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Activity provider: Ceylon Itinerary Holdings
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Full-day trip from Colombo visiting Unawatuna Beach, Jungle Beach, Unawatuna and Galle Fort. Operated by Ceylon Itinerary Holdings.
Highlights
- Experience the best of Sri Lanka’s southern coast in a single day
Colombo: Galle, Unawatuna, and Madu River Day Trip: Key Facts
| Price | From $305 per person |
|---|---|
| Duration | 9 hours |
| Group size | Up to 8 people |
| Tour type | Guided Tour |
| Booking | Direct with the local operator — no OTA markup |
Choose from 1 available option
Colombo: Galle, Unawatuna, and Madu River Day Trip
Full-day trip from Colombo visiting Unawatuna Beach, Jungle Beach, Unawatuna and Galle Fort. Operated by Ceylon Itinerar...
9 hours
English
$305
Free cancellation
Full description
A full-day trip out of Colombo taking in Unawatuna Beach, Jungle Beach, Unawatuna, Galle Fort and Galle Fort - Lighthouse. The longest stop is Galle Fort, at about 1 hour. There are 9 stops in all.
The running order is Unawatuna Beach (20 min), then Jungle Beach, Unawatuna (30 min), then Galle Fort (1h), then Galle Fort - Lighthouse (20 min), then Galle Region (30 min), and on from there.
The price covers hotel pickup & drop-off (Colombo or Negombo), Private air-conditioned vehicle, All attraction entrance fees and Southern-style lunch. It does not cover personal expenses, so budget for those separately.
Tour Itinerary
Itineraries are customisable as per your request
The schedule below is a suggested plan and can be adjusted to suit your preferences.
Starting location:
Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport
Car
(2 hours)
Unawatuna Beach
Visit, Walk (20 minutes)
Jungle Beach, Unawatuna
Photo stop, Visit, Guided tour, Free time, Swimming (30 minutes)
Galle Fort
Visit, Sightseeing, Walk (1 hour)
Galle Fort - Lighthouse
Visit, Sightseeing, Walk (20 minutes)
Galle Region
Visit, Coffee, Free time, Walk, Tea ceremony, Food tasting (30 minutes)
Karandeniya
Photo stop, Visit, Guided tour (30 minutes)
Western Province, Sri Lanka
Visit, Coffee, Guided tour, Sightseeing, Walk, Food tasting, Surfing (30 minutes)
Madu Ganga
Visit, Boat cruise (1 hour)
Gem Museum
Visit, Shopping (30 minutes)
Arrive back at:
Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport
Includes
- Hotel pickup & drop-off (Colombo or Negombo)
- Private air-conditioned vehicle
- All attraction entrance fees
- Southern-style lunch
- Bottled water
- Wi-Fi on board
- Professional driver/guide
Excludes
- Personal expenses
Important information
Meeting point
The operator confirms the exact meeting point and time once your booking is confirmed, and you will have it well before the day. If you would rather know before you book, message us on WhatsApp and we will ask them for you.
Know before you go
- Free cancellation available up to 24 hours before the activity starts
About this activity
Free cancellation
Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
Secure payment
Complete your booking safely with Razorpay. Full refund if you cancel 24h prior. Read more
Duration 9 hours
Check availability to see starting times
Wheelchair accessible
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Main Tour Price
Starting from $305
$305
Need a custom booking or have a larger group?Contact Support via WhatsApp
Free cancellation
Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
Secure payment
Complete your booking safely with Razorpay. Full refund if you cancel 24h prior. Read more
Frequently Asked Questions
Hotel pickup & drop-off (Colombo or Negombo), Private air-conditioned vehicle, All attraction entrance fees, Southern-style lunch, Bottled water, Wi-Fi on board, Professional driver/guide
The duration of the Colombo: Galle, Unawatuna, and Madu River Day Trip is typically 9 hours. We recommend arriving 15 minutes before the scheduled start time for a smooth check-in. Your guide will meet you at the designated meeting point and ensure the experience runs on schedule while remaining flexible to your pace.
For most experiences, we highly recommend an early morning start. This allows you to avoid the midday heat, bypass the largest crowds, and capture the best lighting for photography. Your guide can advise on the optimal timing based on the season and specific attractions included.
Yes, once your booking is completed via our secure payment gateway, you will receive an instant confirmation email with your tour details, meeting point address, guide's name, and direct contact information. You can also view and manage your booking through your AsiaByLocals account dashboard.
