15 Safari Tours Worth Flying For

1.Sigiriya and Dambulla Day Trip with Safari

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

Leave Colombo early for Dambulla’s cave temples and Sigiriya’s 1,200-step climb, with an English-speaking guide such as Chathu or Dhanesh. After lunch, choose a village outing with bullock cart and canoe ride, or an optional national park safari. Hotel pickup, water, and transport are included.

“I had an excellent time on this trip. Chathu was a great guide, providing lots of interesting background to everything we saw on the drive as well as at the sites. It was a great way to see Sigiriya from the city.”

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2.Crete: Quad Safari with Monastery, Malia Palace and Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 232 reviews · 5 hours · from $93

Ride a 520cc ATV from Malia through olive groves, mountain tracks, Vrahasi village, and the 16th-century Saint George Vrahassotis Monastery. You’ll stop at an 800-year-old oak, eat Cretan food in Latsida, taste olive oil at Vasilakis Estate, and swim at Sisi beach.

“Really well organised tour with very enthusiastic, knowledgeable guides. Was a great way to break up a week of sunbathing with some sightseeing that was way more interesting than just being ferried to each place by coach! The goats were definitely a highlight, would recommend this tour.”

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3.Sigiriya & Dambulla Day Tour with Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 189 reviews · 1 day · from $48Best value

Set out from Colombo or Negombo before sunrise with guides such as Aadhil, Dilip, or Tuan. Visit Dambulla Cave Temple, climb Sigiriya’s 1,200 steps, then add a village lunch and 2.5-hour jeep safari. The $48 base price covers transport, but entry tickets and optional activities cost extra.

“I joined a one-day tour guided by Aadhil. Since the places were quite far and difficult to reach by public transportation, I decided to join the tour to visit the highlights efficiently. Thanks to this tour, I was able to discover far more wonderful aspects of Sri Lanka than I had expected in just one day, and I was very satisfied. Seeing elephants up close was truly breathtaking. I highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Sri Lanka.”

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4.Sigiriya and Dambulla Day Trip and Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 132 reviews · from $70

Travel from Colombo to Dambulla Cave Temple and Sigiriya Lion Rock in an air-conditioned vehicle with a driver-guide. Expect a 12 to 14-hour day, steep steps, separate entrance fees, and an optional elephant safari. Guides such as Chathu, Naveen, Silva, and Dhanesh are praised for helpful local stops.

“It was great tour of Sigriya. Started at 6am and we reached Dambula enroute at around 11am and visited cave temples. From there we went to Sigiriya rocks and started the climb. It took an hour. It was too crowded. Better to avoid holiday season if you want to enjoy the Sigriya.Also the sun was beating us. Carry umbrella and apply ample sun screen”

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5.Sanjay Gandhi National Park(SGNP) + Kenheri Caves + Lion Safari + Jain Temple

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 88 reviews · from $69Top rated

Visit Sanjay Gandhi National Park by private air-conditioned vehicle, then explore the ancient Kanheri Caves with a guide such as Rahul or Sidhhi. The outing also includes a lion safari, Trimurti Jain Temple, bottled water, hotel pickup, and entry fees, but not lunch.

“A wonderful experience of a terrific Indian Park with experience of nature with exceptional diversity of plants and trees, wild animals - Lions and tigers in extensive habitats, with h mischievous little monkeys roaming around. very much appt tRead more”

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6.Colombo/Negombo: Sigiriya, Dambulla, and Minneriya Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 72 reviews · 16 hours · from $70

Join an English-speaking guide such as Chathu or Ranga for a 16-hour shared tour from Colombo, Negombo, or Mount Lavinia. Visit Dambulla, climb Sigiriya, eat at a local restaurant, and take a jeep safari at Minneriya, Kaudulla, or Eco Park. Entrance fees and lunch cost extra.

“amazing driver and also fill us with so interesting informations”

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7.From Anuradhapura: All Inclusive Full Day Safari at Wilpattu

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 50 reviews · 12 hours · from $117

Spend 10 to 12 hours in Wilpattu National Park on a private safari from Anuradhapura. Your day includes hotel pickup, breakfast, packed lunch, water, a customized jeep, and an English-speaking guide. Expect natural lakes, quiet tracks, and possible sightings of leopards, elephants, bears, crocodiles, deer, and wild pigs.

“We had a very nice day. We saw many animals, but you have to be lucky to see them all. We had a very good safari guide.”

