TLDR: After publishing a 3 weeks In Sri Lanka guide, I got a few DMs on whether you could do Sri Lanka in 3 days, and what would I suggest as the best 3 days in Sri Lanka itinerary. So, having thought it was absurd, then knocked it around in my head, I think I have a solid answer. So, based on actually going there, and not being an AI bot, this is my recommendation for the the perfect Sri Lanka in 3 days trip for solo travellers or couples alike.
Quick 3 Day Itinerary Info: Colombo > Nuwara Eliya/Ella > Udawalawe National Park > Galle/Hikkaduwa > Home – Jump to the itinerary
Key Highlights of 3 days in Sri Lanka
What you can expect:
- One of the most scenic railway journeys on Earth
- Elephant and crocodile spotting in Udawalawe National Park.
- Cocktails in a beach paradise
3 days in Sri Lanka Itinerary Route
Before I dive into some of the pre trip chat, I thought I’d share the route you would take.
From Colombo, where you will fly in, you’ll head east by train through Nuwara Eliya to Ella. Stop there for the night, then head down into the safari plains for a night, and then on to the beach (and party) paradises around Galle and Hikkaduwa. Finally hopping in a taxi or on a train back to Colombo, to depart.
Booking links for 3 days in Sri Lanka travel:
- Colombo to Nuwara Eliya by taxi/bus: Book here >>
- Nuwara Eliya/Ambewela by train (The event): Book here >>
- Ella to Udawalawe transport/car: Book here >>
- Udawalawe National Park to Galle: Book here >>
- Galle (or Hikkaduwa) to Colombo by train: Book here >>
Before you go: About Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is a favoured destination of mine. It has everything really. From beaches, to safari, culture, great food, friendly people and incredible value for money too. I’ve spoken at some lengths about pre trip planning and prep – what to know, safety and more, so I will avoid repeating myself here and focus primarily on the details of a Sri Lanka in 3 days itinerary. But if you want to learn more, the link below will get you that.
For more info on travel prep to the pearl of the Indian Ocean, read our complete guide: Sri Lanka Travel Guide
Who wrote this 3 days in Sri Lanka guide
This is me – David, in the back of tuk tuk (or a rickshaw) travelling around SL. I love this place, although the absence of a smile above may fool you!
I’ve travelled extensively across the country and while 3 days in Sri Lanka, in my mind is wild – I think I can do justice to the task of planning such a trip. Personally I think you will want a year here, just because it’s so pleasant.
I travel alone and with friends, sometimes as a couple, and even as a solo parent with a young son. For that reason I have some grounding in what different people need in different circumstances. This is how I try to write, with the audience in mind and not just a tick box list. If I think somewhere isn’t suitable for parent and kid, or a solo traveller, I will say it.
If you’re looking for that perfect 3 days in Sri Lanka itinerary, I hope you give mine a chance. Enjoy your trip.
The 3 day Sri Lanka Itinerary
You can jump to a specific day with the jump links below or just scroll on down. A few commonly asked questions about a 3 day trip to Sri Lanka are at the bottom.
Jump to: Day 1 – Instagram Mecca | Day 2 – Safari | Day 3 – Beachtime
Day 1: Colombo to Ella
As you land in Colombo airport, I’m making a bold suggestion by telling you to skip the city, and instead head straight to the highlands of Nuwara Eliya and then on to Ella.
Some monsoons in 2025, have made this journey a little clunkier – bridges got damaged. Where work is being done to repair transport routes, you will now need to swallow a couple of changes on the way, although by 2027, you should be able to make this route in one by train again.
Where: Nuwara Eliya is in the mountains, or at least higher altitudes, where the grass is green and the land has historically been used for growing tea leaves. It is known as Little England, and from here you can grab a scenic train to Ella, which is the home of the Instagram famous 9 Arch Bridge.
How to get to: Take a taxi, bus or luxury coach to Nuwara Eliya from Colombo. From there you can connect to Ella by train from Ambewela. You will need a taxi from Nuwara Eliya to Ambewela train station. It’s about 15km between those two.
