
Yala Safari with Day Tours
This full-day safari tour is perfect for travelers staying in Weligama or Mirissa who want more than just a wildlife drive. It combines nature, culture, village life, and an exciting Yala safari into one smooth and memorable day, all with private and comfortable transport.
The journey begins with a scenic drive inland toward Tissamaharama, where you explore peaceful lakes, ancient temples, and rural village surroundings while learning about local life and farming traditions. A special highlight of the day is the visit to a lakeside eco farm, where you experience authentic Sri Lankan village culture, see how traditional meals are prepared in a mud-house kitchen, and enjoy a freshly cooked local lunch made with organic ingredients.
In the afternoon, the adventure continues with a half-day safari in Yala National Park, one of Sri Lanka’s best places to see wildlife. As animals become more active, you may encounter elephants, leopards, sloth bears, crocodiles, deer, and a wide variety of birds while exploring the park’s diverse landscapes.
After the safari, relax on the return journey to your beach accommodation, arriving in the evening with unforgettable memories. This tour is ideal for couples, families, and nature lovers who want a well-balanced day of culture, countryside, and wildlife without rushing.
Weligama / Mirissa to Yala – Village Experience & Safari Day Tour
Tour Overview
- Escape the beach for a day of wildlife and local culture.
- Travel from Mirissa or Weligama to the heart of Yala, explore lush nature and ancient temples near Tissamaharama, enjoy a traditional Sri Lankan village-style lunch in our eco farm kitchen, and finish with an exciting afternoon safari in Yala National Park.
- Then return safely to your beach accommodation in the evening.
Itinerary (Detailed)
08:00 AM — Pickup from Mirissa/Weligama
- Private AC car/van
- Friendly English-speaking driver
- Enjoy scenic coastal & countryside views
10:30 AM — Explore Tissamaharama Cultural & Nature Sites
- Visit ancient temples
- See beautiful Tissa Wewa lake & birdlife
- Learn about local life & farming community
- • Short guided walk and photo stops
12:00 PM — Eco Farm Experience & Traditional Lunch
- Visit our peaceful lakeside farm
- Walk around the garden & pick fresh vegetables/fruits
- Watch how we cook Sri Lankan rice & curry in a mud-house eco kitchen
- Learn about clay pots, wood fire, and local ingredients
- Enjoy a homemade village lunch (vegetarian options available
- • Not a cooking class — a cultural demonstration with tasting
02:00 PM — Yala National Park Safari (Half Day)
Join our experienced safari driver for 4 hours of wildlife adventure
Wildlife you may see :
- Leopards
- Elephants
- Sloth Bears
- Crocodiles
- Buffalo
- Peacocks
- Deer
- Eagles
- • Perfect time of day — animals become active again
06:00 PM — Depart Yala
- Relax drive back to Mirissa/Weligama
09:00 PM — Drop-off at your hotel
- A perfect full adventure day
Includes
- Private AC transport (Round trip)
- English-speaking driver
- Guided cultural visit around Tissamaharama
- Village farm tour & cooking demonstration
- Traditional Sri Lankan lunch
- Half-day Yala Safari (Private or Shared Jeep)
- Bottled water
Not Included
- Yala National Park entrance ticket (we assist at gate)
Why Travelers Love This Tour
- Not only a safari — real Sri Lankan experience
- Farm-to-table lunch with fresh organic vegetables
- Cultural learning + nature + wildlife
- Private transport — comfortable and safe
- No rush, relaxing schedule
Pickup Locations
- Mirissa
- Weligama
- Midigama
- Ahangama
- Koggala (extra request)
Upgrade Options
- Drop-off to Ella after safari (instead of returning)
- 1-night stay at Go Yala Hostel or Farm Villa
- Private safari jeep upgrade
- BBQ dinner in the garden
Testimonials
Customer Reviews & Testimonials
Discover what our happy clients have to say about their experience with us.
