10 Private Driver Days in Ella: What to Book and What It Costs

1.Shuttle to Tangalle/Mirissa/Galle w Udawalawe Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 166 reviews · 7 hours · from $48Our pick

Turn a long transfer from Ella into a wildlife outing. After hotel pickup, you ride to Udawalawe, change to an open safari jeep, and spend three hours looking for elephants, crocodiles, buffalo, monkeys, and birds. Guides such as Pathum, Koshala, and Mahesh are praised for patient animal spotting. Your air-conditioned vehicle then takes you to the southern coast.

“Everything punctual, well organized. We saw many elephants and one crocodile, many birds, buffaloes. I highly recommend this trip”

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2.ELLA to TANGALLE/MIRISSA/GALLE Shuttle & YALA Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 49 reviews · from $31

Leave Ella by air-conditioned vehicle, visit Yala National Park in an open-top safari jeep, then continue to your hotel in Yala, Tangalle, Hiriketiya, Mirissa, Weligama, or Galle. Guides such as Sasanka, Vishwa, and Tikiri are praised for spotting leopards, elephants, crocodiles, and birds.

“Sasanka was a good driver, we have seen a leopard, it was a great Safari”

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3.Scenic Road Trip to Ella from Kandy (Group)

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 48 reviews · from $26Best value

Travel from Kandy to Ella by minibus on a five-and-a-half-hour scenic route through tea country. Your guide stops at Ramboda Falls, a tea factory, Nuwara Eliya, Gregory Lake, and Ramayana sites. Pickup is offered from Kandy hotels, with drop-off at reachable hotels in Ella city. Groups are limited to 12.

“Not a bad option if train tickets are unavailable. Friendly and fast service from your hotel. Drop off downtown Ella”

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4.Shuttle to Tangalle/Mirissa/Galle & Udawalawa Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 46 reviews · 7 hours · from $43

Leave Ella early in an air-conditioned vehicle, trade it for an open safari jeep at Udawalawe, then continue to Tangalle, Mirissa, Galle, Hikkaduwa, and other southern stops. You can expect elephants, monkeys, buffalo, crocodiles, and birds. Guides such as Koshala, Pathum, and Prasad have been praised for spotting wildlife.

“Pathum, guiden var flink til både å kjøre og å se dyrene ute i skogen. Fikk sett mange elefanter og aper! Nasjonalparken er veldig verdt inngangspengenez Synes skysser var veldig bra, men litt dyr, i tillegg måtte vi betale 15 $ ekstra for å bli kjørt til Hikkaduwa.”

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5.Ella Odyssey Train Reserved Seats Kandy to Ella

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 25 reviews · from $34

Take the Ella Odyssey from Kandy to Ella in a reserved second or third-class seat. The special train runs only two days a week and pauses at scenic viewpoints, waterfalls, mountain ranges, and forest reserves. Your paper ticket is delivered before 7:00 am on travel day, with departure from Platform 1 at 9:40 am.

“Nice trip by train with gorgeous views of the countryside.”

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6.Get a private driver for day tours around Sri Lanka

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 18 reviews · 1 day Top rated

You choose the route, pace, and guide style for a private Sri Lankan day tour. Drivers such as Priyantha, Manoj, Charith, and Manjon have handled flexible trips to Galle, Sigiriya, Dambulla, and local stops. Expect pickup and drop-off, fuel, water, driver meals, and an air-conditioned vehicle, with English, Tamil, Hindi, or Japanese guiding available.

“J’ai pu faire mon programme avec quelques aménagements sur les conseils avisés de Priyantha, mon chauffeur, et nous voilà donc partis pour Galle 🇱🇰 À voir vraiment ! Sur le retour, nous sommes arrêtés chez Genuine Batik à Hikkaduwa. Absolument SUPERBE 👍🏻 Priyantha s’est montré agréable et prévenant. De plus, il conduit très bien 💪🏻 Grâce à lui, j’ai passé une très belle journée de découverte 🙏”

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7.Shuttle to Tangalle/Hiriketiya with Yala Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 12 reviews · 9 hours · from $31

Leave Ella by air-conditioned vehicle, visit Yala National Park, and continue to the southern coast. At the park, you switch to an open-topped safari jeep with a local guide such as Sasanka. Look for elephants, leopards, crocodiles, sloth bears, monkeys, buffalo, and birds. Park fees and food are extra.

“Chauffeur was zeer vriendelijk en behulpzaam, fijne & veilige rit en netjes op tijd opgehaald in Ella. Ik reisde alleen en daarom zeer aan te bevelen. Eenmaal aangekomen in ... werd er gewisseld naar een safari voertuig met meerdere andere toeristen, geen probleem. Gids op safari was helaas ongeïnteresseerd, enkel in zijn fooi. Maakte de gehele ervaring net ietsje minder desalniettemin overall nog steeds goed.”

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8.Shuttle to Mirissa/Galle/Hikkaduwa & Udawalawa Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 10 reviews · 7 hours · from $48

Travel from Ella, Haputale, or Bandarawela to Mirissa, Galle, Hikkaduwa, and nearby beach towns with a three-hour Udawalawe jeep safari on the way. You ride in an air-conditioned car between stops, then switch to an open safari jeep. Drivers such as Pathum and Prasad have earned praise for punctual service, wildlife spotting, and helpful local insight.

“Unser Driver war den ganzen Tag darum bemüht, uns pünktlich zur Safari und danach in den Süden zu bringen. Er hat uns viel über die Kultur von Sri Lanka erzählt und wollte uns sogar Curd mit Honig offerieren. Sehr zu empfehlen. Für die Safari würde ich künftig eher einen Guide vor Ort in Udawalawe buchen, da unser Safariguide uns nicht sehr viele Informationen zu den Tieren und dem Park geben konnte. Insgesamt war es ein tolles Erlebnis.”

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9.Shuttle to Down South Any Location w Yala Safari

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 10 reviews · 1 day · from $29

Leave your Ella hotel, ride in an air-conditioned vehicle to Yala National Park, then spend about three hours in an open-topped jeep seeking leopards, elephants, sloth bears, crocodiles, monkeys, buffalo, and birds. Guides such as Sasanka, Chathura, Ishan, and Tikiri lead the safari before your onward transfer to Tangalle, Mirissa, Galle, or another listed south-coast stop.

“Good shuttle, great safari - saw a leopard in the first 5 minutes. Safari was about 2.5 hours. Took about 8.5 hours in total to get from Ella to Mirissa with the safari. Good driver just be aware you won’t stop anywhere for food / drink so bring snacks. When you switch to safari there’s a toilet stop.”

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10.Shuttle to Tangalle/Hiriketiya w Udawalawe Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 6 reviews · 7 hours · from $43

Travel from Ella to Tangalle or Hiriketiya in an air-conditioned vehicle, stopping at Udawalawe National Park for a three-hour open-jeep safari. Guides such as Pathum and Koshala are known for spotting elephants, birds, crocodiles, monkeys, and buffalo. Park entry costs extra, and the road transfer may be shared with other passengers.

“Trip was well organised and a fun safari. Be aware that your pickup point may be quite some way from your accommodation. If you're a single traveller this is a bit of a rip-off. You get charged the sane price for one person as for two so you pay double, but these are not private transfers. You'll be collected and dropped off in a minivan with a group going round all the accommodations. In my opinion, charging double for single travellers for this is outrageous.”

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