Discover Kerala & Sri Lanka: Islands & Ruins — Self-Launched

Land at Cochin International and take the airport bus or metro+bus combo into Ernakulam (₹60–120, ~1hr), then the ₹8 ferry across to Fort Kochi. Check into a Fort Kochi guesthouse or hostel dorm. Spend the afternoon doing the orientation walk yourself: St Francis Church, the Dutch Cemetery, the Chinese fishing nets at sunset, and the lanes around Princess Street. Grab dinner at a thali joint or a seafood stall by the nets.

🚌Airport bus to Ernakulam (~£1) + local ferry to Fort Kochi (~£0.10)

🛏Fort Kochi guesthouse or hostel (private double or dorm)

• →Self-guided Fort Kochi walk
• →Chinese fishing nets at sunset
• →St Francis Church

Morning walk through the Jewish Quarter and the 400-year-old Paradesi Synagogue (₹10 entry). Then take a local KSRTC bus to Alleppey (~2hrs, ₹80–100). Book a backwater homestay on one of the islands a short ferry hop from town — you get the same canal-side village atmosphere as the tour's homestay for a fraction of the cost. Afternoon wander the canals and paddy fields on foot. Optional: an hour-long shared shikara canoe ride through the narrow backwaters (~₹600–800 with other travellers).

🚌KSRTC local bus Kochi–Alleppey (~£1–2), local ferry to island homestay (~£0.10)

🛏Alleppey backwater homestay

• →Paradesi Synagogue & Jewish Quarter
• →Local bus to Alleppey
• →Backwater canal walk
• →Optional shared shikara canoe ride

Early morning public ferry through the Punnamada/Alappuzha backwaters — the government-run ferry between Alleppey and Kollam is one of the great cheap journeys in India (8hrs, ~₹400) and does the exact route the tour does by private boat, only longer and more authentic. Alternatively do a shorter 2-hour backwater cruise and take the bus. Arrive Kollam, check into a guesthouse near the waterfront, and walk to Thangassery Lighthouse for sunset views over the harbour.

🚌Government backwater ferry Alleppey–Kollam (~£4) or bus (~£2)

🛏Kollam guesthouse

• →Public backwater ferry or short cruise
• →Thangassery Lighthouse at sunset
• →Kollam beach walk

Get up early for Neendakara Fishing Harbour, just north of Kollam — the auction chaos at dawn is the best free show in Kerala. Then hop a local bus down the coast to Varkala (1–1.5hrs, ₹40). Settle into a clifftop guesthouse above Papanasam Beach and spend the afternoon swimming. Walk down to the Janardhana Swamy Temple in the evening.

🚌Local bus Kollam–Varkala (~£0.50)

🛏Varkala clifftop guesthouse

• →Neendakara fishing harbour at dawn
• →Papanasam Beach swim
• →Janardhana Swamy Temple

Your own day. Options: an Ayurvedic massage on the cliff (₹800–1,500, book direct at one of the small clinics), a yoga drop-in class (₹300–500), or the short walk north to Black Sand Beach and Odayam. Sunset from the cliff with a cheap fresh-juice and a plate of fish. No guide needed — everything is walkable.

🚌On foot

🛏Varkala clifftop guesthouse

• →Ayurvedic massage
• →Yoga drop-in class
• →Black Sand Beach walk

Take the morning train from Varkala to Ernakulam (sleeper class ~₹150, about 3.5hrs) — book on IRCTC or just turn up and buy a general ticket. Ferry to Fort Kochi. In the evening see a Kathakali performance — the Kerala Kathakali Centre in Fort Kochi runs nightly shows with the make-up demonstration beforehand (~₹500, exactly the optional the tour offers). Dinner and drinks on Bazaar Road.

🚌Indian Railways Varkala–Ernakulam (~£1.50) + ferry (~£0.10)

🛏Fort Kochi guesthouse

• →Varkala–Kochi train
• →Kathakali performance with make-up demo (~£5)

Fly Kochi–Colombo with IndiGo or SriLankan (~£60–90 if booked a few weeks out — this replaces the tour's included internal flight). On arrival get your Sri Lanka ETA in advance online (~£40) and take the local bus or a tuk-tuk to Negombo (30–45 min, bus ₹50 / tuk-tuk ₹1,500). Check into a beach guesthouse in the Lewis Place area and watch the sunset from Negombo beach with a lion lager.

