Sri Lanka Real Food Adventure

Intrepid Travel · 12 days
Sri Lanka Real Food Adventure
Sri Lanka Real Food Adventure
Sri Lanka Real Food Adventure
Sri Lanka Real Food Adventure
Sri Lanka Real Food Adventure
Sri Lanka Real Food Adventure
Sri Lanka Real Food Adventure
Sri Lanka Real Food Adventure
Sri Lanka Real Food Adventure
Sri Lanka Real Food Adventure
Sri Lanka Real Food Adventure
Sri Lanka Real Food Adventure
Sri Lanka Real Food Adventure
Sri Lanka Real Food Adventure
12 Days
From AUD $2870
Trip Type
Small Group
Activity Level
Light

Rating


(20 reviews)

Sri Lanka Real Food Adventure

Sri Lanka Real Food Adventure

Intrepid Travel · 12 days
Duration

12 days

Tour Type

Small Group

Accommodations

Moderate

Physical Rating

Light

Guide Language

English

Experience Overview

Hungry for adventure? This food-focused journey through Sri Lanka hits the spot. Explore the fish market in Negombo, take part in a Sinhalese cooking class in a local home in Kandy, tuck into a Tamil family lunch in Haputale and enjoy a cooking demonstration with a fisherman’s family in Mirissa.

Highlights

  • Take a look behind closed doors when you’re invited for a home-cooked Tamil lunch in Haputale and feast on a freshly caught meal with a fisherman’s family in Mirissa.
  • Learn the secrets of Sri Lankan cuisine during a cooking class in a Sinhalese home in Kandy and a demonstration in a local home in Bandarawela.
  • Experience some of Sri Lanka’s most remarkable sights, including Lion Rock, the Dambulla Cave Temples, the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, Yala National Park and Galle Fort.
  • Spoil your tastebuds with flavour-filled curries, seriously fresh seafood, sweet desserts, roti, hoppers, dosa, idli and more.
  • Discover Sri Lanka’s favourite beverage when you visit a tea plantation in Bandarawela, meeting local tea pickers, learning about their craft and tasting a freshly brewed cuppa.

Trip Details

Duration

12 days

Transportation

Private vehicle,train,jeep

Tour Type

Small Group

Guide Language

English

Starts

Negombo, Sri Lanka

Finishes

Colombo, Sri Lanka

Accommodations

Moderate

Travel Style

Physical Rating

Light

Itinerary

1
Day 1: Negombo
Ayubowan! Welcome to Sri Lanka. Living up to its nickname of the ‘Pearl of the Indian Ocean’, this country is peppered with palm beaches and fascinating ancient sites. It’s also a food lover’s paradise – with Indian, Portuguese, Malay, English, Arab and Dutch influences. Your adventure begins in the seaside city of Negombo, where you’ll meet your local leader and fellow travellers at a 6 pm welcome meeting. Spend your first night on the coastline, getting to know your fellow travellers and watching the fishing boats float by.

Accommodation:

  • Hotel (Number of Nights: 1)
2
Day 2: Dambulla
Wake early this morning to catch the action at the Negombo fish market. Situated at the northern end of a lagoon, the market is renowned for lobsters, crabs and prawns. Continue to a coconut plantation to discover why this super food is so central to life in Sri Lanka. Learn how all parts of the tree play an important role in daily life, sip the water of a king coconut, watch ‘toddy tappers’ extract the palm wine from the coconut sap and taste the results. Enjoy a Sri Lankan rice and curry lunch before heading inland to Dambulla, home to ornate cave temples and surrounded by natural wonders and historic sites. Your evening is free to explore. You may like to join your leader on an optional street food crawl for an introduction to some staple Sri Lankan 'short eats' (snack food), including famous hoppers (bowl-shaped savoury pancakes).

