Sri Lanka · SAFARI

Top 15 Safaris in Sri Lanka

176 tours  ·  ★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 average  ·  from $10

An island this dense eats a fortnight without trying. These 15 safaris are the ones that repay a whole day rather than half a morning, priced and timed so the choice takes minutes.

From Colombo: Sigiriya and Dambulla Day Trip with Safari - Dambulla Cave Temple: a quiet start to the cultural day
1-Day Tours, Safari, Sigiriya Tours, Tour Reviews

From Colombo: Sigiriya and Dambulla Day Trip with Safari

1.Sigiriya and Dambulla Day Trip with Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 842 reviews · 14 - 16 hours · from $53Our pick

Review of the Colombo to Sigiriya and Dambulla day trip, with temple visits, Lion Rock, village experiences, safari options, costs, and practical tips.

“Couldn’t be more glad that I booked this trip and highly recommend it to anyone even if it’s a long trip. We had Chathu as our tour guide and driver for the entire day who was very knowledgeable and humorous. There were 5 people in my group including myself - all from different places - and I felt lucky enough that we all looked out for each other and stuck together as a group when our guide left us to immerse in each activity. All activities were great but I loved climbing Lion Rock and doing the Village Tour where the food was great and nature looked after!”

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Yala National Park Safari Tours: Morning/Evening/Full Day - Early pickup and the road to Yala’s gate
Evening Experiences, Full-Day, Hambantota Tours, Morning, National Parks, Safari, Tour Reviews, Tours, Yala National Park Tours

Yala National Park Safari Tours: Morning/Evening/Full Day

2.Yala National Park Safari Tours: Morning/Evening/Full Day

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 818 reviews · 5 - 12 hours · from $25

Compare Yala morning, evening, and full-day safaris with meals, hotel pickup, expert drivers, wildlife tips, costs, and honest drawbacks.

“This was such an amazing experience, and our guide, Darshana, was simply the best. He has an incredible amount of knowledge about the national park and its wildlife, and even after working there for 15 years, you could clearly see how much he loves his job and still gets genuinely excited when spotting certain animals. We saw lots of different animals and were also lucky enough to see one of the leopards. Breakfast and lunch were both delicious. Overall, we had a wonderful day on this tour and can definitely recommend it!”

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Udawalawe National Park: Elephant Safari with Expert Guide - The early pickup and ride to the park
Colombo Tours, Elephant Tours, Elephant Tours in Colombo, Guided, National Parks, Safari, Tour Reviews, Udawalawe National Park Tours

Udawalawe National Park: Elephant Safari with Expert Guide

3.Udawalawe National Park: Elephant Safari with Expert Guide

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

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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Full day Safari - Yala National Park - 04.30 am to 06.00 pm with - Janaka safari - Riding through Yala in a six-person jeep
Full-Day, National Parks, Safari, Tour Reviews, Yala National Park Tours

Full day Safari – Yala National Park – 04.30 am to 06.00 pm with – Janaka safari

4.Full day Safari – Yala National Park – 04.30 am to 06.00 pm with – Janaka safari

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 603 reviews · from $57Top rated

Review of Janaka Safari’s 12-hour Yala safari, with leopards, elephants, local meals, expert guides, costs, and practical tips.

“Darshana was a great driver! He was very passionate and knowledgeable. Although luck was not on our side with the leopards, we managed to see 3 bears! Well organised with good breakfast and lunch. Highly recommend :)”

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Yala National Park: Half, 7-Hour, or Full-Day Safari & Meals - Pickup from Tissamaharama, Kataragama, and nearby towns
Full-Day, National Parks, Safari, Tour Reviews, Yala National Park Tours

Yala National Park: Half, 7-Hour, or Full-Day Safari & Meals

5.Yala National Park: Half, 7-Hour, or Full-Day Safari & Meals

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 489 reviews · 4 - 12 hours · from $14

Review of Yala safari options with leopard sightings, elephants, guide tips, costs, meals, park fees, timing, comfort, and booking advice.

“Early pick up and driver made sure we were at park entrance before it opened. Safari 6.20-12 plus 2-5.30pm which was a good amount of time to search for the wildlife especially leopards. Vishva, our driver, was brilliant. He communicated well with us, knew where to go and made it a fantastic experience for us. Highly recommend a whole day in block 1. Compare this to my review for half day in block 5. Latter is not worth it.”

