Quick answer: on 2 November 2026 the private tours on this site were published from USD 900 per person for 5 days up to USD 2,820 per person for 21 days (a few collections cost more), so the price per day falls from about USD 180 to about USD 134 as the trip gets longer. International flights, visa fees, entrance fees and lunches are not included. For a beach stay, the south and south-west coast is best from roughly December to April and the east coast from roughly May to September, so the right coast depends on the month you travel.
What a private Sri Lanka tour costs
These are the "from" prices published on figoholidays.com on 2 November 2026, in US dollars per person, for the standard series of private tours (cultural and heritage, wildlife safari, Ayurveda and wellness, meditation and yoga, and Ramayana Trail). Prices change, so check the tour page and ask for a written quotation.
| Tour length | Published from price, per person | Per day (price divided by days) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 days / 4 nights | USD 900 | about USD 180 |
| 7 days / 6 nights | USD 1,140 | about USD 163 |
| 9 days / 8 nights | USD 1,380 | about USD 153 |
| 10 days / 9 nights | USD 1,500 | about USD 150 |
| 11 days / 10 nights | USD 1,620 | about USD 147 |
| 15 days / 14 nights | USD 2,100 | about USD 140 |
| 21 days / 20 nights | USD 2,820 | about USD 134 |
A few collections are priced differently: the 9-day luxury tour is from USD 1,980, the 10-day luxury tour from USD 2,500 and the 21-day honeymoon tour from USD 2,995, and some tours show "price on request". See the tour packages for the current price of each tour.
What the price includes
- Accommodation at selected hotels on the stated meal plan.
- Private transport throughout the tour, with airport arrival and departure transfers and meet and greet.
- An English-speaking chauffeur-guide.
- Sightseeing as set out in the itinerary.
- Highway tolls, parking, fuel and driver expenses.
- Government taxes and service charges on the included services.
- Bottled drinking water during transfers and sightseeing.
What the price does not include
- International air tickets.
- Sri Lanka visa or ETA fees (see our visa guide).
- Entrance fees to attractions.
- Optional excursions and activities.
- Lunches, beverages and personal meals.
- Personal expenses, travel insurance, alcoholic drinks, tips and gratuities.
- Early check-in or late check-out, unless the tour says otherwise.
Entrance fees are set by the sites and change, so we do not print an amount here. Ask us for the current fees for your itinerary.
What moves the price up or down
- The length of the trip.
- The hotel category and the meal plan.
- The season you travel in.
- The size of your group and how rooms are shared.
- Extras such as optional excursions or special experiences.
- The date the price is valid until, which each tour page shows.
South coast or east coast: how they compare
Sri Lanka has two monsoon seasons, so no coast is best all year. The beach to choose is the one that is dry in your month. The table follows the details in our Galle and Trincomalee guides.
| South and south-west coast | East coast | |
|---|---|---|
| Main places | Galle, Unawatuna, Mirissa, Weligama, Hikkaduwa | Trincomalee, Nilaveli, Uppuveli, Pasikudah, Arugam Bay |
| Best months for the beach | About December to April | About May to September |
| Wetter months | About May to September (south-west monsoon), with showers also in October and November | About October to January (north-east monsoon) |
| Getting there from Colombo | Galle is roughly two hours by road and Mirissa roughly three, mostly on the expressway | A long road journey, usually broken with a night at Habarana or Sigiriya; from Habarana about two hours or so |
| What you can do | Galle Fort, the beach at Unawatuna, whale watching and Coconut Tree Hill at Mirissa, surf lessons at Weligama | Koneswaram Temple, Fort Frederick, snorkelling at Pigeon Island, the Kanniya hot wells, surf at Arugam Bay in season |
| Whale watching | Mirissa, roughly November to April | Trincomalee, roughly March or April to August (sources differ); sightings are never guaranteed |
| Easy to combine with | The hill country, Galle and a Yala safari | The Cultural Triangle (Habarana, Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa) and the Ramayana sites at Koneswaram and Kanniya |
Choose the south coast if you travel between December and April. Choose the east coast if you travel between May and September, especially if you want a beach stay after the Cultural Triangle. In October and November neither coast is at its best: the south-west still sees showers and the east is entering its rainy season.
We do not publish different prices for south-coast and east-coast tours. The cost depends mainly on the hotels you choose and the length of the trip. Because the drive to Trincomalee is long, an east-coast route usually needs an extra night on the way, so it often takes a day more than a south-coast route.
How to plan your budget
- Pick your travel month, which tells you the coast.
- Pick the number of days and read the price from the table above.
- Add what is not included: flights, visa fee, entrance fees, lunches, tips and travel insurance.
- Tell us your dates and who is travelling, and we send a written quotation.
Ready to start? See the tour packages, ask for a tailor-made tour, or send us an enquiry. If you are weighing the Maldives for the beach part of your trip, see our Maldives resort holidays page.
Prices and seasons in this guide were checked against this website on 2 November 2026. They change, so confirm them in your quotation.