Travel time/cost/links: The total travel time from Colombo to Ella is between 5 and 6 hours. Made up of 1 hr 40 from Ambewela to Ella, 30 mins from Nuwara Eliya to Ambewela, and 3 hrs 40 mins from Colombo to Nuwara Eliya.
Taxi, rail and coach booking services, can be sorted easily using 12go. Links for this are here >>
For easy railway booking for ‘THAT’ train, from Ambewela to Ella with seat reservations, try this service >>>
Expect to pay between £5/$7 and £25/$35 for travel from Colombo to Nuwara Eliya. The price variation is simply based on comfort and mode of transport. The scenic rail journey can be had for £19 one way per person.
What you should do: Nuwara Eliya is pretty, and it’s nice to see, but for those on a short trip, it’s something you CAN enjoy as part of a travel through. The journey from Colombo to Ella, is an event itself, with the train ride from Ambewela to Ella, being one of the world’s most scenic rail routes. Just getting to to Ella is a memorable activity.
Once in Ella, you have stunning waterfalls to jump into, the very famous Nine Arch Bridge for those photo opps, and a great little town full of solo travellers, backpackers and nomads, all converging to share tales, drink a cold Lion Lager and break bread.
Why this above all other options: When you see a picture of Sri Lanka online, there’s a 90% chance the picture you see is taken in Ella OR hanging out the train from Ambewela to there. You just can’t go there and not put your face in your own version of those photos.
Sure it can be busier than other destinations in Sri Lanka, but we are talking Gen Z busy, as opposed to a souk in Tripoli in the middle of a day. It’s perfectly manageable and doesn’t feel like you’ve walked into a Dubrovnik cruise liner disembarking.
This journey gets you to see and experience a lot in one day which is exactly what you want when you only have 72 hours in Sri Lanka.
I would go checkout the waterfalls on arrival, as you probably want to cool down after a day of travelling, and if you have time see the bridge after. You may want to hit the waterfalls again in the morning, but if can see the bridge and the railway before sunset, you’ve hit the jackpot.
At night, go for drinks in Ella town and meet others travelling the same route as you on large shared tables. If you’re travelling solo, bring a book and it won’t be long before that gets put on the table and you end up making new friends. If you’re staying at one of the neary backpacker hostels, these all run solo traveller meet ups too.
Where to stay
Hostelworld is stacked with great hostels to stay in, in Ella – which you can browse here. A few stand out selections to make your accommodation picks easier are these:
- Best for Zen/Beauty: Wild Bee Hostel – Rated 9.1 (800+ Reviews) – 1 km from the town – Daily active social events, in the form of sunrise hikes, walking tours. Priced from £25/$35 p/n for a dorm bed.
- Best for Social/Solo Travellers: Hangover Hostel – Rated 8.4 (1200+ Reviews) – 0.5 km from the town – Family dinners, yoga and hikes. Priced from £40/$50 for a private room p/n
For more hotel or unique style, Ella has so much choice. Including one with a great view of the railway line, for those who want to capture photos of that, called “The Cabin”. Or for couples who fancy something a little romantic you have the ‘On Rock Boutique Hotel’, worth checking out their deluxe rooms for around £90/$115 p/n.
Day 2: Ella to Udawalawe National Park – Safari so good
Get up early and join in a sunrise hike, where you can meet other solo travellers, or work off some of the previous night’s cocktails in Ella town. Before heading down to the national park territory further south. I visited Udawalawe and can’t recommend it enough.
There are a number of arranged tours that can take you from Ella to Udawalawe that include the safari tour costs also, on our own trip we drove down by tuk tuk and then organised the safari with our accommodation. The choice is up to you, but you may find it easier to grab your own taxi from Ella and sort yourself out direct. This avoids you having to work to other people’s timings.
