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Gorgeous view of residence and sea at Gili Lankanfushi

Sri Lanka with Uga & Barefoot Maldives

11 nights from £8,300pp

Sri Lanka with Uga & Barefoot Maldives

This journey through Sri Lanka brings together Sri Lanka’s rich cultural heritage, breathtaking natural landscapes and warm island hospitality with the barefoot luxury of the Maldives. From the mist covered tea fields of the Hill Country to the wildlife‑rich, Yala National Park and the charming fishing town of Negombo, each stop offers its own character and sense of place. Your adventure concludes on the castaway, Maldivian island of Gili Lankanfushi.

Your Journey

Begin your Sri Lankan journey with a scenic transfer into the heart of the Hill Country, where Uga Hallowella awaits. A beautifully restored planter’s bungalow overlooking the hills of Hatton and the glimmering Castlereagh Reservoir below.

A highlight of your stay is an immersive tea experience led by a regional expert. Listen to the fascinating story of Ceylon tea and its global heritage, before trying your hand at tea plucking in the surrounding estates. Finish off the morning  with a spot of tea tasting.

The remainder of your stay is at leisure. Early risers may choose to start the day with a sunrise kayaking session on Castlereagh Reservoir or, for those keen to explore further, we recommend embarking on Stage 7 of the Pekoe Trail, one of the most scenic and accessible sections of this hiking route. This gentle walk winds through rolling tea fields, passing through the charming town of Kotagala where you’ll meet local communities.

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Uga Hallowella

Uga Halloowella

A simply gorgeous historic home filled with character and stories, restored by Uga into a truly special hotel with just six suites. The estate where…

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Leave the beauty of the Hill Country behind and travel by private car to Yala National Park, Sri Lanka’s most iconic wildlife haven. Your next three nights are spent at Chena Huts, an exclusive wilderness retreat with just 18 luxurious cabins.

Your stay includes two game drives per day, giving you the chance to spot Yala’s famed leopards, alongside sloth bears, elephants, crocodiles and an array of birdlife. Beyond the park itself, this region is rich in history and culture, with ancient ruins, sacred sites and small villages offering a deeper glimpse into the region’s local life.

Between drives, unwind by your private pool or head to the camp’s Basses restaurant and bar. Dinner under the stars is a nightly highlight and if luck is on your side, you may even witness turtles nesting on the nearby beach.

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overlooking chena huts in sri lanka

Uga Chena Huts

A boutique hotel comprising of just 14 individual wooden cabins blending perfectly with the environment each with their own private pool! It’s the…

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Today, your driver will transfer you to Uga Riva, a luxury boutique property on the outskirts of Negombo and conveniently located just 30 minutes from Colombo Airport. While your stay here is designed to break up the journey before your onward flight to the Maldives, you’ll find this 180 year old colonial manor to be a serene and elegant retreat in its own right.

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Uga Riva

This charming manor is a true oasis, blending a fascinating mix of history as well as a real sense of home. The house dates back 180 years, owned for…

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This morning, return to the airport for your onward flight to the Maldives. Upon arrival, you’ll be met by a representative from Gili Lankanfushi and escorted to your speedboat for the short 20‑minute journey to the island.

On arrival, you’ll be invited to surrender your shoes -  a signature Gili tradition that sets the tone for the barefoot luxury that defines the island. Gili Lankanfushi encourages guests to embrace their inner Robinson Crusoe, which is complemented by the discreet service of your personal Mr or Ms Friday.

Guests can relax in the spacious overwater villas, or explore the island’s vibrant marine life. Snorkelling, surfing, tennis, dolphin cruises and seasonal whale shark encounters ensure there’s always something to tempt you away from your sun lounger, should you wish.

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Gili Lankanfushi_Overwater_Jetty

Gili Lankanfushi

Offering the ultimate in understated Maldivian luxury, this acclaimed hideaway has been wooing honeymooners and those with a yearning to discover…

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What's Included

11 nights from £8,300 per person

• International flights included from the UK

• Includes return airport and in-destination transfers

Package price shown is based on travel in November 2027. Exact pricing dependent on exact departure dates and availability at the time of booking. Please contact our team of experts for further information and your bespoke quote.

