8 Things To Do On Your Family Holiday in Sri Lanka
Wide eyed! That’s what your kid would be on a family holiday in Sri Lanka. Considered one of the world’s best family holiday destinations, Sri Lanka ticks all the right boxes for those kids who are curious and parents who need inspiration for a summer or winter family holiday. Elephants, beach time, adventure and the best family resorts with glorious pools vie for space on a Sri Lanka family holiday itinerary with the excitement of cultural guides who create stories of traditions and heritage and junior ranger wildlife safaris!
What Makes Sri Lanka Perfect as a Family Holiday Destination?
1
Street Food, Sunsets and Kites – Family Friendly Adventure in the City
Who said Colombo was boring for kids? For that perfect stop for a few nights after those long haul flights to Sri Lanka, Colombo ticks the right boxes. Some of the best hotels in Sri Lanka tower across the City’s landscapes.
Planning with an experienced curator of family holidays in Sri Lanka, can make this vibrant city unforgettable for kids of all ages. For families with young kids Ayu in the Wild offers an intriguing Colombo City Street Food Walk that is more a mini-treasure hunt and ends with a fantastic time on the Galle Face Green. The vast open ocean fronted space of the Galle Face esplanade is a fun venue filled with kite vendors selling ornately decorated kites, street food cards and locals strolling on an evening out in the city. Let your kids unwind, feel the sea spray and jostle for air space as they fly their kites higher and higher. For older kids and adults, sundowners at the Galle Face hotel, retail therapy ad maybe even some downtime at a spa followed by al-fresco dining with a special menu at the Dutch Hospital Precincts curated exclusively for Ayu in the Wild, sets the right tone for the exciting holidays to follow.
2
Sri Lankan Leopards, Monkeys and Elephants - Junior Ranger Wildlife Safaris
Take your kids on a Sri Lanka wildlife adventure where incredibly interactive Naturalists keep kids enthralled. Learn about everything wild - from poop to plants to wild animal calls and tracking spoor, and about nocturnal creatures who can see better than you.
Ayu in the Wild’s curated Junior Ranger safaris in search of monkeys, elephants and leopards in Yala, Kumana, Minneriya and Kaudulla National Parks will spark the curiosity of youngsters to learn and discover about many more species that make wildlife in Sri Lanka simply unforgettable. Spend a few days in some of the best family resorts bordering safari parks and be wowed by our experienced Naturalists who share their knowledge on wild animal species identification, clues to search for the Sri Lankan leopard on a safari, behaviour of smaller mammals, survival skills, sound and spoor identification, basic map reading, finding your way in the wild and so much more. Each Junior Ranger wild day out is tailor made with age appropriate activities.
As part of our efforts at advocating for responsible tourism in Sri Lanka where tourism revenue needs to be dedicated to sustainability of rural communities and animal welfare, Ayu in the Wild does not promote elephant back safaris nor turtle hatcheries that operate in the guise of conservation.
3
Kids Under Canvas - Tented Camping in Sri Lanka
Camping! Even the sound of it might excite your little ones! Camping in Sri Lanka is one of those unique things to do if you know exactly which safari camp to choose. With a choice of canvas adventures, from the rustic to glamping luxury, mostly set on the outside borders of national parks across the island Sri Lanka has really upped the stakes in unique safari hotels.
Yet, camping in the heart of the bush inside Sri Lanka’s national parks at a wilderness tented campsite set up just for you will always be Ayu in the Wild’s first choice for a family holiday especially with kids older than 5!
Who doesn't love the idea of a few nights listening to the jungle sounds at midnight, sleeping under the stars and waking up to an elephant trumpeting a good morning? Ahh camping! Kids love it. When you leave, the camp leaves and the jungle takes over! These eco-friendly camps in Sri Lanka will reconnect families with nature and wildlife. Start your day with the chirping of birds, the smell of fresh air, the aroma of delicious food made to order in the innovative camp kitchen and get ready to create your own ‘Jungle-Book’ of stories about Barking Deer, Sambur, the soaring Hawk Eagles, the most gigantic Crocodiles, the Sri Lankan Leopard, Sloth Bear, reading maps with the help of the sun and star and more. ‘A true Classroom in the Wild’.
Each adventurous day ends with dining under the stars. Open up a new world to your kids with star gazing at these private tented camps. Maybe it’s the soft hues of hurricane lamps or the crackle of the campfires but our eco holidays in the wild will make you feel the real and raw Sri Lanka far, far away from the usual daily hustle of your life.
4
Cook Like the Locals – Food Tours in Sri Lanka for Young Chefs
Cooking with the locals for any young chefs on a holiday in Sri Lanka will be a heady mix of the brightest coloured spices on earth, aromas never smelt before and every kind of taste they have ever dreamt of! Visit a local vegetable farmer and enjoy a cook like the local’s experience. The farmer and his kids will walk you through their farm where you will get insights into their lives and incredibly humble rural livelihoods. Experience a hands-on farm-to-table cooking experience where you learn all about crunchy delicacies to fresh salads with a local take. Real cooking in a real home with simple locals. Could a family holiday in Sri Lanka be more exciting?
