7-Day Sri Lanka Itinerary from India – Mirissa, Ahangama, Galle & Colombo
Sri Lanka surprised us in every possible way. From giant turtles swimming just a few feet away to beautiful beach cafés, colonial streets in Galle Fort and spectacular sunsets in Mirissa, this seven-day trip became one of our favourite international holidays. If you’re planning your first Sri Lanka trip from India, this itinerary covers everything we experienced—including costs, hotels, cafés and travel tips.
Before You Travel
Visa: Sri Lanka is visa-free for Indians. However, Indians would need to fill up an ETA form on the Sri Lankan Immigration site for which the link is here. This is free of any charge and the ETA is sent to your mail within an hour of submission. Do not visit any other site or make any payments.
Transport: Next step is to book the transport. Ideal option is to rent a car with driver for the full duration. The standard rate is US$60 per day. We rented a car for 6 days which came to $360. We got a great reference for Mr. Sanjaya Roderigo who took us around for the 6 days. Contact Details can be provided on request.
The currency conversion rate is ₹1 = 3.5 LKR (Sri Lankan Rupee)
Our Itinerary was as follows:
Day 1: Arrival at Colombo, drive to Mirissa. Overnight Stay at Mirissa
Day 2: Drive southwards towards Blue Beach Island, Hiriketiya Beach and back to Mirissa
Day 3: Drive to Ahangama. Overnight stay at Ahangama
Day 4: Day spent around Ahangama. Drive to Wijaya Beach, Unawatuna to see Turtles
Day 5: Drive to Galle. Overnight stay at Galle Fort
Day 6: Drive to Colombo with a stop at Bentota. Overnight stay at Colombo
Day 7: Day spent in Colombo. Late evening flight back to Mumbai
Day 1: Arrival at Colombo, drive to Mirissa. Overnight Stay at Mirissa
As we arrived at Colombo airport in the morning the first job to do was to get a local sim card. We picked up a Dialog SIM card at the airport, which provided enough data for our entire trip. We met our transport provider Sanjaya and set off for Mirissa down south. It is approximately a two and a half hour drive through great roads.
We checked in at the Beach n Bliss resort in Mirissa. Enjoyed the evening watching the sunset at the Coconut Tree Hill and dinner at Lava at the Mirissa beach
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Day 2: Drive southwards towards Blue Beach Island, Hiriketiya Beach and back to Mirissa
Our plan for the day was to drive around the south. As suggested by Sanjaya he drove is down south through the town of Matara on to the gorgeous Blue Beach Island. This was almost on the southern most tip of Sri Lanka. As we reached there we saw a narrow strip of land connecting the island with the main land. During high tide this narrow beach disappears and the island lives up to its name. At noon when we went, the beach was visible and we enjoyed the sea from both sides.
Our next stop was the Hiriketiya beach, where we settled ourselves at the Beach Bus cafe for a while enjoying the view of the sea. Our cafe trail continued as we now drove to the Betaz Cafe. The Cafe gave us some great views to go with a good meal. It was now time to go back to Mirissa. We headed off to the same place close to coconut hill which we had visited yesterday. However, we did not go up the hill but to the Sunset Bar at the ground level. We sipped a drink while watching a truly golden sunset.
We spent the evening visiting a few shops in Mirissa town. It had some good souvenirs and the best part was they would accept INR cash. We rounded off the day with dinner at Lava on the Mirissa beach, the same place as yesterday.
This was rounding off the Mirissa leg of the tour. We would now going off to Ahangama tomorrow.
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To summarize, the cafes we visited are listed below:
- Beach Bus Cafe, Hiriketiya
- Betaz Cafe, Hiriketiya
- Lava, Mirissa
- Sunset Bar, Mirissa
Day 3: Drive to Ahangama. Overnight stay at Ahangama
After breakfast we set-off for Ahangama. Its a one hour drive. On the way stopped for a while at the Welingama beach which is famous for surfing where we had some king coconuts which Sri Lanka is famous for. As we reached Ahangama it was lunch time so even before checking in we settled ourselves at the famous Cactus cafe. The place was buzzing with people, mostly European tourists. Its an ideal place to relax on an easy chair and stare at the beach with a beer in hand. With the crowd that was there it was next to impossible to get such box office views so we settled on one of the tables and had a satisfying lunch.
After lunch, we checked into Insight Resort just down the road. The resort and more specifically our room provided great sea views. As the evening approached we were back on the road. This time we decided to walk down the road. We got dropped off at the Thileni’s Cafe where we enjoyed a quiet drink along with the sunset. Rest of the evening was spent in walking around, visiting the Cargill Super Market and then rounding it off with a dinner at the Ceylon Sliders, followed by a tuk tuk ride back to the hotel.
