The 15 Best Kandy Day Trips from Colombo

1.Kandy Temples and Pinnawala Full-Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 144 reviews · 1 day · from $54Our pick

Review of the Colombo to Kandy day tour with Pinnawala elephants, the Tooth Relic Temple, tea tasting, scenic views, and practical tips.

“Aadhil the guide gave excellent communication and picked us on time. The trip is very long but Aadhil was super knowledgeable and gave us great local information along the way. He answered all our questions with a smile and was very helpful taking photographs. I would recommend this tour if you don’t mind a 15 hour day. Especially if you get Aadhil as your guide.”

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2.Kandy, Pinnawala and Tea Factory Full-Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 99 reviews · 12 hours · from $55

Review of a 12-hour Colombo to Kandy tour with Pinnawala elephants, the Temple of the Tooth, tea tasting, crafts, costs, and practical tips.

“The experience with Priyantha was amazing, we felt accompanied all the way, he gave us the best recommendations and was involved in our activities, I highly recommend him and he is a very kind and helpful person.”

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3.03 Days Highlights Of Sigiriya,Kandy,Nuwara Eliya ,Ella & Udawalawe

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 61 reviews · from $265Top rated

See Sigiriya, Kandy, Ella, tea country, waterfalls, and elephants on a fast-paced three-day Sri Lanka tour from Colombo.

“Dhanash was great. He was always on time for pickup and made sure everything went smoothly with the tours and driving around. He made sure to tailor the trip to what I had wanted to see not just on the itinerary. The hotels were really Read more”

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4.Private Day trip Kandy & pinnawala with your selected attractions

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 53 reviews · from $65

Review of a private Colombo to Kandy and Pinnawala day trip with temple, tea factory, spice garden, lunch, and private transport.

“We made it very very clear to the driver that we do Not wish to visit the Gems factory and complimentary Spice garden...... Also, since this a private tour, you can skip the Cashew market and Pineapple market. This will leave you with more time at the ELEPHANT ORPHANRead more”

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5.Kandy Day Tour From Colombo

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 51 reviews · from $55

Review of the Colombo to Kandy day tour, with temple visits, botanical gardens, tea, transport advice, costs, and practical tips.

“We had a most amazing trip from Colombo to Kandy & back. We had very enlightening simple, end-to-end walk-through visits of a tea factory, a batik painting shop, and a wood carving products shop, with excellent products buying Read more”

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6.Airport to Kandy Drop

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 44 reviews · from $27

Private Colombo Airport to Kandy transfer with an air-conditioned vehicle, helpful driver, bottled water, flexible pickup, and direct hotel drop-off.

“I had a fantastic experience with Ayub, the driver from Mahaweli Tours & Holidays, during my journey from Colombo airport to my hotel in Kandy. The pickup was right on time, and communication with Ayub was clear and efficient. AlthouRead more”

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7.Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage & Ambuluwawa Tower

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 37 reviews · 8 hours · from $20

See Pinnawala elephants, climb Ambuluwawa Tower, and explore Kandy temples, viewpoints, gardens, and craft stops on an $20 private day tour.

“We had the chance to explore Kandy and its surroundings, and the experience was simply incredible — better than we could have ever imagined. Masi took us to so many wonderful places and really made us feel immersed in the local culture. A special highlight was the meal: absolutely delicious, in a genuine local spot full of authenticity. Throughout the trip, he was so attentive and caring, nothing like the clichés of mass tourism. His English is excellent, and Masi himself was exceptionally kind and welcoming. If you’re hesitating, don’t think twice — this is an experience you can book with complete confidence! Thank you so much”

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8.3 Days Tour to Kandy Nuwara Eliya & Sigiriya from Colombo

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 28 reviews · from $250

See Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Sigiriya, and Dambulla in three private days from Colombo, with a driver, meals, hotels, and temple visits.

“Our tour guide Krish worked very well with us to help us manage our itinerary in safe, efficient fun way - the manager Jeevan stayed in touch with us and helped us with our hotel accommodations requests since we were touring with grouRead more”

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9.Colombo to Kandy Train Tickets (Reserved Seats)

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 28 reviews · from $18

Review of reserved Colombo to Kandy train tickets, with scenic views, fixed departures, e-ticket delivery, value, and practical booking tips.

“So, the tickets are accurate, the train is on time, the e-ticket works for the controllers and no need to print it out. The only thing is the agency shares the e-ticket on the night before, i.e. 5-6 hours before the train which, having booked from abrRead more”

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10.4 Days Tour to Kandy, Sigiriya & Nuwara Eliya

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 27 reviews · from $325

Explore Kandy, Sigiriya, Nuwara Eliya, and Minneriya on a private four-day Sri Lanka tour with a chauffeur guide.

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11.Kandy and Pinnawala Private Day Tour from Colombo/Negombo

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 27 reviews · from $65

Review the Kandy and Pinnawala private day tour from Colombo, with temple visits, tea, gardens, views, hotel pickup, and practical tips.

“Great customized tour with excellent communication with the operator. Since we had to be back on our cruise ship by 5pm, arrangements were made to meet our tour guide/ driver, Anas, at 6:30am for a private tour to go to several places tRead more”

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12.Kandy Full-Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 24 reviews · from $120

See Kandy from Colombo in 12 hours with temple, spice garden, tea estate, lunch, private transport, and local guidance.

“very poor. The guide was was n't that good. the experience was very shoddy nowhere near what I had expected.”

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13.Sigiriya, Dambulla and Minneriya Private Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 22 reviews · 1 day · from $84

Review of a private Kandy tour to Sigiriya, Dambulla, and Minneriya, with practical advice on guides, costs, timing, hiking, and wildlife.

“The tour specified a english speaking guide however we only got a driver who drove us to the sites and stayed in the car. We had to find a guide and pay extra at the sites. This was unexpected and disappointing. Better description of the tour is needed to avoid confusion”

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14.Best Of Sri lanka Tour (06 Days 05 Nights) – Kandy- N.Eliya -Bentota-Colombo

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 19 reviews · from $366

See Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Bentota, Galle, and Colombo on a private six-day Sri Lanka tour with a chauffeur-guide.

“Premil was fantastic, very responsive with communication in the planning stage prior to our arrival and very dependable once we arrived. We hired Premil for a six day tour of the country and would recommend him to anyone. He aided in the Read more”

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15.Kandy and Pinnawala Orphanage Short Excursions

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 18 reviews · 14 days · from $75

Review of Colombo’s Kandy and Pinnawala day trip, with temple, elephants, tea, spice gardens, transport, costs, and practical advice.

“very good driver was amazing. you have to pay for entrances fees which is OK but they charge you tourist fees. then tips aswell.”

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