Tours and Day Trips from Unawatuna 2026: Where to Go, Prices and Transfers
Galle
10 minutes
Whales
≈1 hour
Planning
From $65
Unawatuna is a convenient base in the south: Galle Fort is 10–15 minutes away, and Mirissa's whales are about an hour's drive. The driver picks you up from your hotel, the guide speaks English, and tickets are included.
At a Glance
Plan your trip from Unawatuna
Choose a day and our travel advisor will confirm your place in the group and the time the car will collect you.
Nearby Unawatuna: Easy Half-Day Trips
Galle Fort
🏰 Old Dutch fort, lighthouse and cafe-lined streets — 10–15 minutes from Unawatuna. Our Galle and river safari tour adds a turtle farm and a boat trip on the Bentota River to the fort visit.
World Peace Pagoda
🙏 The white Japanese World Peace Pagoda on Rumassala hill, right above Unawatuna. A trail nearby leads down to Jungle Beach, making it a good short morning trip.
Whale Watching in Mirissa
🐋 The boat leaves Mirissa harbour early in the morning and spends 3–4 hours at sea. Whales are around from November to April. A car will pick you up in Unawatuna while it is still dark.
Tours and Day Trips from Unawatuna
Galle and River Safari
Whale Watching
Yala National Park Jeep Safari
Ella and Udawalawe Elephant Orphanage
Ella and Diyaluma Falls
Heart of Sri Lanka
Kandy Tour
Sigiriya in 1 Day
How hotel pickup from Unawatuna works
Meeting point
At your hotel
Guide
English-speaking
Children 6–12
−50%
🚐 Our travel advisor will confirm your pickup time the day before: for Yala, Ella and Sigiriya, before dawn; for Galle and whale watching, in the morning. 🎫 Tickets and guide are included. Children aged 6–12 pay 50%, and children under 6 go free.
Away from the sea: a day trip with an early start
Jeep safari in Yala
🐆 About 3 hours' drive. Leopards, elephants, crocodiles. Blocks 1 and 2 are closed from 14 September 2026 to 15 October 2026, and the other zones are open.
Ella and elephants
⛰ The most affordable long-distance trip. Little Adam's Peak, Ravana Falls, Nine Arch Bridge and elephants in Udawalawe.
Ella and Yala in one day
🚙 Mountains and jungle in one trip: a morning in Ella, then jeep safari in Yala after lunch. A long but full day.
Heart of Sri Lanka
🛏 If you don't want to spend the whole day on the road, choose 2 days with an overnight stay: Ella, Nuwara Eliya and Sigiriya at an easy pace.
Book a tour with an experienced driver
Route
Custom
Pickup
whenever suits you
In the car
just you
For a more relaxed trip, a car with a driver is the best choice. It picks you up from your hotel in Unawatuna and can stop at the World Peace Pagoda, Galle Fort or a tea plantation. You decide where to go and when.
Tips for staying in Unawatuna
Packed lunch from your hotel
🍱 For long routes, you leave before sunrise. Ask your hotel for a packed lunch the evening before. Many hotels in Unawatuna can prepare breakfast to take with you.
Galle in the afternoon
🌇 It's nicer to visit Galle Fort after 15:00. It's cooler, and the sunset over the fort walls is the best view of the day.
Whales: in season
🐋 Whale watching from Mirissa runs from November to April. In summer the sea is rough, and trips are often cancelled.
Bring rupees
💵 For coconuts, tips for your guide and souvenirs, you'll need small rupee notes. For more practical tips, read our Unawatuna guide.
Skip the tuk-tuk to Yala
🛺 Yala is about 3 hours away. By tuk-tuk the journey is long and hot. Our group tours already include a comfortable transfer.
Footwear for the hills
👟 For Ella and Sigiriya you'll need sneakers for the trails and steps. Leave your flip-flops for the beach in Unawatuna.
Pack a sweater for the hills
🧥 In Ella and Nuwara Eliya it's noticeably cooler than on the coast. Bring a sweater, even in the heat.
Book early
📅 In peak season, spaces on popular trips sell out within 1–2 days. Chat with our travel advisor as soon as you have your dates.
Where we go from Unawatuna: destinations on the map
Unawatuna and Surroundings
More Guides to Unawatuna and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Tours and Day Trips: 2026 Prices and Hotel Pickup
Browse group tours in Sri Lanka with current prices.
Unawatuna: How to Get There, Areas and Getting Around
Everything about living in Unawatuna: areas, getting around and cash.
Car Rental in Unawatuna
If you prefer to drive yourself, choose a car with or without a driver.
Getting Rupees in Unawatuna
Where to get rupees without overpaying.
Guest reviews
Overall Rating
75 reviews
Ekaterina
19.09.2025
We came back yesterday from a two-day tour with an overnight stay at Elephant Bay hotel and the climb to Sigiriya (choose exactly this rock for the climb). It was AMAZING!!!! WONDERFUL!!! Best tour!!! Our guide Denis (Dinesh) was simply brilliant. He kept us entertained the whole way, told us the history of Sri Lanka, answered all our questions, shared lots of interesting facts and helped with photos and videos! All the stops were chosen very thoughtfully, and everything felt heartfelt! Special thanks to our driver Shalinda, who drove carefully but with a bit of speed! Emotions for a year ahead, maybe for a lifetime! These two days felt like we had travelled for a week through different countries, with different climates, nature and architecture, and all of it in one place on a small island, Sri Lanka.
