This journey is $3799 USD per person, based on single occupancy.

If you prefer to have your own room, the single supplement is $699 USD and will be added to your last payment. (Click here to understand why this single supplement is necessary).

A $1000 non-refundable deposit holds your space.  The balance is due by December 15, 2021. 

We will email you an invoice (via PayPal) about a week before the due date.

Price Includes:

• Expert Sri Lankan guide
• Internal transportation within Sri Lanka, including airport transfers
• All accommodation
• Daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner (from dinner on March 8th until breakfast on March 22nd)
• All site entrance fees
• All National Park entrance fees
• Three jeep safaris
• Whale watching boat trip
• Train trip from Kandy to Bandarawela
• All tips to hotel and restaurant staff

Price does not include:

• Sri Lanka Visa ($35 USD)
• International airfare (although we can and will be more than happy to help you decide on arrangements)
• Travel insurance (required)
• Souvenirs, laundry fees, alcoholic beverages, snacks and beverages outside meal times
• Tip to Sri Lanka expert guide

IMPORTANT NOTE: 

• There is a minimum of 4 guests that must sign up in order for this trip to take place. We will hold your deposit & payments until the minimum number of guests have signed up.  Please do not purchase any airfare until you receive notice from RetreaTours that we’ve reached our minimum number of participants.  

• If the minimum number of guests have not signed up 1 month prior to the departure date, we’ll give you the option to transfer your reservation to another tour or fully refund your money.

Please refer to the Price tab for specific information about price & what is included on your journey.

We accept payments via check and credit or debit card (via PayPal). For our guests outside the U.S., please write Lauren@RetreaTours.com for the best transfer details, to save you from PayPal’s 2.5 to 4.5% currency conversion fee.

• Paying by Check: Checks can be made out to RetreaTours and sent to 8821 NW 14 Street, Pembroke Pines, FL 33024.
• Paying by Credit Card, Debit Card, or PayPal balance: You can pay the balance with credit card, debit card, or PayPal balance through the button below. Note that you do not have to pay with your PayPal balance; please click here if you’d like further instruction.

We will email you an invoice (via PayPal) about a week before each due date.

We’ll be staying in a wide variety of hotels on this journey, reflecting the different landscapes we’re experiencing. Here are the websites of the hotels and resorts we’ll be staying in.

• Kammala (one night upon arrival): Suriya Resort
• Anuradhapura (1 nights): Forest Rock Garden
• Sigiriya (3 nights): Sigiriya Jungles
• Kandy (2 night): Thilanka
• Bandarawela (2 nights): Orient
• Yala (1 nights): Jetwing Yala
• Mirissa (2 nights): Mandara Resort Mirissa
• Galle: The Heritage
• Colombo (1 night): Dwell Hotel

There is no air-conditioning at Orient, but it is at a higher elevation (4,000 feet) and should be a comfortable temperature.

There is wifi in all of our hotels, although it may not extend all the way to your room and will be stronger in the common areas (lobby, restaurant, etc).

We do everything in our power to do right by our guests. We are proud to say that in the wake of our COVID-related trip cancellations through 2020 and 2021, we were able to offer each of our guests the choice of a 100% credit, if not a full refund.

We’ve re-examined each trip and done our best to reduce the deposit amounts as much as possible. Upon your registration, your deposit immediately goes toward reserving your space for flights, hotels, and excursions that must be booked months in advance and are often non-refundable (particularly in Kenya and Rwanda).

Cancellation by our guests

The cancellation charges are as follows unless otherwise indicated on the detailed itinerary for each trip. All cancellations must be received via e-mail or US mail.

• Cancellations prior to 120 days to departure, money will be refunded minus the non-refundable deposit.
• Cancellations received 61 to 119 days prior to departure are subject to a penalty of 50% of the total cost of the trip.
• Cancellations received 60 days or less prior to trip departure will forfeit the entire cost of the trip.

If a trip is cancelled by RetreaTours

When a tour is cancelled in the case of force majeure, the Tour Participant will receive a refund minus any funds that we are unable to recover from any supplier.