Yes! All our private tours are fully customizable. Whether you want to add extra stops, skip certain locations, change the pace, or adjust the start time — simply let your guide know in advance or on the day. We aim to create a personalized experience tailored to your interests and energy level.
We offer free cancellation up to 24 hours before the scheduled start time for a full refund. Cancellations within 24 hours may be subject to a partial charge depending on the tour type. Weather-related cancellations for outdoor and boat tours are handled on a case-by-case basis, with full refunds or free rebooking offered when safety is a concern.
Most of our experiences are family-friendly and suitable for children of all ages. However, some tours involving extensive walking, water activities, or early morning starts may be better suited for children aged 5 and above. Please check the specific tour description for age recommendations, or contact us for personalized family itinerary advice.
After booking, you will receive detailed meeting point instructions via email. Most tours include complimentary hotel pickup within the central area. For tours without pickup, your confirmation email will include the exact address, Google Maps pin, and your guide's phone number for easy coordination. Guides typically arrive 10 minutes early and will message you on WhatsApp.
We accept all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), PayPal, Apple Pay, and Razorpay for Indian cards. All payments are processed through a PCI-compliant secure gateway with 256-bit encryption. You can also pay in multiple currencies — the price is automatically converted to your local currency at checkout.
Yes, all AsiaByLocals guides are licensed professionals who have been rigorously vetted through background checks, skill assessments, and customer reviews. Many hold government-issued tourism licenses, university degrees in history or cultural studies, and have years of experience leading tours for international travelers. Every guide maintains a minimum 4.5-star rating to remain active on our platform.
No. It is a living town of about four hundred families, not a heritage site with a gate — you walk in. Go late afternoon: the ramparts face west, so that is both the light and the sea breeze, and the day-trippers leave around five. See our Galle Fort guide.
Roughly November to April. From May to September the southwest monsoon builds the sea and strengthens rip currents, and swimming becomes genuinely dangerous even on calm-looking days. The east coast is the reverse — dry and calm May to September. See our south coast beaches guide.
November to April, with January to March the reliable core. Boats leave Mirissa harbour at 6-6.30am and are back by eleven, so staying in Mirissa or Weligama the night before is effectively required. Outside the season, Trincomalee on the east coast takes over. See the Mirissa whale watching guide.
No — and an operator promising one is promising something they cannot control. Sighting rates in season are high; the honest operators offer a free repeat trip instead of a guarantee. Choose a smaller boat with a naturalist aboard that commits to the 100 m distance rule.
Rarely. The main resort stretches sometimes have them; most beaches do not. Red flags mean what they say, and an empty sea on a hot afternoon is information — locals know which days are dangerous. If caught in a rip, swim *parallel* to the beach, not against it.
Two nights. One full day for the countryside cycling and Galle Fort at sunset, and a second morning for the whale boat. Our Galle 2-day itinerary sets out the hours and why they matter.
They vary a great deal. The better ones release hatchlings the same night they emerge; the worse ones keep them in tanks for visitor photographs, which sharply reduces survival odds. Ask what happens to the hatchlings before you pay.
December to March is the driest stretch. Colombo sits on the west coast, so it gets the southwest monsoon roughly May to September — the northeast monsoon (October to January) hits the *other* side of the island instead. Any guide describing one national "rainy season" is only describing half the country. Full breakdown in our best time to visit Colombo guide.
Tuk-tuks are everywhere — insist on the meter or agree the fare first. PickMe is the local ride-hailing app and usually cheaper than flagging one down, with no fare argument. The coastal railway south toward Galle runs along the sea and costs very little. See getting around Colombo.
Rice and curry is the everyday meal, not a dish — rice with several curries and sambols. Kottu roti is chopped roti cooked with a distinctive clanging rhythm on the griddle, hoppers are bowl-shaped fermented rice-flour pancakes, and lamprais is the Dutch Burgher dish baked in a banana leaf. See the Colombo food guide.
Pettah is the market district east of Fort, and its streets are organised by trade — one for electronics, one for textiles, one for hardware, one for spices. The candy-striped Red Mosque (Jami Ul-Alfar, 1908) is the landmark. Street-by-street in our Pettah market guide.
Galle is the easiest — about 2 hours on the southern expressway. Kandy is only 115 km but 3-4 hours each way on a mountain road. Sigiriya is realistically a 12-14 hour day and is better as an overnight. Honest distances in our day trips from Colombo guide.
Two days covers it comfortably. Colombo is not a museum city and most travellers pass through on the way somewhere else — our Colombo 2-day itinerary sets out a realistic pair of days.