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View all Colombo toursYala National Park Leopard Safari Day Trip from Colombo
A full day from Colombo to Yala, the park with the highest leopard density in Sri Lanka, including entrance tickets and a game drive in an open jeep.
Highlights
- Around three hours of game driving in Yala Block One, the best-known leopard habitat in Sri Lanka
- Park entrance tickets and the safari jeep with tracker included
- Elephants, sloth bears, crocodiles, spotted deer and heavy birdlife around the lagoons
- Private air-conditioned car from Colombo with hotel pickup and return
- Coastal expressway drive south past Galle on the way down
Yala National Park Leopard Safari Day Trip from Colombo: Key Facts
| Price | From $260 per person |
|---|---|
| Duration | 12 hours |
| Group size | Up to 6 people |
| Languages | English |
| Tour type | Guided Tour |
| Booking | Direct with the local operator — no OTA markup |
Full description
Yala sits in the dry south-east corner of the island, where scrub forest meets rock outcrops and lagoons run down to the sea. It is best known for leopards, and Block One in particular has one of the densest recorded leopard populations anywhere. Density is not the same as a guarantee: trackers work the park daily and read fresh signs, but a sighting is still a matter of luck and patience.
The drive down from Colombo takes around three hours on the southern expressway, so the day begins early. Your driver collects you at your hotel and the road runs past Galle and along the coast before turning inland towards Tissamaharama and the park gates.
At the entrance you swap into an open safari jeep with a driver and tracker. The game drive lasts roughly three hours through the park's tracks, tanks and open plains. Beyond leopards, Yala holds elephants, sloth bears, spotted deer, sambar, wild boar, mugger crocodiles and jackals, and the birdlife is one of the strongest in the country: painted storks, peacocks in numbers, sea eagles and a long list of migratory waterbirds between November and March.
Park entrance tickets are included in this tour, which removes one of the more awkward parts of visiting Yala independently, along with the jeep and its tracker.
This is a twelve-hour day and around six hours of it is spent in the car. It works if you want Yala without moving hotels, though anyone who wants the best light and the calmest tracks will get more out of an overnight stay near Tissamaharama.
Tour Itinerary
The schedule below is a suggested plan and can be adjusted to suit your preferences.
Hotel pickup in Colombo
Your driver collects you for the drive south.
Drive to Yala
Around three hours on the southern expressway past Galle, then inland towards Tissamaharama.
Yala game drive
Transfer into an open safari jeep with a tracker for roughly three hours in the park, working the tracks, tanks and open plains.
Lunch near the park
Break at a restaurant near Tissamaharama, at your own expense.
Return to Colombo
The drive back north to your hotel, arriving in the late afternoon or early evening.
Detailed Itinerary
[{"time": "04:00", "title": "Hotel pickup in Colombo", "description": "Your driver collects you for the drive south."}, {"time": "04:00 - 08:00", "title": "Drive to Yala", "description": "Around three hours on the southern expressway past Galle, then inland towards Tissamaharama."}, {"time": "08:30 - 11:30", "title": "Yala game drive", "description": "Transfer into an open safari jeep with a tracker for roughly three hours in the park, working the tracks, tanks and open plains."}, {"time": "11:30 - 12:30", "title": "Lunch near the park", "description": "Break at a restaurant near Tissamaharama, at your own expense."}, {"time": "12:30 - 16:00", "title": "Return to Colombo", "description": "The drive back north to your hotel, arriving in the late afternoon or early evening."}]
Includes
- Private air-conditioned vehicle with English-speaking driver; hotel pickup and drop-off in Colombo; Yala National Park entrance tickets; safari jeep with driver and tracker; bottled water; fuel, tolls and parking
Excludes
- Meals and drinks; tips for the driver and tracker; camera fees where charged; personal expenses; travel insurance
Important information
Meeting point
Hotel pickup in Colombo, arranged when you book.
Know before you go
- Free cancellation available up to 24 hours before the activity starts
About this activity
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Traveler Reviews
Very good experience I strongly recomend. Danish it s a great guide and our driver at Yala was excelent. Very good conditions and very well organized
We had a wonderful day trip to Yala National Park with Denuwan and Kajan from Apple Vacations, traveling as a family (especially with a 4- and a 1-year-old children). We especially appreciated their perfect punctuality, safe and smooth driving, and kindness and attentiveness throughout the journey. The car was in excellent condition and well air-conditioned, and the road from Colombo to the park was of very good quality, with well-timed breaks at service areas, which really helped when traveling with young children. Yala National Park itself is vast and well organized, and we were satisfied with the number of animals we were able to see. Clear explanations and constant care made the experience equally pleasant both on the ways and during the park visit. Highly recommended. Note for future travelers: from Colombo, this is a day trip requiring about 12 hours in total, with 4–4.5 hours of driving each way and approximately 3 hours spent inside the park. But it's rewarding. - Héridan
Not worth it at all ! No communication from the start. Firstly, We had to reach out ourself to check if the booking was confirmed or not. No info if the driver arrived or not for the pick up. We had to reach out again. Arrived at 7:45 at the entrance of the park, compared to itinerary plan 6:30am. Was asked to pay for the entrance tickets even though it is mentioned that it is included. Again No communication between the team and the safari guide. Bottle water wasn’t issued. Actually not worth it for 7hours journey as we did not even stay the full 3 hours inside the park. Only stayed 2h20, If you would like to visit Yala, please make your own way near and book in, Not worth paying this much, safari guide just wanted to kill time and didn’t give any information, itinerary talks about Block II (which is great for sightings) but the whole 2h20 was in Block I in cercles.
In general, the safari to Yala National Park didn't offer us much because we didn't see any cheetahs or elephants (except for one). Apparently, it was not possible to drive to all parts of the National Park because it had rained a lot in the days before. It would be very good if you could find out something like that in advance, because then you can still decide whether you want to go or not. We only saw a few bambis, peacocks, and 3 monkeys. Far too little for so much money. At least the driver, Jeev Driver Ranga, was very good, not at all pushy, and everything worked out well from an organizational point of view. In general, I would like to say that GetYourGuide is very good at organizing good excursions. It is very helpful for us tourists to explore the country we are visiting. I can definitely recommend GetYourGuide.