Motorcycle: Honda XR 250 Baja at 15 USD per day from Negombo Motorcycle Tours. Deposit of 100 USD is required.
Distance Covered: ~1500KM
Reference: Lonely Planet Sri Lanka and free local maps
Spendings: 650 USD excluding air tickets and insurance (250 USD for bike rental and petrol, 100 USD for ticketings, 200 USD for lodgings and USD100 for food). 1 USD is worth about 115 Rupees.
Quick Review: Cultural sites, hill country and beautiful beaches
Route
Negombo > Anuradhapura > Trincomalee (Nilaveli) > Sigiriya (Polonnaruwa, Ritigala, Dambulla) > Kandy > Delhouse (Adam’s Peak or Sri Pada) > Nuwara Eliya (Horton’s Plains) > Haputale > Galle (Unawatuna) > Colombo > Negombo
Clockwise loop around Sri Lanka, a teardrop-shaped island off the tip of India
If you would like a copy of my actual GPS route and some waypoints (as shown above) in Garmin GDB format (to open using Mapsource), just post a comment and I will send the download link (2mb file) to your email address.
Unlike some of my previous long-winded trip reports, this will be a very brief report with mostly photos.
The Sri Lanka trip report is divided into the following sections:
- Introduction (You are here)
- Journey Day 1-2 (Negombo to Anuradhapura)
- Journey Day 3 (Anuradhapura to Trincomalee)
- Journey Day 4 ( Trincomalee to Nilaveli to Sigiriya)
- Journey Day 5-6 (Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa, Ritigala, Dambulla, Kandy)
- Journey Day 7 (Kandy to Dalhousie – Adam’s Peak)
- Journey Day 8 (Adam’s Peak to Nuwara Eliya)
- Journey Day 9 (Nuwara Eliya to Horton Plains to Haptale)
- Journey Day 10 (Haputale to Galle)
- Journey Day 11-13 (Galle to Unawatuna to Colombo)
Disclaimer: This trip was taken in December 2009. The information is provided ‘as is’ with no warranties and confers no rights. If you are interested to know more, please add a comment and I will update the post with more details. 
Hi, I am really impressed by your trips. Could you possibly send me the GPS route and waypoints? I am going to Sri Lanka in three weeks so I´d like to plan my route before. And you look like a very experienced traveller. I can find the places of interest by myself but the routes…routes are the problem in Sri Lanka…you would help me a lot, if you send me these files. Anyway, I wish you luck in your future trips…
Hi,
Thanks for your kind words. Download link sent to your email.
Hi there, very interesting to see your route through Sri Lanka. We’re going there in a couple of weeks and are keen to do something similar. Although we know the country quite well, independent navigation is really tricky so it would be great if you could send the GPS routes.
thanks very much! Lois
Hi Lois,
Link sent to your email.
I will be in Sri Lanka in August intending to ride a bike to most of the places you visited and I would appreciate it if you could forward the GPS coordinates.
Hi Ray,
Sent. Looking forward to your trip report!
Hi
I love the trips that you have done they look really really interesting.
I am interested in your route. could you send me the gps link. I am planning on going in march.
that would be great thank you. sri lanka is the one i am interested in
thank you
justin hooke
Hi Justin,
I wish I could take photos as nice as yours!
Anyway, link sent to you email.
Atticus,
Planning on visiting Sri Lanka in a couple of weeks and are debating whether it would be possible to rent motorcycles to get to Arugam Bay. Thoughts?
If you have the riding experience and have time to drop by the towns along the way, why not?
Hi, saw your trip and it looks awesome. need some advice. my hubby and i are thinking of renting bike to go mainly the coastals. its just a simpler way of getting from Negombo to Unawatuna, instead of transfering by public transport.
My hubby rides bike in SG and has a 2A license. Is our license recognisable in Sri Lanka? What is the rough amount you think we have to pay for bike rental to go so far.
Your bike rental guy caused you to have to pay for a fine because of expired bike licence. Did he refund you the fine?
Sorry for the multiple questions but hope you can reply asap cos i need to make a decision to go or not to go Sri Lanka by tomorrow night. Hope you can reply soon. Thanks! Btw I will be pillioning my hubby so… safe or not?
Hi Jasmine,
Please note that the roads from Negombo to Unawatuna are mostly straight, flat and heavy in traffic.
You should apply for an international driving permit at AA Singapore. The IDP does not specify the class of the riding license. You would need to bring both the IDP and your local driving/riding license to Sri Lanka. When I was there, there were frequent stops and couple of checks by police/military.
I remember paying less than USD20 per day. for an XR250. You can check the cost with Suranga.
He refunded me the fine.
Safe or not I cannot really answer. But FB666Y (from SBF) did pillion his wife on a XR250 in Sri Lanka including the hill country area.
Hi, I am very interested in your trip info, it looks awesome! We are leaving for 3 weeks on saturday, just can’t wait for it.
By the way, is it necessary to have an international licence?
Thanks a lot for your help!
Hi Pauline,
I would apply and bring the internation driving permit if I am you.
hi, i m goin sri lanka soon, could u pls send me the route? and also wht is the thing to be careful, like food, drink, at night time, etc? thanks ya!
Hi wm,
File sent to your email.
If you want to be real careful, you can stick to restaurants with good crowds and avoid road side stalls, and stay in your hotels at night.
But that’s not really the fun of traveling yaar? I guess just some common sense would be fine.
Thanks!!
Atticus
An amazing trip and seems like a lot of fun. Am just about to start and had a similar route planned. but want to travel on more back roads.
Thanks for the nice travelogue and maps.
I just got a deal for 22$ from a guy in Colombo. Will try in Negombo. Trying to get the official license approval from here first.
Hi, we’re planning to go to Sri-Lanka this October and your route seems to be excellent!
Can you please send me the GPS coordinates!
Thanks!
Hi Rui,
File sent.
Have a good trip!
Hello Atticus,
i am planning to go to Sri lanka soon. As i read, good streets to find is the problem. could you provide the CPS coordinates for me??
Thank you a lot and save drive
Hi Khnokimov,
Link sent to your email. Enjoy your trip!