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From Sigiriya: Minneriya National Park Private Jeep Safari - Minneriya Tank and the elephant gathering
Jeep Safaris, Jeep Safaris in Sigiriya, Minneriya National Park Safaris, National Parks, Private, Safari, Sigiriya Tours, Tour Reviews

From Sigiriya: Minneriya National Park Private Jeep Safari

6.Minneriya National Park Private Jeep Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 415 reviews · 4 hours · from $38

Review of a private Minneriya safari from Sigiriya, with elephant sightings, flexible park choice, guide tips, costs, and practical advice.

“that was very good experience. we were really enjoyed. the driver Sami is a amazing person. Highly recommended. I am really appreciate your service guys.”

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From Sigiriya: Minneriya National Park Elephant Safari - Why Minneriya is famous for elephants
Elephant Tours, Elephant Tours in Sigiriya, Minneriya National Park Safaris, National Parks, Safari, Sigiriya Tours, Tour Reviews

From Sigiriya: Minneriya National Park Elephant Safari

7.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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Yala National Park Wildlife Safari/ Game Drive - by Ajith Safari - The seven-hour option needs careful clarification
National Parks, Safari, Tour Reviews, Wildlife, Yala National Park Tours

Yala National Park Wildlife Safari/ Game Drive – by Ajith Safari

8.Yala National Park Wildlife Safari/ Game Drive – by Ajith Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 351 reviews · from $18

Review of Ajith Safari in Yala National Park, covering leopard sightings, timing, guides, costs, vehicles, lunch, and practical booking advice.

“We had a great safari. Naja is a very good guide and thanks to his driving (getting us away from all the other jeeps) and patience we saw the Big Three and lots of other animals! We had a perfect day. We were less happy with he communication with the office. They did not reach out to us with any information and when we did they gave us the wrong info. They said we would be picked up at 5.15 but it turned out that Naja was already there at 4.45. Plus they said we had to pay the entrance fee at the park but gave us the wrong amount…”

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Private Jeep Safari at Minneriya National Park to Visit Elephants - Choosing Minneriya, Kaudulla, or Hurulu
Jeep Safaris, Jeep Safaris in Sigiriya, Minneriya National Park Safaris, National Parks, Private, Safari, Sigiriya Tours, Tour Reviews

Private Jeep Safari at Minneriya National Park to Visit Elephants

From Ella: Drop to Tangalle/Hiriketiya/Mirissa & Yala Safari - Leaving Ella with your luggage
Ella Tours, Safari, Tour Reviews, Yala National Park Tours

From Ella: Drop to Tangalle/Hiriketiya/Mirissa & Yala Safari

10.Drop to Tangalle/Hiriketiya/Mirissa & Yala Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 296 reviews · 4 - 10 hours · from $11

Combine an Ella to southern-coast transfer with a Yala safari, spotting elephants, birds, crocodiles, and perhaps a leopard.

“The service was excellent - everything was on time as promised. Shehan and his team were very responsive and cleared all our doubts. As travellers, all we wanted was a stress free experience, and that’s exactly what we got! We spotted many animals and birds and thoroughly enjoyed our Yala Safari. Highly recommend this service if you’re travelling too! Cheers!”

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Minneriya National Park halfday Safari - The four-hour jeep ride through Minneriya
Minneriya National Park Safaris, National Parks, Safari, Sigiriya Tours, Tour Reviews

Minneriya National Park halfday Safari

11.Minneriya National Park halfday Safari

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 293 reviews · from $38

Review of Minneriya National Park half-day safari near Sigiriya, with elephant sightings, guide tips, extra fees, timing, and honest value advice.

“As a solo traveler and the only person booked on this trip, they expressed they weren’t going to make any money. So It wasn’t a full day, they changed the pickup to 2pm, which wasn’t great for my onward plans, they asked me to cancel the booking and pay cash, the food was minuscule, he was constantly on the phone and not paying attention or being helpful with questions. The vehicle was in tatters, quite a poor experience.”