🚌IndiGo/SriLankan flight Kochi–Colombo (~£75), local bus or tuk-tuk to Negombo (~£1–4)

🛏Negombo beach guesthouse

• →Flight to Colombo
• →Negombo beach sunset
• →Fish market stroll

Local bus Negombo to Dambulla (4–5hrs, with a change at Kurunegala, ~₹400 / £2). Drop bags at a guesthouse in Sigiriya village or Dambulla town, then visit the Dambulla Cave Temple in the late afternoon when the light is good (₹2,000 / ~£5 entry — this is the tour's optional). Cover shoulders and knees, remove shoes and hats. Evening rice-and-curry at a village restaurant.

🚌Local buses Negombo–Dambulla (~£2), tuk-tuk to guesthouse (~£2)

🛏Sigiriya or Dambulla guesthouse

• →Local bus to Dambulla
• →Dambulla Cave Temple (UNESCO)

Climb Sigiriya Rock Fortress early (7am opening, USD30 / ~£24 entry, bookable direct or via Klook) to beat the heat and the crowds. Afternoon: hire a bicycle in Sigiriya (₹500/day) and take the back lanes to Polonnaruwa, or hire a bike there — the ancient capital's ruins (USD25 / ~£20 entry) ride beautifully among the dagobas and Buddha statues. Optional: Minneriya or Kaudulla elephant safari arranged directly with a local jeep driver at your guesthouse in the late afternoon (~USD35 shared / £28).

🚌Bicycle hire (~£4) or local bus to Polonnaruwa (~£0.50)

🛏Sigiriya or Dambulla guesthouse

• →Sigiriya Rock Fortress climb (~£24)
• →Cycle Polonnaruwa ancient city (~£20)
• →Optional Minneriya elephant safari (~£28)

En route south, stop at a roadside spice garden near Matale (free entry, guides work on tips and product sales — a small purchase or tip is polite). Then head for Digana on the Victoria Reservoir. Book a homestay or small guesthouse in the Digana/Kandy-area countryside (a local guesthouse with a family gives you the same village experience as the tour's village walk). Ask your hosts to walk you round their land, then cook Sri Lankan curry with them — dhal, jackfruit, coconut sambol — for dinner.

🚌Local bus Dambulla–Kandy area with a change (~£1.50), tuk-tuk to Digana (~£4)

🛏Digana countryside homestay

• →Matale spice garden visit
• →Village walk with homestay hosts
• →Cook-your-own Sri Lankan curry dinner

Morning tea on the terrace looking over the Victoria Reservoir, then a local bus into Kandy (1hr, ₹100). Check into a Kandy guesthouse. Afternoon: Temple of the Sacred Tooth (₹2,000 / ~£5, or ~£8 with audio guide), then the Royal Botanical Gardens at Peradeniya if time allows (~£3). Evening Kandyan cultural dance show (~£2–3, tourist board hall near the lake) — the tour's optional, cheap as chips.

🚌Local bus Digana–Kandy (~£0.50), tuk-tuks in town (~£3 total)

🛏Kandy guesthouse

• →Temple of the Sacred Tooth (~£5)
• →Royal Botanical Gardens (~£3)
• →Kandyan cultural dance show (~£3)

Do the classic hill-country train: Kandy to Nanu Oya in second class (book a reserved seat on the Sri Lanka Railways site, or 12Go — ~£2–3, 3–4hrs of continuous tea-terrace views), then a tuk-tuk or bus up to Nuwara Eliya. This is the itinerary's signature journey and it costs less than a coffee. For breakfast seek out the Sthree Craft Shop & Café (the G Adventures-supported project) — a good breakfast that supports women and youth living with disabilities. Afternoon: take a local bus to a working tea factory near Pedro Estate or Labookellie and do the free/cheap factory tour with tasting.