Included Activities:

  • Negombo - Fish market
  • Madampe - Coconut plantation visit

Accommodation:

  • Hotel (Number of Nights: 1)
3
Day 3: Dambulla
After breakfast, make the short drive to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Sigiriya. Here, you can climb to the top of Lion Rock and visit the ancient fortress complex. The 200 m high ancient remains of a defensive capital, Lion Rock houses fifth-century frescos, terraced gardens and fountains. Next, see the age-old traditions at a nearby chena cultivation area, which is one of the oldest forms of agriculture known to humans. It’s particularly popular in the dry zone of the country where it rains for only a few months of the year, and principal crops are tropical vegetables, cereals, grains, yams and corn. Then, feast on tropical vegetables, curry made with tapioca and fried fish caught in the nearby lake for lunch. In the late afternoon, return to Dambulla to explore the wholesale market. Boasting an incredible array of fresh food, much of which is transported to Colombo, this is the perfect place to get a sense of Sri Lanka's agricultural diversity. The rest of the evening is free for your own adventures.

Included Activities:

  • Dambulla - Wholesale Markets tour
  • Sigiriya - Lion Rock Fortress Visit
  • Sigiriya - Chena Cultivation tour by jeep

Accommodation:

  • Hotel (Number of Nights: 1)
4
Day 4: Kandy
Located high on a cliff face are the impressive Dambulla Cave Temples. You’ll have time to explore these this morning and admire the many Buddha images, frescoes and paintings. On the way to the physical and spiritual heart of the country and the former home of the last Sri Lankan king, stop for lunch at a spice garden in the renowned spice-growing region of Matale. Sri Lankans are the masters of spice and here you can learn how spices aren’t just used in food, but also cosmetics and ayurvedic medicine. Smell the cumin, cinnamon and curry leaves before tasting pumpkin curry flavoured with aromatic fenugreek, with a side of dry chilli sambol and the uniquely Sri Lankan coconut roti. Continue to Kandy, home to a lake, old shops, a bustling market and some great restaurants. This evening, observe locals worshipping in Kandy’s Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth), one of Sri Lanka’s most sacred shrines that houses a tooth relic of the Lord Buddha. With your free evening, perhaps follow the sound of rhythmic chopping to watch a chef transform a ball of dough into a huge sheet of wafer-thin roti, skilfully slice, griddle, mix with vegetables and spices and create kottu roti.

Included Activities:

  • Dambulla - Cave Temples
  • Matale - Spice Garden tour and lunch
  • Kandy - Temple of the Tooth

Accommodation:

  • Hotel (Number of Nights: 1)
5
Day 5: Kandy
Kick off the day with a guided walk around Kandy's busy city centre, then visit a tea factory. After, take a tour of the Central Market and samples of local fresh fruits. The rest of the day is free for you to explore. Kandy is home to a National Museum and several monasteries, and there are many scenic walks around town. In the early evening, join a Sinhalese family to get your sugar fix with a Kandyan sweet-filled Sri Lankan dinner and cooking class. Try your hand at crafting string hoppers, pressing a smooth rice dough into noodle-thin strands to form perfect discs (this is an art that takes some practice to master!), try a chicken curry made with spice-infused coconut milk, closer to a Thai curry than a North Indian one. Then fill up on specialty sweets inspired by Dutch and Portuguese dessert traditions.

Included Activities:

  • Kandy - Cooking Class in a Sinhalese Home
  • Kandy - Tea factory visit
  • Kandy - Market wander & tastings

Accommodation:

  • Hotel (Number of Nights: 1)
6
Day 6: Bandarawela
Have your camera at the ready and take a scenic journey into the highlands to Bandarawela. Journey past waterfalls, villages and up through the mountains on the way to this town in the cool highlands, once popular with British plantation managers. Look down over the bright green tea bushes and vegetable gardens. Tonight, take a look behind closed doors and experience a slice of local life when you’re invited into a local home for a cooking demonstration followed by a traditional dinner.