Best time to travel

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Sri Lanka and the Maldives are both year-round destinations, although some seasons suit certain experiences better. Sri Lanka’s dry season on the south and west coasts runs from December to April, while the east coast is best from May to September. The Maldives enjoys its driest weather from December to April, making it an ideal beach pairing during the northern hemisphere’s winter months.

FAQs

ocean waves ripple

Why Choose Turquoise?

Family Owned & Run

We are one of the few remaining family owned and run operators of our size. We have direct relationships with every single destination, island, resort and hotel we work with, in order to deliver exceptional and truly personalised service.

Our Passion Runs Deep

We are - and always have been - mad about travel. For almost 25 years we've been scouring the globe for the best places to stay, the newest routes to take, the perfect people to meet. No-one will care more about your holiday.

Definition of Luxury

Luxury means something different to everyone. Whether you are seeking the silence of vast spaces, the isolation of a private island, the buzz of a new city, the adrenaline of a safari or anything in between, we listen, we learn, we advise.

Fun & Refreshing

We endeavour that every Turquoise experience is unique, fun and refreshing. Travel is all about experiences, about serendipitous moments and endless smiles. It is a joy and an honour to plan each and every Turquoise holiday.

What Our Travellers Say

“As enthusiastic retirees with a serious case of wanderlust, my wife and I now travel abroad at least four times a year.We'd been subscribed to The Turquoise Holiday Company mailing list for years, but it wasn't until we spotted a special offer for Thailand in November 2019 that we finally booked our first holiday with them.Interestingly, a few months earlier, while waiting for a flight to the Maldives in June 2019, we noticed another couple travelling with a Turquoise travel bag. At the time, we thought little of it, but looking back, it was perhaps an early sign that we were about to discover a travel company that would become our go-to specialist for luxury holidays.Our first experience with Turquoise was excellent and gave us the confidence to book a Maldives holiday for June 2020. Then, of course, COVID struck and brought the travel industry to a standstill. What impressed us most was the way Turquoise handled an incredibly difficult situation. Rather than leaving us in limbo, they worked tirelessly to rearrange our holiday multiple times, adapting to constantly changing restrictions and circumstances. Eventually, in November 2020, despite flying with a different airline and staying at a different hotel than originally planned, we were able to enjoy a much-needed Maldives escape when many other travel plans around the world had simply been cancelled altogether.That experience cemented our trust in The Turquoise Holiday Company. Since then, we have booked many holidays through them and now use them for the vast majority of our trips abroad.What consistently sets Turquoise apart is the quality of its people. Every member of staff we have dealt with has been knowledgeable, professional, friendly and exceptionally thorough. Their expertise, attention to detail and willingness to go the extra mile give us complete confidence that every aspect of our holiday is being carefully managed.In an age where genuine customer service can be hard to find, The Turquoise Holiday Company continues to deliver it in abundance. We would have no hesitation in recommending them to anyone looking for a travel agent that combines expert knowledge, outstanding customer care and absolute professionalism. They have played a major part in some of our most memorable travel experiences, and we look forward to booking many more adventures with them in the years ahead.”
“Right from first contact, Bethany & colleagues were great. Bethany adjusted the holiday offered several times to get it just how we wanted it, & it was everything she said it would be. We went to Coco Bodu Hithi & it was amazing, I thoroughly recommend it. Turquoise have a great app which was really useful & they were there for us all along the way, even sending me updates on flights. I recommend them 100%.”
“Everything was so efficient from our very first contact. We are not seasoned travellers so the support/help/advice we received from Lucy all the way through was so reassuring. Even the daftest question was never too much trouble. Looking forward to booking again for 2028 - we wouldn’t dream of looking forward alternative travel agents. Thank you so much 🥰”
“I am so thankful we used Turquoise Holidays! From start to finish they were exceptional. A shout out to Martha who designed and organised our honeymoon for us - she took the stress out of planning, understood the vision and put together our dream holiday. She was a pleasure to work with and it was beyond anything we could have imagined. I can’t tell you how relieved we were to have all of our transport and transfers sorted the other side. Especially for a trip like ours with lots of flights and travel, using Turquoise Holidays made it so much easier. We also used the concierge services to book activities and they were so helpful and kind. Will definitely use Turquoise again, I can’t wait for our next holiday!”
