Southern India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives: 21 days
Three weeks is where this corner of the map stops being three separate holidays and starts being one journey. Kerala for the food, the water and the hills. Sri Lanka for the ruins, the tea and the wildlife. The Maldives for the last five nights, when you have earned them.
- Duration
- 21 days
- Pace
- Moderate
- Hotel changes
- 9
- Best months
- Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec
- From
- $6,720 per person
The whole route is coordinated from our Delhi office, which covers India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, working with our own people in India and with long-standing local partners in Colombo and Malé.
Who it suits: travellers with real time, second visits to the region, retired couples, and anyone who would rather do this once and properly.
Day by day
Kerala, days 1 to 8
Day 1: Arrive Kochi. Met and transferred to Fort Kochi. Nothing scheduled beyond dinner.
Day 2: Kochi. A morning walk through Fort Kochi and Mattancherry: the Chinese fishing nets, the synagogue and the spice warehouses, the Dutch and Portuguese layers on top of each other. An evening of Kathakali or Kalaripayattu, both of which are better than they sound.
Day 3: Kochi to Munnar. Four hours or so climbing into the Western Ghats, the last hour through tea. Afternoon free.
Day 4: Munnar. A tea estate morning, factory included, then a walk in the hills. Cool enough at around 5,000 feet (1,500 m) to need a jumper in the evening, which after Kochi is a pleasure.
Day 5: Munnar to Thekkady. Across to the Periyar reserve. Afternoon boat on the lake, or a guided walk in the buffer zone, which sees more.
Day 6: Thekkady to the backwaters. Down to Alleppey and onto a private houseboat for the night, moving slowly through the rice paddies and the canals. Cooked on board, and the food is usually the best of the week.
Day 7: Backwaters to Marari. Off the boat mid-morning and out to a quiet stretch of Keralan coast for a day that has nothing in it.
Day 8: Marari to Kochi, fly to Colombo. A short flight in the afternoon, met on arrival, and a night near the airport.
Sri Lanka, days 9 to 16
Day 9: To the cultural triangle. North to Sigiriya. Dambulla’s cave temples in the afternoon.
Day 10: Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa. The rock fortress at opening, before the heat. Polonnaruwa by bicycle in the afternoon.
Day 11: Sigiriya to Kandy. Arriving for the evening ceremony at the Temple of the Tooth.
Day 12: Kandy to the hill country. The botanical gardens, then the tea-country train south with reserved seats.
Day 13: The hill country. A working tea estate, the pluckers and the factory, and a walk on the estate paths. Nine Arch Bridge or Little Adam’s Peak at first light for those who want it.
Day 14: Hills to safari. Down to Udawalawe or Yala for an afternoon game drive.
Day 15: Safari to the south coast. A dawn drive, then west to Galle.
Day 16: Galle and the coast. The fort in the late afternoon. Otherwise free.
The Maldives, days 17 to 21
Day 17: Fly Colombo to Malé, transfer to the island. Short flight, then a speedboat, domestic flight or seaplane. We choose the island and the flight together so that a seaplane island is reachable within the daylight window, and if it is not, we change one of the two rather than hoping.
Days 18 to 20: The island. Three full days. A guided orientation snorkel on the first morning, one boat excursion, one sandbank drop, and otherwise nothing. After twelve days of moving, this is the part of the trip that makes the rest of it work.
Day 21: Transfer to Malé and fly home. Late checkout or a day room where the flight is at night.
What is included
All accommodation across three countries, private cars with English-speaking driver-guides in Kerala and Sri Lanka, the private houseboat night with all meals, the reserved hill-country train seats, safari park fees and jeeps, the Kochi to Colombo and Colombo to Malé flights, the Maldives transfer, four nights on the island with the meal plan we recommend, all taxes including the Maldivian green tax, and a WhatsApp group with your consultant here and our people in Kochi, Colombo and Malé.
Honest notes
Twenty-one days with nine hotel changes is a moderate pace, not a slow one. If you want it slower, take a night from the cultural triangle and a night from Munnar rather than shortening the Maldives, which is what makes the last week work.
December to March is the window where all three countries line up. Outside it, one of the three is usually in its wet season, and we will tell you which and reshape the route rather than send you into it.
Kerala’s drives are slow. The distances look modest and the roads are not. Every time above is real.
Three countries means three sets of entry rules. India needs an e-visa in advance, Sri Lanka needs an electronic travel authorisation, and the Maldives is normally visa on arrival. All of that changes from time to time, so treat it as guidance: we confirm the current rule for your passport and your dates before we quote, and we send the correct links with your final documents.
A Gulf stopover works well in front of this trip if you want to break the flight. Two or three nights in Dubai on the way out sits neatly ahead of Kochi.
Related
Shape this trip around us All The Maldives, where choosing the island is the whole decision trips