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Day 4: Day spent around Ahangama. Drive to Wijaya Beach, Unawatuna to see Turtles
Today was the big day where we planned to drive down to the Wijaya beach in Unawatuna to see turtles. And the visit was surely worth it. It was a twenty minute drive from our hotel. It was around 10 AM when we spotted around ten giant turtles at the beach. There was a big enough crowd feeding them sea weeds which were up for sale in large numbers. We were told that they come and leave at a specific time and luckily we were at the right place at the right time.
After returning to the resort, freshening up with a swim, we were ready to hit the road again. This time for a bit of cafe hopping. We noticed that local cafes have a great vibe during day time but it gets quieter as the evening progresses. Ceylon Sliders yesterday was almost empty at dinner time while Cactus shut down at 6 PM.
We headed off to the Mermaid’s Kitchen for lunch with the usual gorgeous views of the stunning blue ocean. We then took a tuk tuk ride down the road to the Kai Ahangama cafe. It was another special cafe with two levels where one can relax for eternity.
We returned to our hotel to view the sunset after which we were invited by the hotel staff to join a unique experience. That of watching hatched turtles being released into the sea. The turtles were small ones, not like the ones which we viewed in the morning. The hotel staff is into hatching these and they release it to the sea once they feel that the turtle is capable enough. There were around ten of them in a bucket which was release one by one once darkness had set in.
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To summarize, the cafes we visited in Ahangama are listed below:
- Cactus, Ahangama
- Thileni’s Cafe
- Ceylon Sliders
- Mermaid’s Kitchen
- Kai Ahangama
Here is our Vlog for the Mirissa and Ahangama leg of our tour on our Youtube Channel.
Day 5: Drive to Galle. Overnight stay at Galle Fort
It was now time to leave Ahangama and head off northwards towards Galle. Galle Fort to be precise. a one hour drive took us there. Galle Fort is a Dutch fort and the most iconic part of the city. In fact there is a proper city inside the fort. As we entered we were somewhat transported into a retro world. Lanes and by lanes lined up with eateries and homestays and an iconic lighthouse overlooking the sea. We stayed at one of those small hotels in one of the lanes. One might call it a homestay or a guesthouse. Once settled we walked out to explore and attempted every lane inside the fort. There were some great eateries. We had food at the Coffee Brunch Cafe which was truly photogenic and ‘insta-worthy’ along with some great food. This was followed by some ice cream at the Pedlar’s Inn Gelato counter next door. We walked over to the lighthouse and then along the sea. As evening set in we had another meal at the Coconut Sambol followed by some souvenir shopping and rounding up with an amazing Sri Lankan thaali for dinner.
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Day 6: Drive to Colombo with a stop at Bentota. Overnight stay at Colombo
We were on the last leg of our tour. We drove down from Galle to Colombo. We stopped on the way at Bentota where we had lunch by the riverside and also did some souvenir shopping. We checked into the Oceans Colombo Hotel facing the sea. The bonus was a railway track just before the sea. We were treated to the beautiful sight of the trains running along the coast from our hotel room. By the time we settled in, it was already evening so we wondered where to go. We had released Sanjaya after reaching Colombo. The best option was the tuk-tuk booked through Uber. It took us to the Lotus Tower which symbolized the city of Colombo. It was well lit up and looked gorgeous from various corners of the city. After walking around a bit and not opting to spend money to go on top, we set off for the Port City Colombo. There were quite a few restaurants and eateries there. We settled for a grand buffet dinner at a restaurant named Chill.
Day 7: Day spent in Colombo. Late evening flight back to Mumbai
It was our final day in Sri Lanka. We were planned to take the 10:30 PM flight back to Mumbai. We had the whole day for us up to 6:30 PM. We started early and planned to visit the places of interest on the ever popular tuk-tuk. We first visited the Ganga Ramaiya Temple following by followed by Seema Malakaya Temple which is just down the road and even has a common entry ticket. This was followed by the Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque. We followed this up withe a lunch at the Seed Cafe. We rounded it off at the One Galle Face, a truly world class mall overlooking the sea.
Seven days felt just enough to experience Sri Lanka’s beaches, cafés, colonial towns and warm hospitality. If we visited again, we’d head to Ella and Nuwara Eliya to explore the hill country. Until then, this itinerary remains one of our favourite international road trips.
The Expenses for the trip are as follows. We have mentioned the cost of the flights, hotels and the local transport. Food costs will be variable. On an average a lunch / dinner cost us in the range of 10,000-12,000 LKR in the cafes we visited (around ₹3,000).
Here is our Vlog for the Galle and Colombo leg of our tour on our Youtube Channel
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