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Activity provider: Ethereal Ceylon
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Full-day trip from Colombo visiting New Giragama Tea factory & Restaurant, Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kandy. Operated by Ethereal Ceylon.
Highlights
- Explore the Royal Botanical Gardens, home to 4,000+ plant species and orchids
Negombo/Colombo to Elephant Orphanage, Tea & Kandy Day Tour: Key Facts
| Price | From $110 per person |
|---|---|
| Duration | 8 hours |
| Group size | Up to 7 people |
| Tour type | Guided Tour |
| Booking | Direct with the local operator — no OTA markup |
Choose from 1 available option
Negombo/Colombo to Elephant Orphanage, Tea & Kandy Day Tour
Full-day trip from Colombo visiting New Giragama Tea factory & Restaurant, Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic and Royal Bo...
8 hours
English
$110
Free cancellation
Full description
A full-day trip out of Colombo taking in New Giragama Tea factory & Restaurant, Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kandy. The longest stop is Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, at about 1 hour. There are 3 stops in all.
The running order is New Giragama Tea factory & Restaurant (45 min), then Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic (1h), then Royal Botanic Gardens, Kandy (1h).
The price covers hotel or airport pickup and drop-off, Licensed tour guide, Entry/Admission - Tooth Relic Temple Kandy and Royal Botanical Gardens Peradeniya (optional). It does not cover lunch and Elephant Orphanage Pinnawala, 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.
Pickup location:
Colombo
Car
(1.5 hours)
New Giragama Tea factory & Restaurant
Break time, Visit, Guided tour, Shopping, Sightseeing, Food tasting (45 minutes)
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
Photo stop, Visit, Guided tour, Sightseeing (1 hour)
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kandy
Photo stop, Visit, Sightseeing, Walk (1 hour)
Arrive back at:
Colombo
Includes
- Hotel or airport pickup and drop-off
- Licensed tour guide
- Entry/Admission - Tooth Relic Temple Kandy
- Royal Botanical Gardens Peradeniya (optional)
- Entry/Admission - Tea Plantation and Tea Factory with free Tea Tasting Session
- Entry/Admission - Bahirawakanda Vihara Buddha Statue
- Kandy View Point
- Kandy Lake
- Kandy City Center
- Entry/Admission - Oak Ray Handcrafted Wood Carvings
- Entry/Admission - Gem Museum
- Bottled water
Excludes
- Lunch
- Elephant Orphanage Pinnawala
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 8 hours
Check availability to see starting times
Wheelchair accessible
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Main Tour Price
Starting from $110
$110
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 or airport pickup and drop-off, Licensed tour guide, Entry/Admission - Tooth Relic Temple Kandy, Royal Botanical Gardens Peradeniya (optional), Entry/Admission - Tea Plantation and Tea Factory with free Tea Tasting Session, Entry/Admission - Bahirawakanda Vihara Buddha Statue, Kandy View Point, Kandy Lake, Kandy City Center, Entry/Admission - Oak Ray Handcrafted Wood Carvings, Entry/Admission - Gem Museum, Bottled water
The duration of the Negombo/Colombo to Elephant Orphanage, Tea & Kandy Day Tour is typically 8 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.
Negombo, if you land in the evening, land tired, or fly out early — it is 10 km from the airport against Colombo's 35, which in bad traffic is 90 minutes. Give Colombo a proper day later in the trip instead of a jet-lagged half one. See our Negombo airport guide.
From about 5am, finished by eight. It is a working auction rather than an attraction — boats landing, the catch on the sand, and everything packed up before the heat. Jet lag makes the early start easy.
Two to three hours through mangrove channels and out to Monkey Island, past stake-net and crab fishing worked the same way for centuries. Kingfishers are near-guaranteed, along with monitors on the banks. Calm water throughout, so it suits children and non-swimmers. See the Negombo lagoon guide.
Roughly LKR 3,000-4,500 from the official counters in arrivals. Ride-hailing apps are usually cheaper but need a local SIM — buy one in arrivals for a few dollars, which is the single most useful thing to do before leaving the terminal.
One night on arrival and one on departure, or two if you want both the dawn fish market and a lagoon trip without rushing. Negombo is comfortable and well placed rather than a destination in its own right, and it does that job very well.
In the dry season, roughly December to March. From May to September the southwest monsoon builds the sea along this whole coast and currents strengthen. The beach is long and usable but it is not the south coast.
Time it for a puja — 5.30am, 9.30am or 6.30pm. Those are the only windows when the upper relic chamber opens and the hevisi drummers play; outside them you are visiting a beautiful building rather than a ceremony. Take socks: shoes come off at the gate and the stone courtyard gets painfully hot. Full detail in our Temple of the Tooth guide.
February for the clearest weather, or July-August, which is drier here than most people expect and covers the Esala Perahera. Kandy sits between Sri Lanka's *two* monsoons and catches some of both, so it has no long dry season — but it also never has a season that is a write-off. See best time to visit Kandy.
Reserved seats open 30 days ahead and sell out within hours from December to March. Unreserved 2nd/3rd class is sold on the day and always available — you will stand, which is where the open doorways and the famous photographs are. Sit on the right-hand side going south. Note there is no Nuwara Eliya station; the stop is Nanu Oya, 10 km away. See our Kandy to Ella train guide.
July or August — but the dates move every year with the lunar calendar, so any guide naming a fixed week is guessing. It runs ten nights and ends on the Nikini poya. Book accommodation on the route six to twelve months ahead. Details in our Esala Perahera guide.
Sigiriya and Dambulla (2.5 hrs each way) is the best of them. Kitulgala rafting is 2 hrs, the Knuckles range and Pekoe Trail stages are day hikes from here. Ella, Galle and Yala are *too far* — 4-6 hours each way. See day trips from Kandy.
Two nights. One full day for the town — Bahirawakanda, Peradeniya gardens, the lake and the evening puja — and a second for a hike, a village day or the cultural triangle. Our Kandy 2-day itinerary lays it out hour by hour.
The centre and the lake circuit are walkable. For anything up a hill or out of town, take a tuk-tuk — roughly LKR 100-150/km on the meter, and ride-hailing apps price it automatically with no negotiation. See getting around Kandy.
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.