Where: Udawalawe is in the South Centre of the country and is a drier plains style region. Home to over 250 elephants, crocodiles, leopards, bears and birds of prey. It is quite stunning and is a far more affordable way to do a safari than fly to Kenya. Located south of Ella, it’s a popular stop on the route down to the coast.
How to get to: From Ella, you can grab a private taxi, an AC van, or a bus. There’s even some tuk tuk taxis. No trains take this route, and on our journey, we had our own rickshaw to do the journey. We even got stuck in a traffic jam as a family of elephants decided to block the road for 20 minutes.
Travel time/cost: The total travel time from Ella to Udawalawe is about 2 hours. It can be done more quickly, as it’s between 75 and 100km, depending on road route taken. Expect to pay around £50/$65 for a taxi. So if you’re sharing with others, this cost comes down.
- Book a taxi to Udawalawe: Check here for live prices and booking.
What you should do: Experience safari life for a night and day. It’s pretty easy to get on a safari tour once you’re down here, or you may find it easier to book this in advance once you have your Ella transport sorted by somewhere like Viator or GetYourGuide. Expect to pay around £90/$120 for a 4 hour private jeep safari including entrance tickets, or about half that if you go on a group tour. Personally, I’d save the money and opt for a group tour. These start as late as 2 and 3pm, giving you time to make the trip down and get it all done before nightfall.
Why this above all other options: Looking at historic buildings or walking around botanic gardens is a lovely way to spend a day, but when you have limited time, you’ve got to prioritise endangered species and things you just can’t do in many places. A safari is for many, a never in a lifetime opportunity. Come to Udawalawe and do something you will NEVER forget.
I will always remember my visit here.
Where to stay
Around the national park area you have the choice of eco-lodges, hotels and homestays. For me, I stayed in a glamping style eco-lodge and it really captured the experience I was going for. Most of the places to stay are located around 7-12 km away from the park. This is standard. A couple of good recommendations to check out:
- Best for safari vibes: From £20/$30 p/n for your own double bed glamping pod – Jungle View River Camping
- Best for couples: From £30/$40 p/n and offer luxury style cabins and rainforest vibes – The Elephant Next Door
Day 3: To The Beach! Udawalawe to Galle/Hikkaduwa
You’ve done one of the great railway journeys on this planet, been on safari, it’s time to kick back and experience a beach on the Indian Ocean. It might not be the Maldives, but you can get pretty close.
For Day 3, of our 3 days in Sri Lanka trip, we are getting out our bucket and spade.
We headed from Udawalawe to Galle, and from there we jumped across to Hikkaduwa beach. About 20 minutes away, this stretch of Sri Lanka has a wide selection of beach towns and villages to pick from. We chose Hikkaduwa as it was the most likely to have a party!
Where: Galle is a lovely historic town in it’s own right, is a great access point to other routes around the country and for us, it was a good spot to reach the beach. Hikkaduwa is a 30 minute train ride from Galle and is located on the South-South-West tip of the country.
How to get to: As we had discarded by now our tuk tuk, we had been navigating the country with, we jumped on a £3/$4 train from Galle to Hikkaduwa and booked it via 12Go. It was cheap, easy to deal with and we weren’t the only backpackers on this leg, so ended up chatting to a few others on the ride.
Travel time/cost: The journey takes 30 minutes by train and taxi, or a little longer (around 50 minutes) if you’re putting yourself through the horror of a bus. It’s a hot country, not that trains are always much cooler, but they are faster. I feel like on a lot of the journeys, your decision is made as to what you pick, based on how hot and bothered you are!
What you should do: If you’re feeling particularly cultural, you could spend a couple of hours navigating Galle. It’s an old Portuguese port town with a number of UNESCO sites. But you’re carrying your bags, and while there are bag locker services in town, it’s not something we did. This part of the country has incredible and often deserted beaches.
My advice here is to enjoy it for what it is. A beach lover’s paradise. You have water sports activities that are easy to book, plus nightlife in Hikkaduwa town, beach bars, hammocks and a really laid back joie de vivre. If you’ve been racing around the country, enjoy your last day and just kick back at a beach bar.
