15 Elephant Tours in Sri Lanka to Get Up Early For

1.Udawalawe National Park: Elephant Safari with Expert Guide

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 641 reviews · 4 - 10 hours · from $30Our pick

Review of Udawalawe elephant safari: expert guides, private 4x4 rides, wildlife sightings, costs, timing, comfort, and practical booking advice.

“Amazing. The host/organiser (Gimhana) contacted me directly and made sure everything was sorted, with a hotel pickup. He also helped me out with a lot of other stuff as well which was extremely helpful for our trip prior to the safari. Jana the safari guide was very friendly and stopped a few times to show us sights/animals that we didn’t even notice. Was overall a great experience and very easy going, any questions we wanted to ask or were unsure of were answered without hesitation. You have to do it!”

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2.Minneriya National Park Elephant Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 365 reviews · 4 hours · from $33

Review of Minneriya elephant safari from Sigiriya, with wildlife tips, park changes, costs, guides, timing, and practical booking advice.

“there were a lot of elephants so it was really good. because one park was closed (or the elephants had moved) it was a bit busy. but our guide did a great kob making sure we saw a lot.”

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3.Udawalawe: National Park Safari & Elephant Transit Home Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 183 reviews · 4 hours · from $21

Review of Udawalawe’s 4-hour jeep safari and Elephant Transit Home visit, with wild elephants, crocodiles, birdlife, guide tips, and extra costs.

“The safari tour was well organized! We could see the baby elephants feeding. Then had 3 hours in the park. We were very lucky this day and had the chance to see groups of elephants with their babies, males of different age, an elephant swimming, lots of crocodiles, birds, dears, buffalo, mongoose, lizard, iguana. All the nature of the park gathers around the lake which makes it very accessible. We had the best driver! Pathum always made sure we had the best view, while respecting the animals. We could see the elephants from very close! He even helped another truck that was stuck. If you have the chance, i recommend…”

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4.Minneriya National Park Elephant Jeep Safari Private Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 68 reviews · from $46Top rated

Review of a private Minneriya elephant safari from Anuradhapura, with park options, wildlife tips, pricing, timing, and practical booking advice.

“We saw several herds of elephants in the wild . It was a great experience and well conducted trip. Professional guide and driver”

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5.Udawalawe: National park safari & Elephant Transit Home Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 50 reviews · 4 - 10 hours · from $29

Review of Udawalawe safari and Elephant Transit Home visit, with elephant sightings, expert guiding, costs, timing, and practical tips.

“This tour is so worth doing: you can see animals in the free wildlife, very ethical and respectful! Gimhana was very kind and friendly. He welcomed us in his jeep where he offered us cold drinks and made sure we had a comfortable and enjoyable tour. He made sure we had the best experience possible, taking us to all the places where we could spot animals. of course you also need luck, but with Gimhana everything was very nice.”

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6.Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage & Ambuluwawa Tower

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 37 reviews · 8 hours · from $20Best value

Review of Kandy’s Pinnawala and Ambuluwawa tour, with elephant encounters, temples, viewpoints, tuk-tuk travel, costs, and practical tips.

“We had such a wonderful Day With Masi! He was very caring & made sure that we were happy ☺️ He showed us how to eat as a Sri Lankan & gave us a free Language Lesson during driving. Would 10/10 recommend & do it again.”

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7.Kaudulla National Park Private Elephant & Wildlife Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 33 reviews · 4 hours · from $32

Review of Kaudulla National Park safari from Sigiriya, with elephant herds, birdlife, guide tips, pricing, park changes, and practical advice.

“Dhoshan was an excellent guide and we had a great day at the national park We saw lots of elephants, eagles and other wildlife It didn’t feel rushed and we had lots of time to see everything Many thanks”

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8.Polonnaruwa Day Tour With Minneriya NP Elephant Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 32 reviews · 8 hours · from $65

Explore Polonnaruwa’s ancient ruins and Minneriya’s wild elephants on an 8-hour Sri Lankan day tour with hotel pickup.

“Polonnaruwa was amazing to see, would recommend getting a guide so you can actually learn the history. The afternoon elephant safari was just incredible and we had the best driver who was just as excited to see the elephants as we were 😊”

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9.Minneriya National Park Wildlife & Elephant Safari from Sigiriya

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 30 reviews · from $33

Review of the Minneriya elephant safari from Sigiriya, with park choices, costs, guides, wildlife, timing, and practical booking advice.

“Shan is an amazing guide. He found the right spots so we could see the elephants real close despite the rain and always put the Jeep so we were not bothered by the others. Great time, highly recommend.”

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10.Minneriya National Park Wild Elephant Safari – Private

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 27 reviews · 4 hours · from $27

Review of Minneriya National Park’s private elephant safari, with wildlife, timing, extra costs, guide quality, and booking advice.

“We went to Minneriya National Park and saw at least 20 to 30 elephants, we also saw water buffaloes, monkeys, deers, different birds and even an eagle. Guide was very knowledgeable and I could see he was making a real effort to show us as many animals as possible. Guide was a bit late at pick up but then we just got dropped off 20 mins later which was fine, since he was quite a good guide. Park entrance was an extra 11000 on top per person and in cash but we were informed of it the night before so we managed to get some money out. Great experience!”

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11.Udawalawe Safari with Elephant Transit Home Visit

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 26 reviews · 8 hours · from $70

Review of the Ella to Udawalawe safari, including elephant feeding, wildlife sightings, transport, costs, guides, and practical booking advice.

“Nous avons passé un bon moment au parc et vu de nombreux animaux : éléphants, buffles, paons, oiseaux, crocodiles… Koshala notre guide était sympathique. Merci!”

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12.Udawalawe National Park Safari with Elephant Transit Home Visit

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 26 reviews · from $24

Review of Udawalawe safari and Elephant Transit Home visit, with elephant sightings, timing, value, jeep details, and practical booking advice.

“Baby elephant running for milk , must see place in srilanka, better if you go on November-December..”

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13.Sri Lanka Ella Private Day Tour Nine Arch & Elephant transit home

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 22 reviews · from $190

Review of a private Ella day tour from Kalutara with Nine Arches Bridge, Little Adam’s Peak, Ravana Falls, tea, and elephants.

“We wanted to stay at the beach and do one uphill day trip, and Hai Sri Lanka team arranged it all.”

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14.Day Tour to Elephant Orphanage / spice garden

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 20 reviews · 6 hours · from $59

See Pinnawala’s elephants, river bathing, local snacks, and Sri Lankan countryside on a flexible six-hour Colombo tour.

“Kann ich nur empfehlen! Der Tourguide hat auch mehrmals außer der Reihe für ein Foto angehalten, für meine Frau, die Geburtstag hatte, einen Kuchen und Blumen besorgt. Er hat sich um Abkürzungen und Sitzgelegenheiten für meine gehbehinderte Frau gekümmert und wusste genau, wo man stehen muss, um beste Sicht zu haben. Außerdem Abholung in unserem Hotel, obwohl es außerhalb des Abholbereiches lag. Es gibt überhaupt nichts zu meckern.”

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15.Elephant Kingdom Safari – Minneriya National Park

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 17 reviews · 3.5 hours · from $22

Review of Minneriya elephant safari with private jeep, expert guide, seasonal herds, park fees, value, timing, and practical tips.

“Amazing up close view of the elephants but it was very expensive and we didn't see much else after the first herd was spotted.”

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