A journey of 10 nights
Family by the Sea
A walled garden by a sheltered lagoon, then a hilltop villa with a Jungle Room, and days planned around the children.
- Nights
- 10
- Stays
- 2
- Arranged
- 6
- For
- Family, The sea
- Day 1
Arrive
Two hours from the airport to a walled garden of fruit trees, a short walk from the lagoon at Dalawella.
- Day 2
The lagoon
Swimming with sea turtles in the sheltered water at Dalawella.
- Day 3
Masks and turtles
The mask carvers of Ambalangoda, then the turtle project at Kosgoda.
- Day 4
Under the water
Snorkelling at Jungle Beach.
- Day 5
In the kitchen
Cooking with the chef: everyone makes something.
- Day 6
Up the hill
Ten kilometres inland to a villa 800 feet above the sea, with peacocks on the lawn.
- Day 7
Elephants
A day out to Udawalawe by private jeep.
- Days 8 to 10
The estate
Bicycles through the paddy fields, the infinity pool, and the roof terrace for sunset.
- Day 11
Home
Two hours back to the airport.
Where you stay
Talpe, boutique hotel
Why House
Ten rooms in a three-acre walled garden.
A family-minded boutique hotel set among tropical plants, fruit and spice trees. Luxury without formality, a short walk from the reef-sheltered lagoon at Dalawella Beach and fifteen minutes from Galle Fort.
- Rooms10
- From the airport2 hrs
- Galle Fort15 min
Galle hills, private villa
Sisindu T
Six bedrooms, 800 feet above the sea.
A 9,000 square foot villa on a working estate of tea, cinnamon and pepper, ten kilometres from Galle. Sea in one direction, jungle in the others, peacocks and monkeys in between.
- Bedrooms6
- Sleeps14
- Galle10 km
Arranged along the way
- Snorkelling at Jungle Beach. A sheltered cove below the Rumassala hill, with reef fish and turtles in clear water during the calm months.
- Sea turtles at Kosgoda. A conservation project on the beach where five species of turtle nest. In season, a release of hatchlings at dusk.
- The mask carvers of Ambalangoda. Masks for the old kolam and healing dances, carved from kaduru wood and painted by hand. A morning in a family workshop, and its small museum.
- Cooking with the villa chef. Curries, sambols and hoppers made in the villa kitchen, from coconut scraped by hand to the tempering of the spices. Then you eat it all.
- Udawalawe elephants. Open grassland and wild elephant herds, by private jeep.
- Back roads by bicycle. An easy ride with IDLE through paddy fields and villages behind the coast.
- A car and driver throughout. From the arrivals hall to the last morning.