Don’t overthink it. No tours, guides, events are needed. Just have a cold cocktail on the beach with your toes in the sand, have some dinner watching sunset and maybe hit a party later on.
Why this above all other options: If you left this part of the world and hadn’t spent time on a beach in the Indian Ocean, most people would call you crazy. Sri Lanka is a beach paradise, with miles of almost private beach; so visiting it, is a key part of seeing what makes this island so incredible.
Finding untouched beaches with golden sunshine is a rarity in the US and Europe, so if you’re from there, then this will feel like nirvana. (If you’re an Aussie, then you are already spoiled with this stuff.)
Anyway, having seen influencers in the wild in Ella, and elephants (Semi) wild on safari, now it’s time for you to unwind. It’s a long flight back home afterall.
Where to stay
Hikkaduwa has a lot of choice, even if you want beachfront. Around Narigama, Thiranagama and Rathgama beaches there is everything from resort, to boutique homestays and hostels. We stayed in an apartment with a balcony that looked straight onto the water. It was a perfect way to end our trip. Close to the bars, and a nice spot to have a beer at sundown first.
- Our Stay: Silver Ferns Apartment – Check it out – £90/$120 p/n for a 2 bed apartment
Pricing is pretty good around the beach. You can blow the budget if this is your last night and opt for something around £150-200/$200-300 p/n or you can find amazing places still around the £30-50/$45-65 mark. For solo travellers or those who want to find somewhere that is immediately more likely to be social, the best bets are:
- Steffi’s Mandala – Rated 9.2 (600+ Reviews) – Hostel with private rooms from £23/$31 p/n. Dorms from £7/$9
- Sells out fast but check it out – Hummus Hostel – Runs lots of social events – Private rooms from £41/$55 p/n
Getting back to Colombo: From Hikkaduwa, you can grab a train or a taxi, and be back in the capital city in under 2 hours. The train is about 1 hr and 45 mins. So, you can get up late, grab brunch and head back in time for an evening flight. You might even have time to go on a tuk tuk tour of Colombo finally too!
How much to budget for 3 days in Sri Lanka?
After accounting for flights, and depending on how you want to do this trip, eg: backpacker style or luxury (or a balance), you should plan to budget the following per person: £80-100/$100-130 for food and drink; from £90/$120 for accommodation (this considers those places recommended already); £60/$80 on activities; and around £100/$130 for transport. It’s not unrealistic as of 2026, to spend 3 days in Sri Lanka, living very comfortably for £330/$400 USD for one person.
What to pack for 3 days in Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka doesn’t get cold at sea level, but the temperature does drop in the highlands of Nuwara Eliya. Pack a light shacket/jacket/hoody for your first night in the area of Nuwara Eliya/Ella, but after that, pack light and for warm weather. Take a bathing outfit for the last day or a pool. 1 comfortable walking shoe/trainer (sneaker) for any hikes around Ella and Udawalawe; although you’ll find you mostly will live in Birkenstocks or similar for going out, or general day wear. Pack light, there isn’t an occasion where you are going to dress much different than if you were on an island in Thailand. You will sweat – so bear that in mind if you think you should take denim!
Is 3 days in Sri Lanka enough time?
Quite frankly no from a personal view; which is in part as I have travelled the country extensively and kept being surprised at how much I loved the next place. However, it is one of a few countries where you could snapshot the place in a short time frame due to the distances involved. I think you should spend a month here, but in 3 nights – 4 days, you can get a taste of 3 of its greatest parts. The hills, ‘Little England’, a scenic railway journey, waterfalls, wildlife and beaches. Not many places enable that level of diversity of experience in such a short time frame, and it still be possible to enjoy what you do.
…and that’s 3 days in Sri Lanka
I think that’s a pretty good itinerary of 3 days in Sri Lanka given the restrictions of time you have with 3 nights only! If you are looking to go and need to pick my brains on anything I’ve said here or have any other questions, then just drop me a dm on one of the links in the author box below.
Thanks for reading.
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