Estate bungalow, factories, Pekoe Trail, the hill train
Tea and trains, 6 days is a private Sri Lanka tour by Majeste. It costs $601 per person for two at shoulder-season rates (for the hotels on this route, 21 to 30 April and 1 November to 20 December), with comfort hotels, entrance tickets and your own car and English-speaking driver included. Prices checked 7 Nov 2026. In its best months, Jan to Apr, Jul to Sep, it costs $582 to $698 per person for two, depending on the start date. It stops at Hatton (Adam's Peak and tea country), Nuwara Eliya, Ella, Kandy, in that order. The longest drive is on day 5, from Ella to Kandy, about 4 h 30 min. Nothing to pay now.
Six days in the tea country: a planter's bungalow at Hatton with a factory tour and a guided Pekoe Trail stage, Nuwara Eliya's high estates, the Nanu Oya to Ella train, the Halpewatte factory and a tea-plucking morning above Ella, and a night in Kandy before the airport. The loop runs up through Kitulgala and comes back from Ella through Kandy, so no drive is longer than about 4 hours 30 minutes. The line between Kandy and Nanu Oya was closed when status pages were last checked on 4 November 2026, and the trip is written for that; if the section reopens, more of it can go by train.
About 3 hours 55 minutes via Avissawella and Kitulgala on the A7 mountain road to Hatton, with a lunch stop by the Kelani. A tea factory tour and a tasting in the late afternoon, then a planter's bungalow above the Castlereagh reservoir.
A guided stage of the Pekoe Trail through the Bogawantalawa or Dickoya estates, four to seven hours depending on the stage; we confirm the stage and the guide when you book, and check the trail's alert page first. Then 1 hour 25 minutes to Nuwara Eliya, at about 1,900 m and cold at night.
The Pedro estate factory in the morning and a walk round Gregory Lake. The 12:30 to 13:00 train from Nanu Oya to Ella, about 2 hours 30 minutes through Ambewela, Haputale and Bandarawela; your driver takes the luggage. Reserved seats go on sale 30 days before travel and in high season can sell out within hours. We buy yours the day sales open, or as soon as you book if that is later. No class or window seat is promised.
A morning plucking tea with the estate workers and making a batch by hand at Halpewatte, the factory above Ella. Little Adam's Peak after lunch, then the Nine Arch Bridge at the afternoon train time; it is packed from 09:00 to 16:00.
About 4 hours 30 minutes on hill roads to Kandy, via Mahiyanganaya and Badulla or back over the A5; it is the longest drive of the trip and is why Kandy is the last night rather than a 6-hour run to the airport from Ella. The Ceylon Tea Museum at Hantane can be added on the way in (ticket paid at the door), then the 18:30 puja at the Temple of the Tooth.
About 3 hours 15 minutes to the airport on the A1. With an evening flight there is time for Peradeniya's botanical gardens first.
| Stop | Simple | Comfort (this tour) | Superior | Luxury |
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| Hatton (Adam's Peak and tea country)1 night |
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| Nuwara Eliya1 night |
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| Ella2 nights |
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| Kandy1 night |
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| Per person for two | $501 | $601 | $773 | $1,135 |
Hotels are named as examples of the standard you will get. If a named hotel is full we book one of the same standard in the same area and tell you which. Bed and breakfast unless the itinerary says otherwise.
| When | Per person | Compared |
|---|---|---|
| June (low season) | $582 | Lowest |
| November (shoulder season) | $601 | $19 more than the lowest |
| February (peak season) | $660 | $78 more than the lowest |
| Christmas and New Year | $698 | Highest, $116 more than the lowest |
Priced for a start date in each period. Your dates may fall across two seasons, so check them in the price box. Some stops here cost more in their own busy weeks, such as mid-July to August. The Christmas and New Year price includes our estimate of any compulsory gala dinner on 24 or 31 December.
| Group | Per person | Total | Vehicle |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 adult | $960 | $960 | Car |
| 2 adults | $601 | $1,200 | Car |
| 3 adults | $610 | $1,829 | Van |
| 4 adults | $518 | $2,070 | Van |
| 6 adults | $486 | $2,914 | Large van |
| 8 adults | $454 | $3,628 | Large van |
Two adults share each room, and an odd adult has a single room at 80% of the double rate. We pick the smallest vehicle that seats the group in comfort. Per-person figures are rounded up to the dollar.
Day 1 is about 3 hours 55 minutes and day 5 about 4 hours 30 minutes on hill roads; the rest are short. One full day's walk on day 2.
The line between Kandy and Nanu Oya was closed when status pages were last checked on 4 November 2026, after cyclone damage, an October 2026 landslide and an unfinished bridge rebuild. If it reopens, the Kandy leg can go by train too.
Reserved seats go on sale 30 days before travel and in high season can sell out within hours. We buy yours the day sales open, or as soon as you book if that is later. No class or window seat is promised. We book first or second class, whichever is available, and tell you which. If no seat is left, we tell you, your driver takes you by road instead, and you do not pay for the seat.
A stage takes four to seven hours on estate roads and footpaths with a guide. We pick a stage to match your fitness when you book, and some stages close after landslides, so we check the trail's alert page before you set off.
No: at the 4 Nov 2026 check the Kandy to Ella train was not running end to end. Nanu Oya to Ella runs. Fares, classes, booking and the road options.
Majeste's Classic Sri Lanka 7-day tour is USD 866 per person for two in 3-star hotels, shoulder season, with car, driver, tickets and safaris. 7 Nov 2026.
January to March is driest on the west and south coasts, in the hills and the Cultural Triangle; May to September suits the east. Checked 7 Nov 2026.
6 days · Comfort hotels
Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Ella, Udawalawe National Park, Yala (Tissamaharama and Kataragama)
Kandy, Horton Plains, the train, two parks
$744
per person for two, 6 days, comfort hotels, shoulder season, tickets included
6 days · Comfort hotels
Anuradhapura, Jaffna, Wilpattu National Park
Anuradhapura, three nights in Jaffna, Wilpattu
$666
per person for two, 6 days, comfort hotels, shoulder season, tickets included, temple-run sites paid there
5 days · Comfort hotels
Sigiriya (Dambulla and Habarana), Kandy, Nuwara Eliya
Sigiriya, Kandy and the tea country in four nights
$534
per person for two, 5 days, comfort hotels, shoulder season, tickets included
Fees last checked 7 Nov 2026. Hotel rates last checked 7 Nov 2026. Transport rates last checked 7 Nov 2026. Activity prices last checked 7 Nov 2026. Rupee fees converted at LKR 332.5 to USD 1 (XE mid-market rate, 6 Nov 2026).
Where the figures come from
More about our photos on the credits page.
Example for 2, no date chosen
$601per person, rounded up$1,200.15 total
for 2 adults, 6 days, comfort hotels, car, shoulder season
Nothing to pay now. You pay your driver in cash when the trip starts. Plans change? Cancel free up to 24 hours before pickup. Replies within 30 minutes, 07:00 to 21:00 Sri Lanka time.
