Udawalawe Safaris: The 15 Best Elephant Trips

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,499 reviews · from $25Our pick

See Udawalawe’s elephants, crocodiles, birds, and monkeys on a private four-hour jeep safari with hotel pickup and an experienced guide.

“What a delightful day! Plentiful peacocks, playful monkeys and majestic elephants all around! Gimhana was a knowledgeable guide, teaching us about all the animals we encountered and determined to show us as many different species as possible. We were so enthralled with the elephant family that were feeding mere feet from the jeep! At one point, we counted 11 elephants in our immediate vicinity. Amazing!! Additionally, we saw a few jackals, beautifully colored green bee-eater birds, Sri Lankan jungle fowl, water buffalo, a large mongoose, a beautiful little star tortoise, a crocodile and countless egrets and cranes. Thank you, Gimhana, for being such a caring, careful guide and for giving...”

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Udawalawe National Park Private Safari

2.Udawalawe National Park Private Safari

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 258 reviews · from $25

Review of a private Udawalawe safari with elephants, birds, crocodiles, hotel pickup, guide commentary, pricing tips, and booking advice.

“Nationalparken var bra men Viator sysslar med lurendrejeri. Står överst på bekräftelsen att man får inträdesbiljetter mot uppvisande av bekräftelsen. Står även att man får jeep + biljetter. Det stämmer INTE. Inträdet till parken fick man betala utöver. Ca 1200kr för familj på fyra. Vem fan bokar en Jeep till safari, men safarin ingår inte???? Och vilka biljetter betalade jag för om det inte var till Safarin???”

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Udawalawe: National Park Safari & Elephant Transit Home Tour

3.National Park Safari & Elephant Transit Home Tour

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

See wild elephants, crocodiles, birds, and more on a four-hour Udawalawe safari with hotel transfers and an Elephant Transit Home visit.

“Our tour at the park was amazing and our guide was knowledgeable and friendly.”

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Udawalawe National Park — 4-Hour Private Jeep Safari (Pickup)

4.Udawalawe National Park — 4-Hour Private Jeep Safari (Pickup)

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 161 reviews · from $30

A private four-hour Udawalawe jeep safari with hotel pickup, expert local drivers, elephants, birds, and flexible morning or afternoon timing.

“Naveen gave us a really excellent safari experience and we got to see elephants close up. He took his time and made sure we could choose between options so the safari was tailored to our preference. Naveen was very knowledgeable about all wildlife and shared lots of interesting facts! Thank you for an amazing time!”

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Udawalawa National Park Safari Tour with Experienced Guides

5.Udawalawa National Park Safari Tour with Experienced Guides

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 122 reviews · 3 hours · from $19Best value

See Udawalawe’s elephants, crocodiles, buffalo, deer, and birds on a three-hour guided jeep safari from $19 per person.

“Paenum the driver was great and made sure we found animals and had time watching them. The safari started quietly but then we saw crocodiles, mongoose, peacocks, wild boar, water buffalo, bush fowl but the highlight was the encounter we had with a young elephant who interacted with us in the jeep using her trunk. She physically touched us all and it was an unforgettable experience. In general the elephants give surreal encounters.”

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Udawalawe National Park Half Day Jeep Safari (Private Tour)

6.Udawalawe National Park Half Day Jeep Safari (Private Tour)

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 112 reviews · from $22

Review of Udawalawe’s private four-hour jeep safari, with elephant herds, expert guides, pickup, costs, timing, and practical booking advice.

“It was our first safari and we felt extremely lucky to spot so many elephants, peacocks, even two crocodiles, and lots of exotic birds!”

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Udawalawe National Park | Private Safari

7.Udawalawe National Park | Private Safari

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 80 reviews · from $22

Review of Udawalawe National Park private safari: elephant sightings, timing, transport, fees, value, and practical booking advice.