You can see the full cancellation policy in our contract here. 

• Passport and Visa information
• Food
• Health & Vaccines, Altitude, Travel Insurance
• Money & How to Get Local Currency
• Communication

PASSPORT/VISA

• What do I need to know about the visa?    

First and foremost, your passport MUST be valid at least 6 months beyond the end date of the trip (that is, September 2022), and you’ll need two empty pages in the Visas section of your passport (make sure they are in the Visa section, not the Amendment or Endorsement section). 

The Sri Lanka visa fee is $35 and we will walk you through the procedure.

FOOD

• I have special dietary needs—can I be accommodated?

Vegetarians and vegans will find plenty of delicious curries and dal available along with local rice and other starches. Celiacs and those avoiding gluten will also enjoy the abundance of rice, meat proteins, and vegetable options, as well. Part of your registration includes asking about dietary allergies and special needs, but please feel free to contact us beforehand if you have any specific questions or concerns about Sri Lanka food.

You can read more about the specialties of Sri Lanka cuisine here. 

• Can I drink the water?

In a word, No. Although many cities around the world are getting more advanced public water systems, we don’t recommend it.  Not only from a pathogen standpoint, but it’s a different set of bacteria than your body is used to. Why risk an upset stomach if you don’t have to? We recommend drinking only bottled water, and you will want to rinse your toothbrush off in bottled water.

HEALTH

• What vaccines do I need?

None are required to enter Sri Lanka, but we suggest you work with your physician or your area’s travel health expert to decide what options are best for you. You can read the American CDC’s Sri Lanka recommendations here and the Scottish NHS Sri Lanka recommendations here.

RetreaTours requires a COVID-19 vaccination series completed at least 30 days before entry into Sri Lanka.

• What about malaria? What about Zika?

As always, we request that you work with your physician or travel doctor when making these choices. Please see our blog about this topic for more information about malaria.

The World Health Organization declared Sri Lanka free of malaria in September 2016.  

Please click here to learn more about the CDC’s recommendation about Zika in Southeast Asia (please note that Sri Lanka is not currently listed as a country of concern).

   *All of the information here is for reference purposes only and is not intended to substitute for advice from your licensed health care professional. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any health condition or disease. If you are experiencing medical issues, you should contact your medical health care provider.

• Do I need travel insurance?

We require that our guests carry travel insurance because it just makes sense. It’s a relatively small expense but affords huge peace of mind!  When choosing a travel insurance policy we require that you are covered for emergency medical expenses, medical evacuation, and repatriation. We also highly recommend you take out trip cancellation insurance, as this may cover cancellation penalties in certain circumstances if you have to cancel your trip unexpectedly due to illness, injury, or other unforeseen circumstances.

Please see RetreaTours.com/Travel-Insurance for more information.

MONEY

• How much money should I bring?

Only what you need for extras (souvenirs, alcohol, spa treatments/massages, etc) and a tip to your local expert guide, since everything else on this trip is included! We have included all base tips, but we would never take away the opportunity to tip more if you feel moved to do so.

• How do I get the local currency?

The local currency in Sri Lanka is the Sri Lanka Rupee (LKR). You can either exchange cash in Sri Lanka or use a local ATM (which we prefer) to get LKR. Just make sure you call your bank and credit card company to let them know you’ll be traveling in Sri Lanka, so they don’t put a hold on your card when they see it being used halfway across the world. You do NOT need to exchange money before you arrive in Sri Lanka, as exchanging money while still in your home country usually has a very poor exchange rate.

COMMUNICATION

• How can my family get ahold of me in an emergency?

Before the trip begins we will give you the contact information for our hotels to pass along to your loved ones. If you choose to bring your cell phone or tablet, you can use VoIP services such as Skype, WhatsApp, and FaceTime to connect with your loved ones at home, as well.

We highly recommend that all guests download and set up WhatsApp before leaving home, as that is an easy way to stay in touch with each other while at the hotels on tour.

RetreaTours is Climate Positive!

