Sri Lanka highlights vacation for families, 13 days

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION

By promoting travel to the East Coast during the European summer months (April–September), we help distribute visitor numbers more evenly across Sri Lanka, easing pressure on the heavily visited South and West coasts while supporting communities in the east. This approach aligns with the region’s best weather conditions, providing an exceptional beach experience while reducing overtourism elsewhere. Additionally, the scenic train journey from Haputale to Kandy offers a lower-carbon, eco-friendly alternative to road travel, creating memorable experiences with a lighter environmental footprint.

ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE

At Minneriya National Park, we highlight the renowned “Elephant Gathering” as a natural and unscripted event, allowing visitors to witness elephants in their true wild habitat. Our safaris take place only within designated national parks such as Minneriya, Kaudulla, and Hurulu Eco Park—protected areas where entry fees directly fund conservation, habitat protection, and anti-poaching initiatives. Guests are encouraged to view wildlife respectfully, understanding that we are merely visitors in the elephants’ natural environment.

People

LOCAL ECONOMY

Throughout the itinerary, we employ a dedicated local chauffeur guide, a model that ensures stable employment, fair wages, and direct financial support for local families. This approach also encourages hyper-local spending, as guides recommend small eateries, craft shops, and community-run businesses along the route. In addition, the use of locally operated services such as tuk-tuks, scenic train journeys and boat tours further disperses economic benefits to small-scale entrepreneurs, strengthening sustainable livelihoods across Sri Lanka.

The school visit in the itinerary meets Responsible Travel's policy criteria; visits only take place during term time and is at the invitation of the teacher, for extra English practise for the students. Travelers are accompanied at all times and visits do not disrupt learning or occur too frequently.

EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY AND DIVERSITY

Our authentic village visit reflects the heart of our responsible travel philosophy, built on genuine partnerships rather than staged tourism. Each visit is pre-arranged with the local primary school to ensure a respectful and joyful cultural exchange, while guests have the opportunity to donate much-needed stationery and supplies based on teachers’ specific requests. Visitors also participate in the community’s reforestation initiative through tree planting, leaving behind a meaningful environmental contribution, and enjoy a locally prepared lunch that provides direct income to village families, ensuring tourism benefits reach the grassroots level.

Visits to UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as Sigiriya, Dambulla, Polonnaruwa, and the Temple of the Tooth form a key part of the journey, celebrating Sri Lanka’s remarkable cultural legacy. Entrance fees paid by guests contribute directly to the ongoing maintenance and preservation of these historic landmarks. Our experienced chauffeur guides enrich the experience by sharing in-depth knowledge, promoting respectful behaviour, and fostering a deeper appreciation for the country’s living traditions and heritage.

OUR PARTNERS

Our Sri Lankan partner company is also deeply committed to responsible travel and aims to demonstrate this in all their trips in number of ways including:

- treating all suppliers fairly and paying fair wages, ensuring local people benefit economically from tourism by employing them as tour leaders and guides and using local restaurants and hotels rather than international chains
- regularly updating knowledge of local customs, habits and culture to respect local hosts and give them a good experience of visitors
- including costs for decent hotel rooms for drivers which are not always provided and upholding best practices for safe transport of guests
- inspecting and maintaining vehicles to minimise pollution and carbon emissions
- conserving resources e.g. minimising plastic water bottles, providing documents by email only, and advising guests on minimising their footprint
- community engagement through working with sports tourism charities, beach clean ups, school donations and promoting community cafes and shops.