🚌Sri Lanka Railways Kandy–Nanu Oya (~£2.50), bus/tuk-tuk to town (~£2)

🛏Nuwara Eliya guesthouse or hostel

• →Kandy–Nanu Oya hill country train
• →Sthree Craft Shop & Café breakfast
• →Tea factory tour and tasting

Option one: arrange a shared jeep from your guesthouse to Horton Plains for World's End — expect ~USD60–70 between 4–6 people (pay your share, ~£10–12) plus the park entry (~£8). Leave at 5am, walk the 9km loop past World's End and Baker's Falls. Option two: sleep in, walk to Lover's Leap waterfall and around Gregory Lake, and take a slow tea-estate walk. Evening: head to Ella by bus or tuk-tuk (1.5hrs, ₹150) and stay the night there.

🚌Shared jeep (~£10) or local bus Nuwara Eliya–Ella (~£0.50)

🛏Ella guesthouse

• →Horton Plains & World's End sunrise hike
• →Lover's Leap waterfall
• →Gregory Lake walk

Walk from Ella village to Little Adam's Peak at sunrise — an easy 45-minute hike through tea plantations, free (the tour includes it; you'll do it yourself). Then take on Ella Rock in the afternoon if you're keen: the route starts by the railway line beyond Kithalella station, ~4hrs return, free, and the tour's optional. Skip the touts at the start. Evening: eat at a roti or kottu shop in the village.

🚌On foot

🛏Ella guesthouse

• →Little Adam's Peak sunrise hike
• →Ella Rock trek
• →Ella village food

The Ella to Kandy/Ella to Colombo line is the most scenic rail journey in the country. Take the train from Ella to Galle (7–8hrs, second class ~₹400 / £1.50 — reserved seats need booking ahead). Tuk-tuk to Unawatuna for a couple of nights on the beach, or carry on down to Hikkaduwa by bus (~1hr) if you want to be further west. Settle in and swim.

🚌Sri Lanka Railways Ella–Galle (~£1.50), tuk-tuk/bus to beach (~£3)

🛏Unawatuna or Hikkaduwa beach guesthouse

• →Ella–Galle scenic train
• →Beach swim

Take a local bus or tuk-tuk into Galle and walk the fort circuit yourself: the Ramparts, the Lighthouse, the Old Dutch Hospital, the Maritime Museum (optional ~£2), and the ramparts sunset. The tour's Galle Fort tour is easily self-guided — there are information boards throughout and free maps at the tourist office. Ice cream and coffee in the fort's colonial lanes; dinner back on the beach.

🚌Local bus Unawatuna–Galle (~£0.20)

🛏Unawatuna or Hikkaduwa beach guesthouse

• →Galle Fort ramparts walk
• →Lighthouse and Old Dutch Hospital
• →Sunset from the ramparts

Move up to Hikkaduwa if you haven't already (bus ~1hr, ₹100). Hire a surfboard on Narigama Beach (£5–8 for a couple of hours including an instructor), snorkel the coral sanctuary just offshore (free with your own mask, or hire a boat for ~£10), and look for turtles near the Coral Sands area. Optional dolphin watching boat trip off Unawatuna arranged direct at the beach (~£15). Last big night out at a Hikkaduwa beach bar — the tour's final 'big night out', self-organised.

🚌Local bus (~£0.50)

🛏Hikkaduwa beach guesthouse

• →Surf lesson on Narigama Beach
• →Coral sanctuary snorkelling
• →Optional dolphin watching (~£15)
• →Beach bar night

Morning swim and breakfast, then take the coastal train or bus up to Colombo (2–2.5hrs, ~£1–2) and the airport bus from Colombo Fort (or a taxi tuk-tuk/taxi to BIA, ~1hr, ₹4,000–5,000 / £10–13). If your flight is late, stow bags and spend a few hours at Galle Face Green or the Pettah markets in Colombo.

🚌Coastal train Hikkaduwa–Colombo (~£1.50), airport bus or taxi (~£2–13)

🛏None (departure day)

• →Morning beach swim
• →Coastal train to Colombo
• →Optional Pettah market wander