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8.Colombo/Negombo to Sigiriya, Dambulla & Jeep Safari Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 41 reviews · 14 hours · from $60

Leave Colombo or Negombo early for Dambulla’s painted caves, a spice garden, wildlife safari, village bullock cart and lunch, then climb Sigiriya’s 1,300 steps. English-speaking guides such as Malintha and Lekindu have earned praise for safe driving, flexibility, and local insight.

“The activity esa incredible, and also, our guide, Lekindu, has been aware that at all times we do what we like, he has even made stops off the route so that we can see other activities that we have loved. He has explained many things about the activities, recommending the best ones. The driving has been very good, it has even let us play music to our liking! Really, ask Lekindu as a guide, highly recommended.”

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9.From Negombo: Sigiriya and Dambulla Day Trip and Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 32 reviews · 14 hours · from $75

Leave Negombo before sunrise for Dambulla’s painted caves and Sigiriya’s 1,250-step Lion Rock climb. English-speaking guides such as Chathu or Dhanesh may lead the day, with a village meal, safari, shopping, or massage available afterward.

“Our trip was amazing we both had an awesome time.the guide was great giving us loads of time to look around and take photos he was very knowledgeable about the sight and told us plenty of history we both would highly recommend.”

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10.Guided Safari Tour Troodos Mountains and Kykkos Monastery

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 32 reviews · 9 hours · from $82

Travel by 4x4 Jeep from Paphos into the Troodos Mountains with an English, Polish, Russian, or Hungarian-speaking guide. Visit Kykkos Monastery, Mount Olympos, a forest waterfall, Omodos, and Aphrodite’s Rock. Lunch and wine tasting cost extra, and the small group is limited to 10 people.

“Wdychane spaliny aut które mega kopciły to było najmniej komfortowe.”

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11.Polonnaruwa Day Tour With Minneriya NP Elephant Safari

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

Travel by private jeep from your hotel to ancient Polonnaruwa, where you can add a local guide for the ruins, then take a 4x4 safari in Minneriya National Park. Drivers such as Shan and Thilina are praised for wildlife spotting and friendly local insight.

“Great, save and very friendly driver. He made good choices when looking for elephants and gave good information. We didn't take a guide in Polonnaruwa, the driver dropped us at every location and waited for us. All in all a fantastic experience.”

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12.Anuradhapura: Full-Day Wilpattu All Inclusive Private Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 24 reviews · 10 - 12 hours · from $90

You’ll leave Anuradhapura early for a private, full-day Wilpattu safari with hotel pickup, breakfast, a picnic lunch, and an English-speaking driver-guide. Expect long hours in a customized jeep, low visitor numbers, and patient searches for leopards, sloth bears, deer, wild pigs, birds, and crocodiles.

“Our guide was just great. lovely guy, brought good food and enough water. But also he just knew the spots... we've seen everything there is, so just a great experience! 10/10.”

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13.From Anuradhapura:Wilpattu Full-Day Wildlife Safari.

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 19 reviews · 1 day · from $121

Set out from Anuradhapura in a private vehicle, then spend the day in Wilpattu National Park with a customized 4x4 safari jeep. English-speaking staff, breakfast, lunch, drinks, and hotel transfers are included. Drivers such as Prasanna have earned praise for careful driving and attentive service.

“We had an amazing day at Wilpattu 🙏🏻 Everything was well organised.”

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14.Polonnaruwa Sight Seeing Tour and Minneriya Elephant Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 18 reviews · 8 hours · from $59

Travel by private jeep from Dambulla, Sigiriya, Habarana, or Kandalama to Polonnaruwa and Minneriya National Park. Expect a three-hour ruins tour, a three-hour sunset safari, local lunch at extra cost, and helpful English-speaking drivers such as Kumar, Kumara, and Mathisa.

“Both Polonnaruwa and Elephant Safari, we're excellent. we hired bicycle for Polonnaruwa, which made the trip more fun. The Elephant Safari 🐘 prooved to be very successful, plenty of Elephant. Maughan, was very informative and great at spotting wildlife. Lunch was amazing too.”

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15.Visiting the Historical Polonnaruwa Ruins and Minneriya Safari

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 16 reviews · from $75

Set out from Anuradhapura at 7:30 am for Polonnaruwa’s temples, stupas, palaces, and statues, then take an evening jeep safari in Minneriya or Kaudulla National Park. Drivers such as Kumara and Mathisa are praised for safe driving and wildlife spotting, while guide Suminda Silva adds historical context.

“We had an incredible trip with Kumara as our driver and Suminda Silva as our Polonnaruwa guide. Both were incredibly kind and knowledgeable, ensuring we had a great day. Kumara was also a mega safari driver!!! We definitely had the besRead more”

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