Included Activities:

  • Bandarawela - Cooking demonstration & local meal
  • Kandy - Scenic train ride from Kandy to Bandarawela

Accommodation:

  • Hotel (Number of Nights: 1)
7
Day 7: Bandarawela
Rise early and head to the region's tea plantations. Take a hike through the tea fields, learning about the country’s most important export and meet local tea pickers who will show you their craft and let you have a go at picking and weighing tea. After, travel out to the town of Haputale for a home-cooked lunch with a Tamil family. Tear into traditional Tamil cuisine with dosa (a crispy rice pancake) and idli (a savoury steamed rice cake served with curry sauces or chutneys). Return to Bandarawela in the late afternoon and soak up the rural charm of the town and the beautiful surrounding landscapes.

Included Activities:

  • Haputale - Tamil family lunch
  • Bandarawela - Hike through tea fields

Accommodation:

  • Hotel (Number of Nights: 1)
8
Day 8: Yala/Udawalawe National Park
Drive out to the wilderness of Yala National Park (or Udawalawe National Park in the off season). Encompassing a variety of diverse ecosystems, the park has an impressive array of wildlife, including sloth bears and lots of birds. In the evening, take a safari and search for the elusive leopards that lounge in trees or stalk through the brush, crocodiles that patrol the river or wild elephants that graze across the grasslands.

Included Activities:

  • Yala/Udawalawe National Park - Wildlife safari

Accommodation:

  • Hotel (Number of Nights: 1)
9
Day 9: Mirissa
Start the day by discovering one of Sri Lanka's favourite ingredients. Try buffalo curd, served in bright terracotta pots with golden treacle, which is often eaten as a snack or as an accompaniment to meals or as a dessert. Spend the day relaxing or exploring the golden sands of Sri Lanka’s southern coastline. You may like to take a bicycle ride or tuk-tuk to watch colourful fishing boats bring back their loads of fresh fish to sell along the shore.  You will gain a unique insight into local life this afternoon when you meet with a local fisherman and learn about the craft, and how the lives of fisherman have changed since the tsunami. Enjoy the freshest seafood lunch with a fisherman's family – likely, a crab curry.

Included Activities:

  • Tissamaharama - Curd and treacle tasting
  • Mirissa - Fisherman's Cooking Demonstration and Lunch

Accommodation:

  • Hotel (Number of Nights: 1)
10
Day 10: Mirissa
Today you'll visit to the wonderfully preserved township of Galle, with a blend of European architecture and South Asian traditions. Have a lunch of Biryani and and watalappam (coconut custard pudding) with a local family. In the evening, take a tour of the Royal Dutch Fort, exploring the winding maze of gallery-filled narrow streets and 400 years of rich history. Return to Mirissa for the night.

Included Activities:

  • Galle - Dutch Fort
  • Galle - Walking tour
  • Galle - Biriyani lunch with a local family

Accommodation:

  • Hotel (Number of Nights: 1)
11
Day 11: Colombo
Head north for the final stop on your food adventure, Colombo – Sri Lanka’s commercial heart. This city is a mix of street markets, historic buildings, museums, restaurants and great shopping. Snack your way through on an included city tour around lanes filled with short eats and popular local eateries, finishing at Galle Face Beach, famous for its street food. Enjoy a final Dutch Burgher-influenced meal and celebrate the end of your food adventure with new friends.

Included Activities:

  • Colombo - City tour by bus
  • Colombo - Dutch Burgher Lunch
  • Colombo - Street food

Accommodation:

  • Hotel (Number of Nights: 1)
12
Day 12: Colombo
Your food adventure in Sri Lanka comes to an end this morning. There are no activities planned for this final day and you are free to leave at any time.
Exclusions
  • Flights to and from origin and destinations
  • Airport transfers (arrival and departure)
  • Anything else not explicitly listed in tour inclusions
  • Recommended gratuities/tipping
  • Optional activities/tours
  • Personal expenses
  • Travel insurance
  • Visas, meals and beverages not stated in the list of inclusions.
Important Information
Meals

When meals are not included, your tour leader (where available) will be happy to help with restaurant recommendations, bookings, and directions. Please let us know if you have any dietary needs or preferences. We willdo our best to accommodate these, though we cannot guarantee that every request can be met.

