Sulawesi & Halmahera
Southern Portugal
Marine Wildlife
“On leaving the island of Andaman… the traveller reaches Ceylon, which is undoubtedly the finest island of its size in all the world” – Marco Polo.
Well he certainly hadn’t seen all the islands in the world, but we think he was pretty close to the mark. Sri Lanka is a veritable tropical paradise. The people are extremely welcoming, reflecting the colourful and varied culture of a multi-ethnic background. Sri Lanka is surrounded by the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, making the seas, lagoons and coastal areas of the island a hotbed for marine wildlife. Our tour offers a captivating exploration of the island’s marine wildlife that thrives in these crystal-clear waters.
Trincomalee has in the past couple of decades become synonymous with whale-watching in Sri Lanka and with good reason. This is a great place to see the world’s largest animal, the Blue Whale. ‘Super-pods’ of around fifty Sperm Whales bob to the surface like so many champagne corks in the waters of the deep sea canyon off Trinco. Humpback Whales, Bryde’s Whales and even Dwarf Sperm Whales are likely to be seen as are dolphins such as Fraser’s and Striped. We’ll spend the mornings whale-watching, the afternoons snorkelling the vibrant coral reefs of Pigeon Islands. Renowned for clear water, the reefs here are home to colourful anemones, Clown Fish, Moray Eel, Bi-color Cleaner Wrasse, Raggedfin Parrotfish, Humphead Wrasse, Melon Butterflyfish, Black-wedged Butterflyfish, Moorish Idol, Blue-ringed Angelfish and the widespread but always magnificent Emperor Angelfish.
Kalpitiya’s lagoon is backed by the Bar Reef Marine Sanctuary, Sri Lanka’s largest reef, renowned for its incredible biodiversity. The reef teems with hundreds of fish species, including many colourful Parrotfish, Bannerfish, all sorts of Butterflyfish, Black-Tip Reef Sharks, and good numbers of Hawksbill and Green Turtles. We’ll enjoy several snorkelling sessions in this rich habitat whilst boat trips in the lagoon will allow us to get up close to the uncommon Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins. Outside we’ll find Pilot Whales and Bottlenose Dolphins, whilst the huge schools of super-active Long-snouted Spinner Dolphins wow us with their crazy antics. There’s a very good chance we’ll come across Whale Sharks here too.
Adam’s Bridge is a chain of shoals that stretch all the way from India to the northern tip of Sri Lanka. Legend has it that Rama, the hero of the Hindu epic Ramayana, and a varnara (monkey) army built the ‘bridge’ to rescue his abducted wife from the island. We’ll be concentrating on matters under the water though for this is a great area to search for Dugong.
For just a morning and an afternoon we’ll leave the watery world and explore Wilpattu National Park where we’ll find many exotic birds and will hope to see Sri Lankan Leopard, Sloth Bear and Asian Elephant. And last but not least, we’ll dive into the cultural tapestry of local fishing communities and indulge in authentic Sri Lankan cuisine, something not to be missed…
Dates and Prices
16th March - 31st March 2025 (16 days)
* doesn't apply if you're willing to share and a room-mate can be arranged
Marine Wildlife: Dolphin & Whale watching. Snorkelling in Coral Reefs. Searching for Dugongs…
Sarah Green , Suchithra Hettiarachchi , Chathurika Munasinghe
The minimum is 4 and the maximum is 10.
All flights. All accommodation, transport and meals in Sri Lanka. Services of the leaders. Please note: Drinks, tips, and items of a personal nature such as travel insurance, are not included.
Our first night in Sri Lanka will be at the very pleasant Jetwing Blue Resort on the beach in Negombo, not very far from the airport. During our time in Kalpitya (nights) we’ll stay at the Kitesurfing Lanka. The presence (at other times of year!) of perfect kite-surfing conditions in Kalpitya’s lagoon means that good quality accommodations have started to appear on the Puttalam peninsula. Kitesurfing Lanka is the best of them and we’ll sure you’ll enjoy the lovely rooms, excellent food and natural surroundings of tis resort. We’ll have one night at the Claughton Wild just ten minutes from the entrance to Wilpattu National Park. The very comfortable chalets are set in five acres of ground. On Mannar Island we have two nights at the Palmyrah House, a lovely boutique hotel with modern comfortable rooms. Our four nights in Trincomalee will be at the Trinco Blu by Cinnamon. This excellent resort lies at the northern end of Trincomalee where the lagoon empties into the sea. Lovely rooms, spacious grounds, sea on one side lagoon/river on the other…. We finish with a night back at the Jetwing Blue Resort in Negombo. All rooms on this tour have en-suite facilities and air-conditioning.
Very little. Most of the time will be spent in boats or snorkelling. Some vehicle safaris too.
UK direct return flights are from London Heathrow to Colombo. Add-ons are available from various UK airports*. Other indirect routes from regional UK Airports* are available.
*These routes may incur a supplement.
Coastally temperatures average around 27°C. Although normally sunny, we should expect occasional rain.
Contact us to check if there is availability for the number of places you require. Click on the ‘Book this Tour’ button on this page to be taken to the online booking form or contact us and we will send one to you which you can complete and send back to us. You will receive confirmation of your place, and then a detailed information pack will be dispatched to you about twelve weeks before departure. This will contain up-to-date health information.
