The Ancient Northern Kingdoms & Reefs

• Your duffel — A soft-sided Finders & Keepers Safaris duffel, sized for the luggage limits on seaplane and inter-island transfers, where 20 kg per person is common and hard cases are often refused.
• What is inside it — A wide-brim sun hat, a reef-safe sun cream that meets the marine park rules across the region, and a roll-top dry bag for boat days and sandbank picnics.
• Yours to keep — The bag and everything in it is a gift, not a loan.
• Packing around it — Light, breathable layers, and one modest set covering shoulders and knees for Stone Town, villages, temples and local islands.

The west/south coast and hill country are driest from December to March, while the east coast is driest from May to September — your itinerary is routed to favour the best conditions.

• Early starts — The best of this journey happens at dawn — before the heat, the crowds and the haze. Your guide will confirm what time you will be collected from your hotel.
• Tailoring this journey — If you would like this package with more or fewer days, arranged for a group, a family or a solo traveller, or with add-ons, reach out and we will tailor it for you.
• Route changes — Your guide or driver may alter the route in certain circumstances, but every destination set out in the itinerary will be covered.

• Passport — Valid for at least six months beyond your arrival date, with at least two blank pages for stamps.
• Electronic Travel Authorisation — An ETA is required before arrival. Since 25 May 2026 it is issued free of charge to nationals of 40 countries for a 30-day stay; other nationalities pay the standard fee.
• At the temples — Shoulders and knees covered, shoes and hats removed. Never pose with your back to a Buddha image, and be aware that visible Buddha tattoos have caused travellers to be refused entry at Bandaranaike.
• We handle the paperwork — We complete and submit your visa, eVisa or travel-authorisation applications on your behalf. You supply the documents once; we do the filing, track the approval and hold the confirmations for you.
• Where you must appear in person — A few consulates insist on biometrics or a short interview that nobody can sit on your behalf — China requires fingerprinting for some nationalities, as do European and United States visas. We still prepare the entire file; we simply book you a single appointment and brief you beforehand so one visit settles it.
• Before you travel — Entry rules change frequently and without much notice. Your specialist confirms the current requirements for every passport in your party at the time of booking, and checks them again before you fly.

• Once confirmed, you travel — When your departure date is confirmed, it is guaranteed. We do not cancel, merge or reschedule a confirmed departure for commercial reasons, however the final numbers fall.
• What confirms a departure — A departure becomes confirmed once the agreed number of travellers has been reached and paid for in line with the agreed payment schedule. Places held without payment do not count towards it.
• If the minimum is not reached — Where a group departure has not reached its agreed numbers, we tell you early rather than late, and you choose: move to the next available date, continue at a revised small-group rate, or take a full refund of everything you have paid.
• Solo journeys — Solo and tailor-made itineraries carry no group minimum at all. Your dates are confirmed the moment your deposit is received.