Luggage

You are responsible for your personal belongings throughout the tour. You will need to carry your own bags between the vehicle and your hotel room. Drivers will assist with loading and unloading luggage from the vehicle.

Mobility

Travellers requiring wheelchair access should contact our sales and service team, who can make enquiries on your behalf.

Fitness Level

This tour requires an Average level of fitness. Activities are paced gently and include leisure time. You may be expected to join guided walks of up to one hour, navigate short stairways and mild inclines, and manage your own luggage. You should also be able to board and exit all transport without assistance.

Travellers are expected to be self-sufficient and capable of handling all aspects of their journey. Please discuss your circumstances and support needs with your booking agent to confirm this trip is suitable.

If you are unsure, we recommend consulting your doctor before booking or travelling. (Note: I assume each tour has a different description depending on level of fitness required).

Sightseeing

If a planned site visit is unavailable due to changes in operating hours or holiday closures, the itinerary may be altered, or a comparable activity will be substituted where possible and subject to availability.

Visas

Visa conditions can change. Once you receive your travel documents, check with the relevant embassy, consulate, or immigration office of your destination for the latest information.

  • It is your responsibility to ensure you have the correct and valid travel documents and to comply with all entry requirements.
  • Non-Australian citizens must also confirm visa and identification requirements with the appropriate consulate or visa agency.
  • Certain occupations (for example, journalists, government officials, or those working in charities) may face additional restrictions when applying for visas, which could affect the type of application required.
Departure Dates & Surcharges: See checkout for live dates and availability.
AUD $2,870
(Tour only)
Per Person Twin Share

Duration: 12 days

Trip Type: Small Group

Activity Level: Light

Hungry for adventure? This food-focused journey through Sri Lanka hits the spot. Explore the fish market in Negombo, take part in a Sinhalese cooking class in a local home in Kandy, tuck into a Tamil family lunch in Haputale and enjoy a cooking demonstration with a fisherman’s family in Mirissa.

Price based on per person in Double Room for departure 03 Jul 2026

Customer Reviews

Overall Rating
Excellent
4.5
Guide
Excellent
4.5
Itinerary
Excellent
4.5
Accommodations
Excellent
4.5
Transportation
Excellent
4.5
Tour Operator
Excellent
4.5
Food
Excellent
4.5
5.0
Jennifer
Traveled, March 2024

04/06/2024

An amazing taste of Sri Lanka! It felt like we touched on the best of this amazing country, seeing many different areas in a short time. The wonderful in home cooking demonstrations were a real high light! I feel like my knowledge of Sri Lanka and it’s people has grown. And our guide, Loch was so amazing! Organised, caring and approachable- she was always thinking of how to make sure we had the best trip.

4.5
Sylvia
Traveled, March 2024

03/24/2024

Everything was like I hoped it would be. The home-cooked meals were amazing and our group leader showed us a lot of things to see and food to try. Bring clothes a size bigger. You will need it at the end of this trip.

Tour Operator

Intrepid Travel is a global adventure travel company, dedicated to providing sustainable, experience-rich travel opportunities. They’ve been the leader in ethical, small-group travel since 1989 - taking people around the world for more than 30 years. They’re the world’s largest travel B Corporation - dedicated to being the best travel company for the world. In 2002, they established The Intrepid Foundation so their travellers could make a lasting impact on the communities they had visited. Although Intrepid Travel absorbs all administrative costs of The Intrepid Foundation, they are separate legal entities, allowing The Intrepid Foundation to grow independently. Intrepid Travel is made up of a collection of tour operator brands and 28 destination management companies all united by one vision: To change the way we all see the world.

In Business Since 1989