Tailor-made Sri Lanka journeys, planned in Weligama.
(+94) 71 489 9799 (+94) 76 173 1708 contact@ouratravel.com
6 days Romance Private tour
Sri Lanka’s Secret Shores
- 6 days Duration
- 50 Max People
- Airport Pickup
- Udaya Guider
About this trip
About this route
Six days built around the water on two coasts. You start at Kalpitiya in the north west for Bar Reef, the largest reef in the country, then move south for the wrecks and reefs off Hikkaduwa, Unawatuna and Weligama.
This one is season specific. It runs from December to April, when the west and south are calm and the visibility is worth the trip. Outside those months the swell closes most of these sites and we would send you east instead.
The trip is private on land, with your own vehicle and driver-guide. In the water you dive or snorkel with local operators who know each site.
Why this route works
- Bar Reef is the largest reef system in Sri Lanka and sits in a marine sanctuary that tourism has barely reached.
- Kalpitiya has resident dolphin pods offshore, often in the hundreds, and the boat goes out at dawn.
- The Conch at Hikkaduwa is an early Shell oil tanker that went down in 1903 and is one of the most accessible wrecks in the country.
- Two coasts in six days, which is only possible because the drive between them is short.
Who it suits
- Certified divers, and snorkellers who are comfortable in open water from a boat.
- Anyone who wants reef and wreck in the same week.
- Couples, because the non-diving half of a pair has Galle Fort and the beaches within reach every day.
Who it does not suit
- Anyone travelling between May and October. The west and south are rough then and this route does not work.
- Complete beginners. We can arrange a course, but this itinerary assumes you can already get in the water.
Included activities
- Kalpitiya beach and lagoon
- Dolphin watching boat trip
- Bar Reef snorkelling or diving
- Galle Fort walking tour
- Stilt fishermen on the south coast
- Turtle hatchery
- The Conch wreck at Hikkaduwa
- Unawatuna reefs and wrecks
- Weligama bay
Best time to go
December to April. That is when the west and south coasts are calm, the visibility is at its best and the boats run daily. The dolphins off Kalpitiya are most reliable in the same window. Ask us about the east coast instead if your dates fall between May and October, because Trincomalee and Pigeon Island are in season then.
How booking works
Send your dates through the enquiry form on this page, or message us on WhatsApp. You get back a day by day plan with the hotels named and a price for your group. Nothing is held or charged while you think about it.
To confirm, we ask for a deposit of 50 percent of the total, with the balance due at least five days before you arrive. Bookings made within ten days of arrival are paid in full at the time of booking. Card payments are handled by PayHere, and a booking is confirmed only once we send you written confirmation.
Prices shown here are per person in US dollars, based on the level 1 hotels. Dive tanks, weights and guiding are quoted separately once we know your certification and how many dives you want. Cancellation terms are set out in our refund policy.
Day by day
A plan, not a timetable. Any day can be swapped once you are here.
Your driver-guide meets you at the airport and drives north to Kalpitiya, a fishing peninsula between a lagoon and the sea that tourism has mostly passed by.
The beach is a long narrow spit, reachable by road or by boat across the lagoon. Dolphins, kite surfing and the reef are what bring people here. The afternoon is for none of them.
Out early for the dolphins, which gather offshore here in large pods through the season and often ride the bow.
Then Bar Reef, about an hour out by boat. It is the largest reef in Sri Lanka, protected as a marine sanctuary, with a long list of corals and reef fish and regular sightings of reef sharks, rays and turtles. You can dive it or snorkel it. The shallow sections are as good as the deep ones.
A long drive south, around Colombo and down the coast to Galle. It is the one real transfer day and the expressway takes most of the sting out of it.
Galle Fort fills the afternoon. It is a Dutch walled town on Portuguese foundations, still lived in, and the wall at sunset is where the whole town ends up.
Hikkaduwa is the morning. The reef here is shallow, busy with fish and easy to snorkel, and the wreck offshore is the reason divers come. The Conch was an early Shell oil tanker that struck a rock and sank in 1903, and she sits at around twenty metres with the structure open enough to swim through.
On the drive you will pass the stilt fishermen, who sit on poles set in the shallows, and there is a turtle hatchery on the same stretch.
Unawatuna in the morning, a bay with coral, two small wrecks and more than 170 species of reef fish, along with turtles and octopus. Whale sharks pass occasionally, which is the one nobody plans for.
In the afternoon you move on to Weligama, where the bay is wide, shallow and sandy. It is the gentlest water on this coast, which makes it the best place to end.
Your driver-guide takes you to the airport. From Weligama it is about two and a half hours on the expressway. Remember to leave at least eighteen hours between your last dive and the flight.
What is included
- Private air-conditioned vehicle with an English-speaking driver-guide for all six days
- Five nights of hotels with daily breakfast, based on the level 1 rooms
- Dolphin watching boat trip at Kalpitiya
- Boat transfers to Bar Reef and to the southern dive sites
- Entrance fees for the sites listed in the itinerary
- Galle Fort walking tour
- Bottled drinking water in the vehicle every day
- All government taxes and service charges
- International and domestic flights
- Dive tanks, weights, equipment hire and guiding, quoted separately
- Lunches, dinners and snacks unless the itinerary says otherwise
- Sri Lanka visa fees
- Travel and diving insurance, which we strongly recommend you arrange
- Tips for your driver-guide, boat crew and hotel staff
- Anything not listed in the itinerary
Where this route goes
Kalpitiya, Galle
- Private tour, never a group
- Your own driver-guide and vehicle
- Every day can be changed
- One number to call, any hour
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Want this trip, but not exactly like this?
Every route on this site is a starting point. Tell us your dates and what you would change, and we will send back a version that fits.
