining Room rests at one end of Amangalla’s magnificent Great Hall, or Zaal, as it was known in Dutch times. Soaring fin de siècle ceilings, overhead fans and chandeliers, and the veranda facing the tree-lined street create the perfect setting for exquisite Sri Lankan and international cuisine. A jazz pianist plays nightly. A fitting place to salute new friendships formed, with promises to meet again someday soon.

Day 10

After breakfast at Galle Fort Hotel, transfer from Galle to Colombo (approximately 2:30 hours) where you will partake in a guided Colombo city tour in WW2 Jeeps. Travelling in an open-air jeep will give you unobstructed 360-degree visibility, which is great for taking photographs and filming while sightseeing. Photographs and video clips of the tour will be given to to you free of charge. You will also be able to squeeze in a tiny bit more last-minute shopping in town.

The last hoorah tonight (not included in price of trip) will be at the Ministry of Crab to sample Sri Lanka’s legendary lagoon crab. Voted one of Asia’s top 50 restaurants. You will finish up in time to transfer from Colombo to the airport for your late-night flight. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end!

If you require another night in Colombo for your international flight connection rooms at the Galle Face Hotel are available for approximately $160 USD.