Brownie points for guessing how to take the flesh out of a coconut and other Sri Lankan cooking secrets.
5
Classrooms in the Wild - Meeting Locals and Rural Kids
Speak the same language! A game of Cricket or Football is a great ice breaker as your children interact with kids in rural Sri Lanka through Ayu in the Wild’s most popular sustainable travel experience; Classrooms in the Wild which started with the aim of educating rural kids to build sustainable livelihoods for themselves.
“Classroom in the Wild” is a community outreach project initiated in 2014 by the Founders of Ayu in the Wild Holidays as part of the Company’s core ethos of “Giving Back to Sri Lanka”. It aims to, empower children (and through them, influence adults in their village) to become champions of wildlife and natural habitat conservation and adopt responsible tourism avenues. The project also facilitates knowledge that will create better career prospects for the kids via basic English education, engagement with tourists and Naturalists and with exposure to tourist hotspots and hotels.
Trust us, every adult and every child on a family holiday with Ayu in the Wild has loved every second of Classrooms in the Wild. Walk through local schools, glean insights into local education methods, how kids go to school after waking up at dawn to help their farming parents and more. Your kids will certainly learn life lessons, how to have fun without Wi-Fi and appreciate the comforts of their homes a lot more!
6
Inspiring Mountain Treks and that Epic Train Ride
It’s not unusual to have days on your Sri Lanka family holiday itinerary where you wake up and dip your toes in the warmest of waves along Sri Lanka’s beaches in the morning, enjoy a leisurely breakfast of mouthwatering Sri Lankan hoppers with sweet jaggery and in a matter of a few hours you are enveloped in the misty, cool, green carpets of the Ceylon Tea mountains. With a fantastic network of highways, connecting the beaches to the hills has become easier than ever before. The stunning mountains of the Central Highlands have been pinned on every guidebook mainly for the epic train rides; whether from Ella to Nuwera Eliya or from Hatton to Kandy, and the Travel Designers at Ayu in the Wild have the schedules perfect for every kind of family traveler at their fingertips. There’s a choice of trains you could take - the re-al-ly slow trains and the fast-ish (use your imagination here about how fast is fast on the old rail tracks on the island). Tickets need to be booked exactly a month ahead of the travel date. In peak August Summer family holiday season, it’s quite a battle to secure train tickets.
What the guidebooks may have missed though are some of the most inspiring walks that can range from soft treks for younger kids to lodge based intriguing guided walks of varying duration among the lush Ceylon tea plantations with jaw dropping mountainous views. Talk to Ayu in the Wild about curating family treks through one of Sri Lanka's finest and most picturesque regions, exploring life around the famous cuppa - a walk through at a tea factory, meeting locals whose livelihoods are all about tea and even a traditional blessing at a small local shrine. Or, if you are traveling with older kids how about the challenge of climbing Sri Lanka’s most revered mountain, Adams Peak? Which ever trek you choose you will be awed by the great outdoors of the Central Highlands.
7
Whale Watching in Sri Lanka
Whale watching in Sri Lanka is not simply about Whales. It’s an island with a narrow continental shelf very close to its shores and from sea turtles to dolphins, you will be amazed by life in the oceans on any whale watching trip from Mirissa to Trincomalee. Our first choice for responsible whale watching would be a relaxing luxury experience on a fully equipped yacht with expert guiding. Talk to Ayu in the Wild’s Travel Designers for Whale watching trips in Sri Lanka that could be insightful guided boat safaris to spot the migration of blue whales or just a slow sailing adventure to the bays and beaches of Weligama, Galle and Mirissa. The best times to see Blue Whales would be between December to April in Mirissa, but other types of cataceans including Brydes Whales, Sperm Whales and large pods of Dolphins can be spotted between August to April.
8
Cycling in the Monkey Kingdom - Making Culture Fun
Explore stunning Polonnaruwa with a private guide on a cycling tour around the ancient ruins of Sri Lanka’s second Royal Kingdom between 11th and 13th Century. Unravel the inner beauty of the film location of Disney’s Monkey Kingdom as you cycle along unique routes with Ayu in the Wild’s child friendly guides, through well preserved ruins of palaces, bath pools, serene views of lakes and tanks and learn about Kings, Kingdoms and the four significant poses of Lord Buddha. This beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site is an extraordinary adventure and a wonderful way to chalk up some health and fitness during your family holiday in Sri Lanka. Talk about a guilt-free holiday!
Suggested Sri Lanka family Holiday Itinerary
It’s an island with a million things to do! Take a look at these three unique Sri Lanka family holidays where each experience has been personally curated by the owners of Ayu in the Wild. Or if you’re looking for some great places to stay on your family holiday to Sri Lanka, have a look at some of our favorite family hotels.
Read our guest reviews on Facebook and on Google Reviews and be assured that you are in for a treat where every single day has been vetted by us. Experience a Sri Lanka your family will never forget.
Join us on a magical Sri Lanka family holiday
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