The Full Island Loop,
Fourteen Days
by Tuk Tuk
Fourteen Days
by Tuk Tuk
Fourteen days and about 850 kilometres around the whole island, coast to hill country and back, in a tuk tuk you drive yourself.
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The route
Driving round an entire country in a three-wheeler sounds like a stunt until the numbers are looked at. Sri Lanka is about 850 kilometres round by this route, which over fourteen days is roughly sixty a day. In a tuk tuk doing thirty-five on the flat, that is a morning’s driving and an afternoon to spend wherever it ended.
The circuit starts and finishes at Colombo airport and takes in the lot: the west and south coasts, the hill country in the middle, and the ancient cities of the interior. It is the route that does not make you choose between the beach and the mountains, which on a shorter trip is exactly the choice that has to be made.
The hill sections are the part to plan around. The operator is blunt that the mountain roads are steep, narrow and often wet with buses coming the other way, and advises driving them in daylight, using low gears and not stacking a long day on top of a mountain day. Their own estimates assume about twenty-five kilometres an hour in the hills against thirty-five on the flat, which is worth building into any plan.
Accommodation is not included and that is the design rather than an omission. Renters book their own beds as they go, which is what makes a fortnight on the road feel like a fortnight of their own rather than a schedule. The tuk tuk is collected at the airport, can be dropped anywhere on the island, and is priced per vehicle per day rather than per person.
Photography and film: the operator
The Full Island Loop, Fourteen Days by Tuk Tuk
Bentota
90 km from Colombo Airport (CMB), about 2 h 45 at tuk tuk speed. The operator's own base, and a gentle first or last stop, a long flat beach on a calm river mouth. Things to do: Madu River boat safari through the mangroves; Sea turtle hatchery; Jet ski, banana boat and water sports on the river mouth; Sri Lankan cooking class; Beach days on a long, flat, swimmable stretch.
Galle
60 km from Bentota, about 1 h 45 at tuk tuk speed. A walled Dutch colonial port, best walked in the hour before sunset. Things to do: Walk the fort ramparts at sunset; Lighthouse and Flag Rock; Maritime Museum and the old Dutch streets; Stilt fishermen along the coast at Koggala; Unawatuna and Jungle Beach a short drive west.
Yala
195 km from Galle, about 5 h 45 at tuk tuk speed. The best chance of a leopard anywhere in Sri Lanka. Go at dawn. Things to do: Dawn jeep safari, leopard, elephant, sloth bear, crocodile; Birdlife around the park lagoons; Sithulpawwa rock temple inside the park boundary; Kirinda beach and temple on the coast nearby.
Ella
110 km from Yala, about 4 h at tuk tuk speed. Hill-country village in a gap in the mountains, built for walking. Things to do: Nine Arch Bridge, best with a train crossing; Little Adam's Peak, an easy hour up; Ella Rock, harder, half a day, worth it; Ravana Falls on the road south; Zip line across the valley; The Kandy to Ella train, one of the great rail journeys.
Nuwara Eliya
55 km from Ella, about 2 h 30 at tuk tuk speed. Tea country at 1,900m. Cold at night, bring something warm. Things to do: Working tea estate and factory tour with a tasting; Horton Plains and World's End, set off before dawn for the view; Gregory Lake and Victoria Park; Lover's Leap waterfall; Colonial-era bungalows and the old post office.
Kandy
80 km from Nuwara Eliya, about 3 h 15 at tuk tuk speed. The last royal capital, wrapped around a lake. Things to do: Temple of the Sacred Tooth; Evening Kandyan dance and fire-walking show; Peradeniya Botanical Gardens; The lake loop walk; Udawattakele forest reserve behind the temple; Bahirawakanda Buddha statue for the view over town.
Sigiriya
90 km from Kandy, about 2 h 45 at tuk tuk speed. A 5th-century sky palace on a 200m granite monolith. Things to do: Sigiriya Rock Fortress, frescoes, mirror wall, water gardens; Pidurangala Rock at sunrise, for the view back at Sigiriya; Dambulla Cave Temple; Minneriya or Kaudulla jeep safari for wild elephants; Village tour by bullock cart and catamaran.
Back to Colombo Airport
170 km from Sigiriya, about 4 h 45 at tuk tuk speed. The operator collects the tuk tuk wherever the trip finishes.
What's included
- Tuk tuk hire for the full rental period
- Unlimited kilometres
- Insurance on the tuk tuk, with the extent of cover confirmed by the operator at booking
- Full mechanical check before handover
- Driving lesson at handover
- The Sri Lankan local driving permit, arranged before arrival
- Spare tyre and toolkit
- Cooler and Bluetooth speaker
- Phone and WhatsApp support throughout the trip
- Free collection at Colombo airport, Negombo or Bentota, and collection of the vehicle wherever the route ends
Not included
- Accommodation, which renters book themselves as they travel
- All meals
- Fuel
- Flights
- Travel insurance for the traveller, which is not the same as the insurance on the tuk tuk
- A refundable USD 100 security deposit per tuk tuk, held at booking
- Personal spending
Ready to drive it?
14 days, from £148pp