“Be patient! A safari takes time & although we had to wait to get the experience, we were astounded by what we saw. The drivers were fantastic & ensured we maximised our day. They communicated amongst their colleagues to ensure we got to see all of the animals we could. We couldn’t have asked for a better day.”

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Udawalawe National Park Wildlife Safari Tours

8.Udawalawe National Park Wildlife Safari Tours

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 78 reviews · from $40

See Udawalawe’s elephants and birdlife on a private 4.5-hour safari with an experienced guide, jeep, water, and flexible cancellation.

“The safari was an amazing experience with beautiful nature and incredible wildlife. Everything was well organized and truly enjoyable.”

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Udawalawe National Park Safari From Ella | Mirissa | Tangalle

9.Udawalawe National Park Safari From Ella | Mirissa | Tangalle

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 70 reviews · from $75

See elephants, buffalo, deer, crocodiles, and birds on a private Udawalawe safari from Ella, Mirissa, or Tangalle with hotel pickup.

“Excellent trip - very comfortable transfer and private tour where we saw loads of elephants, buffalo, deer, crocodile, monitor, peacocks and much more. Spotter on the tour was excellent”

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Ella to Mirissa Shuttle & Udawalawe national Safari

10.Ella to Mirissa Shuttle & Udawalawe national Safari

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 63 reviews · from $75

Review of the Ella to Mirissa shuttle with Udawalawe safari, including costs, timing, wildlife, transport, and practical booking advice.

“If you're looking for an unforgettable safari experience, I highly recommend this tour! From start to finish, the service was outstanding. Our friendly, young (but very safe!) taxi driver picked us up from our hotel, and the Prius easily fit our luggagRead more”

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Udawalawa National Park: Private Safari

11.Private Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 61 reviews · 3 hours · from $25

Review of Udawalawe National Park’s private 3-hour safari, with elephants, birds, careful guides, jeep details, costs, and booking advice.

“Dispite the rain, our guide Ruwan was on time to meet us at the gates. We had a fantastic day, seeing elephants and many other animals and birds in luding a croc! This safari is a fantastic memorable experience not to be missed.”

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Udawalawe Safari Tour from Hambantota Port (Shore Excursion)

12.Udawalawe Safari Tour from Hambantota Port (Shore Excursion)

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 57 reviews · 5 hours · from $67

Review of the $67 Udawalawe safari from Hambantota Port, with elephants, wildlife, safari jeep, Elephant Transit Home, and port transfers.

“Fantastic, must do activity. There is luck to what animals you see but the tour guide we had (ISHAN) was fantastic and had a phenomenally sharp eye, spotting animals we would have driven straight past if it was left to us. He was also very well educated on the animal species too.”

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Safari with Sheran Udawalawe National Park

13.Safari with Sheran Udawalawe National Park

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 50 reviews · from $22

Review of Sheran’s private Udawalawe safari, with elephant sightings, expert guiding, binoculars, snacks, pricing, and booking tips.

“We had a great Safari with sheran. We can highly recommend him. Very friendly, showed us a lot of elephants and explained a lot about the animals :)”

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Udawalawe: National park safari & Elephant Transit Home Tour

14.National park safari & Elephant Transit Home Tour

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

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

“We had a really good time at our safari with our guide Gimhana! We saw so many animals and learned a lot. Would absolutely recommend!😊”

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Ella: Shuttle to Tangalle/Mirissa/Galle & Udawalawa Safari

15.Shuttle to Tangalle/Mirissa/Galle & Udawalawa Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 46 reviews · 7 hours · from $43

Ride from Ella to Sri Lanka’s south coast with a three-hour Udawalawe safari, elephants, birds, crocodiles, and hotel-to-hotel transport.

“Pathum, guiden var flink til både å kjøre og å se dyrene ute i skogen. Fikk sett mange elefanter og aper! Nasjonalparken er veldig verdt inngangspengenez Synes skysser var veldig bra, men litt dyr, i tillegg måtte vi betale 15 $ ekstra for å bli kjørt til Hikkaduwa.”

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