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. This place is very remote, yet just 10 mins from the main road. Ideal to have a leisurely stay away from the busy lifestyle. Its facing a beautiful lake which is very scenic in the morning. This has two separate villa type rooms (one double, one family). Both rooms were clean and well kept and the bathrooms were very clean and spacious. Theres a good garden area for kids to play and they also have a farm wth lots of fruits cultivated. The people manging it were friendly and provided a good service. But make sure to get directions frm them before you go, as Google shows a different road if you're coming from Tissamaharama side through which the hotel is not accessible. Look for the nameboard on the bi road and turn. Map will tell you to go further and turn, but follow the bords and you will get there easily. Highly recommended.Posted on BimanTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Wunderschöner und idyllischer Aufenthalt Die Go Yala Farm Villa ist einfach traumhaft! Wir wohnten in einem sehr sauberen und gepflegten Bungalow, umgeben von einer weitläufigen, grünen Anlage. Überall liefen Hühner und Hunde frei herum, was dem Ort einen charmanten, ländlichen Charakter verleiht. Der Manager hat sich viel Zeit genommen, uns das gesamte Gelände zu zeigen – von den Hühnern bis hin zu den Mango- und Bananenbäumen. Das Essen wurde uns frisch und direkt gebracht – super lecker und liebevoll zubereitet. Ein kleiner Hinweis: Ohne Auto ist man hier etwas abgelegen, da der nächste Ort etwa 20 Autominuten entfernt liegt. Fazit: Ein sehr erholsamer und schöner Aufenthalt. Wir würden definitiv wiederkommen!Posted on _nolimits__ StarTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Awesome place for all who love nature and calmness! It's a fruit/chicken farm located on a lake shore. We stayed in detached cottage, and it was spacious and comfortable. Visit date: 25-26 July 2025Posted on Alexey SkalatskyTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. These are two separate cottages on the farm territory. A little far from the center of the village, but this is its own charm, there is nature and silence all around. There is a lake nearby, where you can see buffaloes and a lot of birds. The rooms are clean, a comfortable bed, a spacious bathroom.Posted on Екатерина СкалацкаяTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Absolutely loved our stay here. A beautiful quiet cottage, it was clean, the staff were very friendly and helpful, and dinner was lovely vege curries with rice, also fish and other things. It's just one cottage and another eating area, so you are the only ones staying there, which is nice. We stayed one night, arrived in the early afternoon and received a nice farm tour then relaxed enjoying nature and the quiet. We did a half day safari the next morning. Our driver was great, doing his best to get there early in the que as there are lots of Jeeps heading to yala. He looked first for the big things,and got us a great view of a couple of leopards. Then we found elephants and then focused on the rest of the animals which are easy to find. We felt the experience good value for money. Highly recommendPosted on Harriet JonesTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Ich habe ein paar Tage im Cottage verbracht und war restlos begeistert. Die Idylle dieses Ortes, das Gefühl mitten in der Natur zu sein, gleichwohl behütet, und dann in diesem so natürlich anmutenden Cottage. Es war wirklich großartig. Der Besitzer und seine ganze Familie haben sich um mich gekümmert, und mir meinen Aufenthalt so angenehm wie möglich gemacht. Besonders gefallen haben mir die vielen Tiere auf dem Gelände (Hunde, Hühner, Hühner und eine Katze). So hatte ich das Gefühl, mitten im Leben einfacher Sri Lankischer Bauern zu sein. Das Cottage war in Ordnung, gut in Schuss und sauber. Die Verpflegung war landestypisch. Genau was ich wollte. Unbedingte Empfehlung an alle, die nicht in großen Hotels landen wollen.Posted on Stefanie NeidhardtTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Unfortunately this hotel was a big mistake. When we arrived, the house was quite dirty. Especially the floor and the bathroom were dusty. The mirrors were blind from dirt. The sun blinds were moldy. The entire hut smelled musty. The bed was as dusty and the sheets had stains, which made sleeping in the bed an uncomfortable experience. There were several insects and geckos in the hut. Even though we understand that the hut is on the countryside near a lake, some basic cleaning what have done here. One should be aware there is no AC in the hut. It heats up during the day. To air is difficult not to let insects inside. This makes sleeping even worse. We felt really uncomfortable, so we asked the family to clean the house again and to something against the mosquitos. The owner wasn’t there, just his family. So his sister cleaned the floor and the bath. She clipped the net- as good as she could. We gave some suggestions how to make the hut reasonable clean, but they only did some very basic cleaning. Except from the room, there were two dogs, who always yelled at us and one of them sat next to us while we were eating. The hut is offered with dinner and breakfast. The food is simple, even to local standards: steamed vegetables, rice and some