7 Yala National Park Tours to Build a Day Around

1.Full day Safari – Yala National Park – 04.30 am to 06.00 pm with – Janaka safari

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 603 reviews · from $57Our pick

Start at 4:30 am and spend about 12 hours in Yala National Park in a safari jeep with a guide such as Su, Darshana, or Sudu. Look for leopards, elephants, sloth bears, buffalo, crocodiles, and birds while breakfast, lunch, fruit, and water are provided.

“Amazing experience in yala. We were quite concerned that we were not be able to see much as it was raining non stop, but in the end we saw a lot of different species. We were able to see leopards, elephants, crocodiles, lizards, buffalo’s, deers and lots of different birds. The company provided us traditional Sri Lanka lunch and breakfast. Also, our driver SU was really good. He has 23 years of experience and definitely knows where to look for the animals away from the rest of the trucks and crowds. Also he does its best to get you the perfect spot! After this experience I would like to advice…”

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2.Yala National Park: Half, 7-Hour, or Full-Day Safari & Meals

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 489 reviews · 4 - 12 hours · from $14Best value

Ride a 4WD jeep through Yala National Park with guides such as Ishan, Muthu, Dilan, and Sasanka. Choose a 4 to 12-hour safari, with sunrise, sunset, or full-day options, and watch for leopards, elephants, crocodiles, sloth bears, and 215 bird species.

“Ishan was a great guide on our safari tours! His knowledge about Sri Lankan wildlife (in particular the birds) was amazing!! Seeing the elephants was incredible!! Highly recommend!!”

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3.Yala National Park Wildlife Safari/ Game Drive – by Ajith Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 351 reviews · from $18

Ajith Safari takes you from Tissamaharama into Yala National Park in a shared jeep for a 4-hour, afternoon, 7-hour, or full-day game drive. Guides such as Naja, Kasun, Bale, and Nalaka have been praised for sharp animal spotting. Park entry costs extra.

“We had a fantastic full day safari in Yala National Park with our great guide and driver Naja. From the pickup at our hotel until the drop-off, the experience was absolutely tremendous. He was able to show us so many different animals, all of which he could immediately identify in English (which he spoke really well, a pretty rare thing in Sri Lanka in our experience). I specifically want to mention his driving and navigation skills in the park. He was always in full control of the vehicle and the situation, especially when things got a bit more hectic when he was alerted of sightings of leopards and elephants elsewhere…”

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4.Leopard Safari Tour in Yala National Park

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 281 reviews · from $20

Join Shehan Safari for a Yala National Park game drive in a jeep for up to six people. Early entry targets leopard sightings during the first golden hours. Guides such as Tikiri, Mudhu, and Rashandra are available, with optional breakfast and lunch.

“I accidentally booked for the spring day but they were very accomodating in letting us change. The driver arrived early and we were the first ones. He was early getting us to the safari gate as well. He had a Toyota hilux which could navigate Read more”

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5.Yala National Park Jeep Safari Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 25 reviews · 10 hours · from $75

Travel from Ella or Hali-Ela in an air-conditioned vehicle, then spend four hours on a jeep safari in Yala National Park. An English, Tamil, or Sinhala-speaking team handles the route, wildlife viewing, and return transfer. Expect a long day, with lunch and park fees paid separately.

“We had a fantastic experience on this tour. The tour started with a comfortable AC ride from Ella to the park. At the park, we had an excellent guide who showed us all the animals in the park. We had two very close encounters with leopards. Would highly recommend this tour.”

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6.Galle/Unawatuna/Weligama/Mirissa: Yala National Park Safari

★★★★★★★★★★3.4 · 25 reviews · 8 hours · from $83

Travel by private air-conditioned vehicle from Galle, Unawatuna, Weligama, Mirissa, or Matara to Yala National Park. Your English-speaking guide and jeep driver will look for leopards, elephants, crocodiles, buffalo, sloth bears, deer, and birds. Pradeep is one driver praised for finding a leopard and elephant.

“The safari was incredible, made especially good by our jeep driver, Pradeep, he was so knowledgeable and was so determined to find a leopard for us, which we did! He was hidden away in the bushes but we still saw him. As well as a elephant, who came up so close to our jeep, you could see how happy Pradeep was for us, he really did make our experience special. Our drive to and from Weligama, was pretty slow, we did go on the toll roads but not sure our driver went out of 4th gear! However, it was still only 2 hours 40 minutes with a stop, which we…”

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7.Tangalle/Hiriketiya: Yala National Park Safari in a 4×4

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 22 reviews · 7 hours · from $41

Set out from Tangalle, Hiriketiya, or nearby south-coast hotels for a seven-hour Yala National Park safari. You ride in an open safari jeep with an English-speaking driver-guide, looking for leopards, elephants, sloth bears, crocodiles, buffalo, deer, and birds. Dilan and Sasanka are among the named guides associated with the experience.

“Dilan was a very good tour guide and made sure to stop at every chance to be able to see the wildlife on the safari would highly”

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