I
South coast
Beaches and surf
Mirissa, Weligama and Tangalle: palm-lined bays, whale-watching boats and some of the gentlest surf breaks in Asia, perfect for a first lesson.
DXB → CMB · Hill CountryWellness · Wildlife · Golf · Private beachesHEL → CMB · Hill Country
Sri Lanka
An island that heals slowly, with tea, rain and old wisdom.
- From Dubai
- About 4½ h direct
- Time
- 1½ h ahead of Dubai
- From Finland
- About 12–15 h, one stop
- Time
- 2½–3½ h ahead of Finland
- Season
- All year, coast by coast
- Currency
- Sri Lankan rupee
The feeling
An island for the few.
Sri Lanka, seen the private way. A helicopter over the tea hills, a villa on an empty bay, a leopard at first light from your own camp, and a retreat where real doctors design your days around rest and recovery.
For guests from the Nordics and Europe it is also the perfect winter escape, with warm sun and green fairways from October to March. Every moment is private, unhurried and arranged entirely around you.
When to go
Always a sunny side
Two monsoons take turns, so one coast is almost always dry. Ayurveda works in any month, and the rain is part of the calm.
- JanSouth & hills dry
- FebSouth & hills dry
- MarWhales off Mirissa
- AprNew Year festivals
- MayEast coast opens
- JunEast coast season
- JulEast coast season
- AugEsala Perahera, Kandy
- SepEast coast season
- OctInter-monsoon rain
- NovGreen season
- DecSouth coast season
BestGoodQuiet
Places
An island of many worlds
II
Yala & Minneriya
Leopards and elephants
Yala has one of the highest leopard densities on earth, and in the dry season hundreds of elephants gather at Minneriya. Peacocks are everywhere.
III
Sigiriya
The lion rock
A fifth-century royal fortress on top of a rock nearly 200 metres high, with frescoes and water gardens below. Best climbed at first light.
IV
Kandy
The sacred city
The last royal capital, set around a lake and the Temple of the Tooth. In July or August it hosts the Esala Perahera procession.
V
Hill Country
Tea country
Cool mornings, colonial bungalows and green hills of tea. The train from Kandy to Ella is one of the loveliest rides anywhere.
VI
Galle
The old fort by the sea
A UNESCO-listed fort town of ramparts, lanes and a lighthouse, a short drive from the Ayurveda coast.
Guests arrive tired. They leave sleeping through the night, and they notice.
Experiences
Moments to collect
Save the ones you love to My Journey. We build your itinerary around them.
01
Private helicopter over the island
Fly over tea country and land near Sigiriya for a private dawn climb.
02
Private leopard camp
Your own tented camp at the edge of Yala, with a private tracker and jeep.
03
The elephant gathering
Hundreds of wild elephants at Minneriya, away from the crowds.
04
A private wellness retreat
Ayurveda, yoga and meditation designed by resident physicians.
05
Surf at sunrise
Private lessons on the gentle south-coast breaks.
06
Peacocks and birdlife
More than 400 bird species, with a private naturalist.
Wellness
Recover, not just rest
Ayurveda in Sri Lanka is a two-thousand-year-old medical tradition, not a spa menu. In a private retreat, your physician reads your pulse, designs your treatments day by day, and guides a programme that leaves you genuinely restored.
- Resident Ayurvedic physicians
- Panchakarma, yoga and meditation
- Digital-detox and recovery programmes
Winter-sun golf
Your golf season never ends
From October to March, Nordic courses sleep under snow. In Sri Lanka the sun is warm and the fairways are green. Play a colonial-era course in the cool hill country, or a lakeside green near Kandy, with tee times secured and a villa, a safari or a spa day in between.
- Colonial-era hill-country course
- Lakeside greens near Kandy
- Tee times and private transfers arranged
Fine dining
Island flavours, beautifully served
Sri Lanka's finest kitchens turn centuries of spice into something extraordinary. Private chef's tables, world-class restaurants and long, unhurried breakfasts by the sea, each arranged around your tastes.
✦ Halal menus and private dining arranged in advance.
Where you'll stay
Villas, camps and retreats
We don't publish rates or names. Every stay is chosen for you and confirmed when we design your journey.
Private Wellness Retreats
Retreats with resident doctors, gardens and the sea close by.
Exclusive-use Tea Bungalows
A whole planter's bungalow for you, with a butler, a chef and fireplaces.
Private Safari Camps
Quiet lodges at the edge of the national parks.
Private Beach Villas
A villa, a pool and an empty stretch of sand, with staff to look after you.
Moments we can arrange
Your Sri Lanka, your way
No fixed days. Choose what you love and we shape the pace, the order and every detail around you.
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Seaplane and helicopter transfers
Skip the roads and arrive by air.
-
Whale watching by private yacht
Blue whales and dolphins from a private boat.
-
A round of golf
Tee times arranged on a hill-country or coastal course.
-
An Ayurveda programme
Consultation, then treatments, yoga and a diet set by your doctor.
-
Sigiriya at dawn
Climb the lion rock before the heat with a private historian.
-
A tea-estate morning
Walk the estate with a planter and taste the fresh leaf.
-
Kandy and the Temple of the Tooth
The sacred city and its lake at dusk.
-
Galle ramparts at sunset
Walk the fort walls as the town comes out for the evening.
-
A private chef's table
Sri Lankan flavours cooked for you alone, by the sea or in your villa.
Gallery
Sri Lanka in pictures
- Wellness & recovery
- Golf in the winter sun
- Private safaris
- Honeymoons
- Private families
- Corporate retreats