chicken or fish. Overall quite unsatisfactory. Also in the ‚dining area’ the table was not cleaned before dinner. The owners organized the safari for us as well. One in the night- an elephant safari, where we went half way to the national park and drove through some kind of carbage dump. In fact, we did not see the elephants, but the driver was nice. On the next day we started at 5am from the hotel and went to the Yala national park. The driver was nice and the day was good. Although the family of the owner was nice and showed some effort, this house is definitely not worth 80€/night with dinner! We offered the owner to refund a reasonable amount of the price, because the bad quality, but he never replied. Although in the booking reviews from 2019/20 were good- we would definitely NOT recommend to go there. In addition: all photos I‘be uploaded were cleared- I don’t know how.Posted on Bianca FTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. When you are planing to go on Yala Safari or just a visit in the this area, Go Yala Farm Villa is the best place to stay! Beautifully located in the farm and in front of the big lake , just a few kilometers from Yala National Park, the place offers you the ultimate Sri Lankan experience. We also took there Yala National Park Safari Package.The safari was fantastic with a driver that was sensitive to the animals giving them space and time but also us a memorable experience within close range of majestic elephants.The vegetarian Sri Lankan curry was incredibly tasty. We are highly recommended Go Yala Farm VillaPosted on sandun lalankaTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. My friend and I stayed at Sahans place for two nights - a beautiful cottage in front of a lake in the middle of the jungle. The place is calm and just surrounded by nature. At this time it was one cottage and just the two of us but you could see what Sahans future plan for this place was. The cottage with modern facilities has an open bathroom, a fan, a mosquitonet and everything else you need. The porch is a nice chillout place and there is room for your own hammock. We were warmly welcomed with a fresh coconut and Sahan already planed everything for our stay. Shortly after we arrived we left for night safari - an awesome experience to see wild elephants at night time! After a few hours of sleep we left for safari at 5 o’clock in the morning. Besides many elephants and buffalos we were also really lucky to find a leopard! Thanks to our awesome guide again! During our stay we really enjoyed the tour through Sahans garden and were stunned by everything growing and living there. Your only neighbors will be cows and a lot of chicken. We also loved the food his mum prepared for us. We were luckily to spend NewYears at his place and were given sweets to try and enjoyed a nice Drumshow by his friends! We can really recommend this place if you are looking for a very good safari experience and a calm and beautiful place to stay. Thanks for this awesome time Sahan! We enjoyed it soo much! Wir Freundinnen verbrachten zwei wunderschöne Tage in einem idyllischen Cottage mitten im Dschungel, ruhig und abgelegen an einem See, nur von Natur umgeben. Das Ganze ist noch im Aufbau, es lässt sich aber schon erahnen wie schön alles am Ende wird! Das Cottage ist modern mit einem offenen Bad eingerichtet, es gibt ein Mückennetz, Ventilator und alles was sonst so benötigt wird. Auf der Veranda lässt es sich gut entspannen, es gibt auch Platz für die eigene Hängematte. Begrüßt wurden wir sehr herzlich mit einer frischen Kokosnuss und Sahan hatte für unseren Aufenthalt bereits alles organisiert. Kurz nach der Ankunft ging es für uns bereits los auf Nachtsafari. Eine tolle Erfahrung wilde Elefanten bei Nacht zu sehen. Nach wenigen Stunden Schlaf ging es dann morgens um 5 wieder los in den Nationalpark. Neben Elefanten, Wasserbüffeln und Co hatten wir das große Glück einen Leoparden zu sehen. Ein großer Dank an unseren tollen Guide. Natürlich wurde auch für unser leibliches Wohl bestens gesorgt. In der restlichen Zeit unseres Aufenthalts bekamen wir eine persönliche Tour durch seinen schönen Garten und bestaunten was dort alles wächst und lebt. Die einzige Gesellschaft dort besteht aus Kühen und vielen Hühnern. Wir wurden mit sehr leckerem Essen versorgt und bekamen am Neujahrsfest mit Süßspeisen und einer Trommelshow einen tollen Einblick in die Kultur. Wir können Sahan und sein idyllisches Plätzchen nur herzlich weiterempfehlen! Danke dir für die wunderschöne Zeit!Posted on Lara STrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Wonderful environment place, you might want to stay longer A beautiful stunning place between lake and jungle. Many birds, lizards, squirrel around the area to see, feel like nature cinema. The owner and staff are taking good care for there customer. The cottage is big, clean, beautiful behind a small garden with a stunning few to the rice field. Also the bathroom is perfect with good shower! It's indeed a place to stay for a few days and not just for a short time to go for Safari. We stay 3 nights and did enjoy every single minute. The restaurant offers great, tasty food and nice fruit juice. Breakfast is huge we did get the Sri Lankan breakfast so yummy. We sure we will come again if we back to Sri Lanka. So far best place!Posted on Gabriel Josh