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Leopard Safari Tour in Yala National Park - The first two hours: focus on leopards
National Parks, Safari, Tour Reviews, Tours, Yala National Park Tours

Leopard Safari Tour in Yala National Park

12.Leopard Safari Tour in Yala National Park

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 281 reviews · from $20

Review of Yala’s leopard safari, with early entry, hotel pickup, jeep logistics, wildlife sightings, costs, and practical booking advice.

“Buena experiencia! Te vienen a recoger al hotel y todo perfecto. Conductor intrépido y arriesgado que se lo curró mucho buscando los animales. Realmente no está llenísimo de animales pero la experiencia vale la pena. El tour es como ir en moto de adrenalina y lo recomiendo totalmente. Hay que hacerlo!”

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Hikkaduwa/Galle/Weligama/Mirissa/Tangalle: Yala Safari Tour - The Yala entrance and Jeep changeover
Galle Tours, Safari, Tour Reviews, Tours, Yala National Park Tours

Hikkaduwa/Galle/Weligama/Mirissa/Tangalle: Yala Safari Tour

13.Hikkaduwa/Galle/Weligama/Mirissa/Tangalle: Yala Safari Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 263 reviews · 9 hours · from $45

Yala safari from Sri Lanka’s south coast with hotel pickup, a three-hour Jeep ride, leopards, elephants, crocodiles, and birdlife.

“We had a fantastic trip with Chathura, who gave it his all to make sure we saw as much wildlife as possible. I highly recommend Yala — even though it’s more touristy than Wilpattu, the wildlife is incredible. We saw a leopard, buffaloes, deer, hawks, flying foxes, and an elephant.”

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Galle/Mirissa/Tangalle: Transfer to Ella & Yala Safari - From your hotel to Yala National Park
Galle Tours, Private Drivers, Private Drivers in Galle, Safari, Tour Reviews, Yala National Park Tours

Galle/Mirissa/Tangalle: Transfer to Ella & Yala Safari

From Ella: Yala Safari with Tangalle/Mirissa/Galle Drop-off - The ride out of Ella before sunrise
Ella Tours, Safari, Tour Reviews, Yala National Park Tours

From Ella: Yala Safari with Tangalle/Mirissa/Galle Drop-off

15.Yala Safari with Tangalle/Mirissa/Galle Drop-off

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 198 reviews · 9 hours · from $10Best value

Review of the Ella to Yala safari transfer, with leopard sightings, 4x4 wildlife viewing, beach drop-offs, costs, timing, and practical tips.

“the transfer war smooth and the safari was amazing! Our guide/driver Isuru explained us everything about Yala park and the animals we were seeing. He was very attentive and despite he was driving he managed to spot a lot of fauna for us! We even see a leopard and a sloth bear (incredibly). The park was crowded at the entrance, but inside is so big that you will barely see other jeeps around. Absolutely worthy, I would definitely book it again”

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New in Safari

★ 5.0Galle Day Tour with River Safari, Tea Plantation & Sea TurtleFrom $13511 reviews
★ 5.0Bentota River SafariFrom $659 reviews
★ 4.2All Inclusive Galle Dutch Fort & Madu River SafariFrom $806 reviews
★ 4.9Galle Day Trip – River Safari, Sea Turtle & Stilt FishermenFrom $8016 reviews
★ 4.5Yala National Park Private Jeep Safari From Colombo & NegomboFrom $25014 reviews
★ 3.5All inclusive Private jeep safari at Yala National parkFrom $959 reviews
★ 5.0Hurulu Eco Park Elephant Jeep SafariFrom $284 reviews
★ 5.0Bentota River Boat Safari with Private Boat Beruwala/Bentota/Kosgoda/AhungallaFrom $629 reviews
★ 4.8Elephant Kingdom Safari – Minneriya National ParkFrom $2217 reviews
★ 4.0Kumana National Park : Private Half-Day Jeep SafariFrom $8720 reviews
★ 4.8Elephant Jeep Safari at Minneriya National ParkFrom $356 reviews
★ 4.6Galle Fort, Boat Safari, Turtles, Amazing Group TourFrom $458 reviews
★ 4.3Yala National Park: Morning or Afternoon Safari ( 5 h )From $1124 reviews
★ 4.9Hurulu Eco Park Safari : All InclusiveFrom $3123 reviews
★ 5.0Kandy, Sigiriya and Pidurangala Rock Tuk Tuk SafariFrom $4024 reviews

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