The 14 Best Shore Excursions in Sri Lanka

1.Yala Safari Tour from Hambantota Port area (Shore Excursion)

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 64 reviews · 5 hours · from $67Our pick

Review of the $67 Yala safari from Hambantota Port, with wildlife tips, guide details, park timing, comfort advice, and ticket costs.

“Very knowledgeable pleasant guide. Saw lots of animals and birds but no leopards ( unavoidable as wrong time of day). Only negative, guide drove too fast on return journey to ship - there was no need to rush as we had plenty of time. No seat belts provided.”

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2.Yala National Park Safari |From Hambantota Port (Shore Excursion)

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 61 reviews · from $75

Review of Yala National Park Safari from Hambantota Port, with wildlife tips, guide details, jeep comfort, timing, price, and practical advice.

“A trip to Yala is definitely worth it as a shore excursion. Our guide didn’t do much for us, however. When we got to the park, he didn’t point out wildlife, but stopped when we asked him to so we could take pictures of what we spotted. He wRead more”

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3.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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4.UDAWALAWA SAFARI TOUR from HAMBANTOTA PORT (Shore Excursion)

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 48 reviews · 1 day · from $51

Udawalawe safari from Hambantota Port with elephant sightings, birdlife, expert jeep guides, drinks, and a planned return to your ship.

“we had an awesome day with the guide Sasanka, who brought the best breakfast. He spotted the animals for us and overall we had a great day.”

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5.Yala National Park Safari from Hambantota port (Shore Excursion)

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 25 reviews · from $45

Review of Yala Safari from Hambantota Port: wildlife, costs, timing, port pickup, jeep comfort, and practical booking advice.

“Most friendly and fun tour. Just be aware if you’re on a cruise ship, the port is so large that you will may need a ride to the port exit gate to meet the guide. The tour met a bit earlier that the port shuttles were running but we were lucky somRead more”

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6.Shore Excursion Colombo City Tour Highlights

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 21 reviews · from $50

See Colombo’s temples, museums, mosques, markets, and colonial landmarks on a flexible private shore tour with port pickup.

“We had a lovely time seeing Colombo with our guide Noor. Especially loved the Hindu temple and Independence Square. We hadn't been to Colombo before, so this tour was spot on. My wife has mobility limitations so we could customise it accordingly and Noor was so considerate. Definitely recommend this”

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7.Shore Excursion Kelaniya Temple & Colombo City Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 21 reviews · from $45

See Kelaniya Temple and Colombo’s key sights on a private port pickup tour with flexible timing, local guides, shopping, and return to your ship.

“PRADEEP did an outstanding job giving us tour of the city. The tour office is at the port, so there is no need to go to the port which is hard to get to. I would book this tour over a ship tour ..because it was private. ASK. FOR PRADEEP”

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8.Yala Safari Tour from Hambantota Port (Shore Excursion)

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 20 reviews · from $58

Review of the Yala Safari from Hambantota Port, covering wildlife, jeep comfort, extra fees, timing, value, and booking advice.

“Great organization Prompt very good instructions on where and when to meet for pick up Clean vehicles”

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9.Yala National Park Safari (Shore Excursion)

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 19 reviews · 5 hours · from $49

Review of the 5-hour Yala safari from Hambantota, with elephants, leopards, park fees, transport, value, and booking advice.

“Provider did not show up. I was let down terribly absolutely devastated.”

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10.SriLanka Shore Excursion by Genuine Srilankans

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 18 reviews · from $140Top rated

See Colombo’s temples, museum, markets, coast, and Lotus Tower on a private shore tour with port pickup, guide, transport, and local snacks.

“Our purpose for visiting Sri Lanka was to visit the Buddha temples and to pray. Our tour guide Mr. Kosala was an excellent and professional person. He constantly made efforts to explain Buddhism along the journey, and also diligently Read more”

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11.Colombo Port Private Shore excursion and Tours

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 12 reviews · from $40

See Colombo’s coast, temples, Independence Square, and local life on a private port tour with pickup, transport, and an English-speaking guide.

“Great guy - Zak - met us at the port in Colombo. We was quite early but Zak was prompt picking us up at the requested time of 08.30am. He took us to see the historic mosque - Jami Ul Alfar Mosque, followed by a brief stop to grab a couple Read more”

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12.Shore Excursion Colombo City tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 12 reviews · from $30Best value

See Colombo’s temples, markets, colonial quarters, and waterfront on a practical 3 to 4 hour cruise-port tour with air-conditioned transport.

“A good tour with our excellent driver who took us in 4 hours around all the main sights in Colombo in his air conditioned car.”

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13.Shore Excursion From Colombo port to Ingiriya Tea Plantation & back for 2 People

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 11 reviews

Visit Sri Lanka’s tea and rubber country from Colombo, with plantation stops, tea making, rice fields, local tastes, and port return.

“Our guide was terrific. He wanted to share as much about his country as he could. Tea, orange coconuts, ginger beer and a fruit that I can’t remember the name of. Great tour. Was to be about 4 hours and became just over 5! Very interesting.”

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14.Yala Full Day Safari from Hambantota Port Shore Excursion

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 10 reviews · from $212

Spend 10 hours from Hambantota Port in Yala National Park, with a private 4WD, English-speaking guide, park fees, lunch, and water included.

“Henry did a brilliant job from the booking experience all the way through transitions necessary for ourYala safari!! 🤩Dela was an outstanding driver, often driving backwards with skill and speed to site leopards in the brush and provided us opportunities for great videos of the rare Sri Lankan elephants and their babies. We had a fabulous day with DELA‼️”

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