We purchase triple carbon offsets for your travels with us—that’s from your home, through the entire tour, and back to your home again, times three! 

RetreaTours is officially a Carbonfree® Partner with Carbonfund.org, as well as a partner with Cool Effect.

You may have heard the term “carbon neutral,” which means that a company offsets as much carbon as it produces. With this 300% offset, RetreaTours is actually offsetting more carbon than we produce each year, making us “carbon negative” (or “climate positive,” which has a nicer ring to it!)

Since 2012 we’ve focused on making travel safe and easy for our guests; with our triple carbon offset tours, we’re pleased to make our trips as sustainable as they are memorable.

Please see more at RetreaTours.com/CarbonNegative

Arrival

This journey will officially begin at dinner on February 16th or March 8th, depending on your journey. If you wish to arrive early, we can help you make arrangements at our starting hotel or elsewhere.

Please remember that if you arrive in the wee hours of February 16th/March 8th (~2 to 5 AM), you’ll still need a place to rest your weary head, necessitating a room the night of Feb 15th/March 7th (the morning of Feb 16th/March 8th). Otherwise, you may have to wait until 2 PM to check-in since we cannot guarantee an early check-in.

No fear if you can’t arrive until after dinner on Feb 16th/March 8th; we’ll make sure you are caught up to speed and know when to meet the group for departure on Feb 17th/March 9th and you can meet everyone at breakfast!

Early Departure

You will arrive back in Colombo in the late afternoon of March 1st/March 21st. Dinner and your hotel room that night are included, as well as breakfast on March 2nd/March 22nd. If your preferred flight leaves late on the night of the 21st or early in the pre-dawn hours of the 2nd/22nd, you will still have a hotel room to repack and freshen up before your flight.

Weather Notes

The average temperature in your travels around Sri Lanka will be between 75 and 90°F, with a relative humidity between 65% and 90%. Although this is not the rainy season, rain can still occur, so you’ll want to bring some protection from the sprinkles (or the sun!)

Packing List

Coming soon!

We require that each guest carries travel insurance that covers emergency medical treatment, and emergency evacuation and repatriation. 

We suggest trip cancellation insurance, as well, as you never know what obstacles life can toss at you leading up to a trip. However, we do not require this coverage, we only suggest it highly.

Below you will find some options to look into, if this is a new world to you. However, we ask that you carefully consider your choice in travel insurance. What works for some people may not work for others, particularly if you have any pre-existing conditions. Please do take the time to consider the best policy for your individual needs.

World Nomads provides medical coverage for guests under 70 that includes trip cancellation, as well. You can use the box on this page to get a quote and see coverage.

InsureMyTrip.com is a good place to see and compare many policies at once, and you can refine the options by what coverage you would like. This website includes options from companies like Allianz, Travel Guard, Trip Assure, April, GeoBlue and more.

It may also be a good idea to check with your credit card companies, especially American Express, to see if they offer any medical coverage for travel.

Husband and wife team BJ Graf & Lauren Rathvon created RetreaTours in 2010 with one goal in mind: to make world travel accessible, authentic, and astounding. In order to focus fully on this passion, they moved out of the U.S. in January 2013 to reside full-time overseas. Each day is spent exploring new destinations, strengthening local ties & relationships, and creating memorable and transformative retreats and tours (aka, RetreaTours!)

BJ & Lauren craft each element of the trip with intention, and they understand that it is this careful attention to detail that sets them apart.  Fueled by their passion, armed with know-how, and supported by knowledgeable local professionals in all of their destinations, BJ & Lauren set the scene for the vacation of a lifetime. The dynamic duo are available to answer any and all questions before the trip begins. From giving advice on the best flights and travel insurance to providing a packing list, FAQ, and even a tiny “phrasebook,” BJ & Lauren pride themselves on these ‘nuts & bolts’ of personalized service.

(That is us above in Minneriya National Park in 2017, on safari with a herd of elephants in the distance.)

Please email Lauren@RetreaTours.com if you have any questions not addressed on this site. Thank you!