Sofia
11.09.2025
Delighted with the Heart of Sri Lanka tour! It was a beautifully organized journey! We saw an incredible number of sights and immersed ourselves in the atmosphere of an amazing country. Special thanks for helping us organize the main event of our trip: a marriage proposal at the top of Sigiriya! Help choosing the perfect moment and place among the wonders of the world made this day truly unforgettable. A special part was the night at Mountain Heavens hotel. In the morning, stepping out onto the balcony and seeing elephants wandering around was wonderful! What made the trip perfect was our guide Yasir, the soul of the trip :) He shared every sight with great charm. He knows the best angles for photos and anticipated our wishes. His care, attentiveness and great sense of humour created a truly friendly and comfortable atmosphere. We felt completely safe, as if we were travelling with an old friend. Thank you to Yasir and the whole team! We will definitely recommend you to our friends!
Liza
02.09.2025
Sharing our impressions on the way home from the wonderful two-day “Heart of Sri Lanka” tour! Other reviews already say a lot about the tour itself, so we'd like to describe the experience we had thanks to our guide Yasir and driver Usama. A few words about the road: the car was comfortable and new, the air conditioning saved us the whole way, and the driver, despite the winding mountain roads, followed every rule of the road, like a European driver. But a special thank you to Yasir. Throughout the trip he helped us with every question, even the smallest ones. He is very attentive and caring. When they tried to sell us something expensive, he took us to another place where the same thing cost less. At the tea factory, during the tasting, they planned to give us only one type of tea. Yasir stood up for us, and in the end we got to try all the varieties. On the way he showed us many inexpensive places where we could get delicious food and fruit. Yasir also turned out to be a very interesting person. For two days we chatted about his country's culture and compared it with ours. His English is excellent. He is a deeply educated man and a polyglot too. He even gets our memes ;) To our surprise, Yasir varied the program. At the end of the second day we visited a village where we were shown traditional village life and customs, and we were served traditional food and sweets. We even got to crack a coconut 🥥 And we must mention that Yasir is a professional photographer. The photos in this message are his. We're now driving back to our villa to rest after such an intense and emotional program. Many thanks to the organizers, Yasir, Usama and the local people of Sri Lanka!
Vlad
09.08.2025
We are absolutely delighted with the one-day SAFARI YALA + ELLA tour! It was an incredible adventure that left a lot of vivid impressions. We especially want to mention our guide Ishar. He was simply wonderful! Ishar is a true professional. He not only speaks English excellently, but also has deep knowledge of the history, culture and nature of Sri Lanka. Thanks to him, the tour was not just sightseeing, but an exciting journey into the world of this amazing country. The safari in Yala National Park impressed me most of all. Four hours flew by in an instant! We saw a huge number of wild animals: majestic elephants, a leopard (it was simply incredible!), deer, buffalo, monkeys, crocodiles, monitor lizards and many beautiful birds. Ishar and the safari driver skillfully found the most interesting spots and told us about the animals' habits, making the safari even more thrilling. Ravana Falls, Adam's Peak, the Nine Arch Bridge, the train ride and the tea plantation were all lovely, but the Yala safari was the real highlight of the tour. I highly recommend this tour to anyone who wants to see the real Sri Lanka and have unforgettable experiences. And be sure to ask for Ishar as your guide (by the way, he's from Belarus)! You won't regret it. Thank you for a wonderful day!
Yulia
05.07.2025
Just back from the Galle Fort + River Safari tour! It was wonderful! I recommend it to everyone! Of course, a lot depends on the guide. Ours was beyond praise! His name is MANO. He speaks English excellently, knows the history of Sri Lanka very well, answers all questions, jokes very subtly and at just the right moments, and takes professional photos. In short, we're very happy with both the organization of the tour and how it was run! Many thanks to the driver too! The tour itself is fire! 🔥🔥🔥 We liked absolutely everything!!! THANK YOU!
Alyona
21.06.2025
Hello! We chose the one-day Kandy tour. It was very interesting and full, and it was led by a professional English-speaking guide, Denish. Denish is a very friendly, knowledgeable and conscientious guide with a great sense of humor. We're sure that if you want an unforgettable trip and lots of knowledge and impressions of Sri Lanka, you should definitely get in touch with this company! You won't be bored for a moment
Reham
16.06.2025
Hello, I had an amazing 3-day tour in Sri Lanka, thanks to our fantastic tour guide and driver. Our tour guide, Mr Deshan, was incredibly knowledgeable, kind, and caring. He did everything to make sure every part of the trip was enjoyable, informative, and perfectly organized. The driver, Mr Jagath, was equally wonderful: always punctual, professional, and made us feel comfortable throughout the journey. Together, they made this trip truly unforgettable. I highly recommend them to anyone visiting Sri Lanka. You'll be in great hands.
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Frequently asked questions about tours from Unawatuna
Yes. Transfer from your hotel and back is included in the price of group tours. We'll confirm pickup times the evening before.
About 3 hours one way. Jeep safari with transfer: $90.
Yes, but it's an early start and about 4–4.5 hours of driving one way. More comfortable: the two-day “Heart of Sri Lanka” tour for $135.
In Mirissa, about an hour's drive. Season: November to April. Price: $90 with transfer.
Galle Fort (10–15 minutes), the Peace Pagoda on Rumassala hill and Jungle Beach.
Group tours: from $65 to $150 per day. 2–3-day tours: from $135 to $280. Children aged 6–12: 50% off.
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