“Sophie was brilliant from start to finish. From the very first email she was professional but also had that friendly touch. Any amendments I wanted to our honeymoon plans she came back with the updated itinerary. Even after 5 iterations she was still incredible with the responses. I would highly recommend using turquoise travel and we will definitely be using them again”
“Amazing Family Holiday and just what we asked for! We wanted a resort and location that was approriate for small kids but had all the luxuries for adults, and Turquoise holidays provided a great service. Commincation was great and they took all the pain out of the small details and provided an excellent service and the value was outstanding!”
“Just got back from a fantastic Holiday in Mauritius with which I booked the Holiday with Turquoise Holidays. This is my first time I have booked with this company and I will have no hesitation in booking again, from start to finish the correspondence I had with Milly and the rest of the team at Turquoise as been outstanding. Thankyou Neil & Jane”
“Enjoyable trip to Canada.Jonty made excellent recommendations as always, hotels were great in every respect.Highly recommend Turquoise for their advice and insight into places and hotels at a very good price point. We have used many times in the past and will continue do use again in the future.”
“Mrs Stone organised all my flights details and extra help extremely well.”
“This was the best travel agent experience we have ever had. We went on a bespoke 5 week trip to Australia. Our agent, Stuart, designed a trip exactly matching our requirements and really listened to us when we described the brief. What came through strongly during the course of the trip was Turquoise’s ability to not just source the best properties/accommodation, but the best rooms in those properties. Likewise with the tours and activities that they organised — everything felt highly curated and considered. When any queries arose or we wanted to change the bugs, the team was super-responsive through the app. We will definitely use them again have recommended them to many friends.”
“We had a really good time and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The blend of activity and adventures in Sri Lanka mixed with the relaxation and tranquility of the Maldives, worked extremely well and the itinerary put together by Turquoise was excellent.Overall we were very impressed with Sri Lanka and whilst hectic at times enjoyed our busy agenda. We found all the accommodation wonderful and food was plentiful and enjoyable. We were pleased to have climbed the two rocks to see the sunset/sunrise albeit a bit daunting when we realised the climbing challenge ahead.Special mention has to go to our driver/guide Mahesh who was excellent and really helped make our trip run smoothly. He was knowledgeable, practical and always prompt.In fact our only hiccup occurred when trying to leave the Notary House to fly to Male. We had booked a 4am alarm call, bags to be picked up at 4.20am and “breakfast to go” ready for 4.30am. Fortunately we had used our own phone alarms as we awoke to a completely silent hotel, no alarm call, no bags collected and no breakfast, and no driver.We did however just about hear a car hooting and on seeing some lights at the end of the long drive to the hotel set off and found Mahesh. However, the gates were padlocked shut and Mahesh was locked out and we were locked in! Fortunately Mahesh had a number for the hotel and after ringing several times, an apologetic staff member appeared and unlocked the gate and off we went. Phew !After making our plane we successfully arrived in Male and took the speedboat to Velassaru. We thought the island was impeccably well kept and had obviously been recently modernised in many areas. Our room - 205 - was perfectly positioned close to the Chill Bar, and ideal for drinking cocktails and watching the sunset, yet only a small walk from all other amenities including the buffet restaurant where we ate all our meals. We found the breakfast plentiful and varied but thought the offerings for dinner were less extensive than on other islands( maybe we were a bit spoilt at Six Senses last year ! ). We were also disappointed that given we were half board had we wished to use any of the other 3 à la carte restaurants for dinner then this was additionally chargeable albeit with a 30% discount.And yes, sadly the view from our villa of Thilafushi was certainly not ideal or romantic but overall we still agreed that Velassaru was a lovely island with everything you would expect from a trip to the Maldives.Overall we were very satisfied and would consider doing a similar trip again and definitely using Turquoise albeit I think we would allow for a longer journey from Male and take the seaplane even if that did eat into a bit more of our holiday time.Thanks again to Anthony for listening to our requirement and tailoring our trip to suit our needs.Steve ( and Cathy )”
“Always so helpful, professional and efficient, thank you once again!”
walkway at soneva jani

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