Sri Lanka has two monsoons and they hit opposite coasts at opposite times. The yala monsoon comes from the southwest between roughly May and September and soaks the west and south coasts. The maha monsoon comes from the northeast between roughly October and January and soaks the east.
The practical consequence is that the island always has a dry side. There is no wrong month to visit Sri Lanka; there is only a wrong coast for the month you have chosen.
That is unusual and it is the most useful thing to know about the country. The mountains in the middle divide the two systems, and the hill country and the cultural triangle sit between them with their own patterns.
The five regions
The west and south coasts, from Colombo down through Galle to Tangalle, are the main beach coasts. Dry season December to March.
The east coast, around Trincomalee, Arugam Bay and Pasikuda, is the alternative. Dry season May to September, which is exactly when the south is wet.
The hill country around Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Ella is tea at 1,200 to 2,000 metres, cool, green and reached by one of the best train journeys in the world.
The cultural triangle in the centre-north holds Sigiriya, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Dambulla — ruined capitals and a rock fortress with fifth-century frescoes.
Colombo is the arrival city and increasingly worth a night rather than a transfer.
A good Sri Lanka trip strings three or four of these together, and the island is small enough — about 430 kilometres end to end — that it works, though the roads are slow.
The eleven below are grouped by region.
Galle and the south coast
The fort, the beaches and the dry season from December.
Sri Lanka occupies a building inside the Galle fort walls that has been an inn since the seventeenth century, with a colonnaded verandah, a garden pool and rooms of considerable scale. It is the finest hotel in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka
Tangalle · 5★ · $$$$
Suites in a coconut grove above a long crescent of sand
Check availabilityFort Bazaar By Teardrop Hotels sits inside the fort in a converted merchant's house with a courtyard, a rooftop and a good restaurant at a fraction of the rate.
Fort Bazaar By Teardrop Hotels
Galle Fort · 4★ · $$$
A converted merchant's house with a courtyard
Check availabilitySri Lanka occupies a headland at Weligama with villas around a clifftop pool, a private beach below and views along the coast in both directions.
Sri Lanka sits above a beach at Tangalle with suites in a coconut grove, each with a private terrace, and a long crescent of sand below.
Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle Resort occupies a 21-hectare coconut estate at Tangalle with a large spa, several pools and a beach. It is the family answer on the south coast.
Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle Resort
Tangalle · 5★ · $$$
A 21-hectare coconut estate with a large spa
Check availabilityThe hill country
Tea at 1,200 metres and above, and the train.
The Ceylon Hotel occupies four restored planters' bungalows spread across a working tea estate in the Bogawantalawa valley, connected by walking trails, with butlers and a level of quiet that is the point. It is the most distinctive place to stay in the country.
The Ceylon Hotel
Bogawantalawa, hill country · 5★ · $$$$
Four planters' bungalows on a working tea estate
Check availabilitySantani Wellness Resort & Spa sits on a hillside above Kandy on a former spice estate with a wellness programme, a heated pool over the valley and no fixed schedule. It is a genuine retreat rather than a spa hotel.
The cultural triangle
The ruined capitals and the rock fortress.
Water Garden Sigiriya occupies a site below Sigiriya rock with villas in gardens, a pool and the fortress visible from the property.
Water Garden Sigiriya
Sigiriya · 5★ · $$$
Garden villas with the rock fortress in view
Check availabilityJetwing Vil Uyana, A Luxury Reserve sits near Sigiriya on a reforested site with dwellings among paddy, forest and water, built to attract birds back to the land. The birdlife is the reason to stay.
Jetwing Vil Uyana, A Luxury Reserve
Near Sigiriya · 5★ · $$$
Dwellings on reforested land built to bring the birds back
Check availabilityUga Ulagalla - Anuradhapura occupies a 23-hectare estate near Anuradhapura around a nineteenth-century manor, with a lake, a pool and paddy fields.
Uga Ulagalla - Anuradhapura
Near Anuradhapura · 5★ · $$$
A nineteenth-century manor on 23 hectares of paddy and lake
Check availabilityColombo
The arrival city.
Galle Face Hotel sits on the seafront in a building that has been operating since 1864, with a colonnaded terrace where the sunset and a gin are an institution. It is the historic hotel of the island.
Galle Face Hotel
Colombo seafront · 5★ · $$$
A colonnaded terrace running since 1864
Check availabilityWhat we have left off
The tented safari camps at Yala and Wilpattu are excluded, and a night in one is the standard way to see leopard in Sri Lanka. They are tents and this is a hotel guide. Do it as an excursion from the south coast.
What to do
Take the train from Kandy to Ella. Seven hours through tea estates at 1,900 metres, in carriages with the doors open, and it is regularly called one of the best rail journeys in the world. Book reserved seats well ahead or take second class unreserved and stand.
Climb Sigiriya at dawn: 1,200 steps up a 200-metre rock to a fifth-century palace, past frescoes of women painted on the cliff face.
Walk the Galle fort walls at sunset, which is what the town does every evening.
See leopard at Yala or elephants at Minneriya, where they gather in large numbers around the reservoir in the dry season.
Eat rice and curry properly, which is a spread of six or eight dishes rather than one, and hoppers for breakfast.
Practical notes
Colombo's airport is 45 minutes north of the city. Domestic seaplanes cut long transfers considerably and are worth the cost given the roads.
December to March for the south and west. May to September for the east. The hill country is cool and can be wet in either season.
Roads are slow: Colombo to Galle is two hours on the expressway, Colombo to Kandy three to four on ordinary roads.
Explore 4 & 5 Star Sri Lanka Hotels
Questions people actually ask
When should you go?
Any month. December to March for the south and west coasts, May to September for the east. The island always has a dry side.
How many regions?
Three or four in ten days: a coast, the hill country, the cultural triangle and Colombo.
Is the train worth it?
The Kandy to Ella line is among the best rail journeys anywhere and it costs almost nothing.
How many nights?
Ten. Sri Lanka does not work as a short trip because of the driving.