14 Udawalawe Safaris in Ella Worth Getting Up For

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.Shuttle to Tangalle/Mirissa/Galle & Udawalawa Safari

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

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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3.Udawalawa Safari & Drop Tangalle/ Mirissa/ Galle

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 45 reviews · 8 - 9 hours · from $47

Travel from Ella to Udawalawe National Park for a three-hour 4x4 safari, with chances to see elephants, buffalo, leopards, and birds. You’ll also visit the Elephant Transit Home during a feeding session, then continue by air-conditioned vehicle to Galle, Mirissa, Tangalle, or Hikkaduwa. Guide Baeus has earned special praise for his wildlife knowledge and care.

“Baeus, our tour guide, was so informative, very professional and took great care of us! The transport pick up was reliable and on time, we had an incredible safari experience. There was a que to get into the national park but once we were inside, Baeus took us away from the crowds and other jeeps where we got so up close to the elephants. Brillant experience! Would definitely recommend :)) thanks Baeus”

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4.Udawalawa Safari and Tangalle/Hiriketiya Transfer

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 30 reviews · 7 hours · from $48

Leave Ella, Haputale, or Bandarawela in an air-conditioned vehicle, then switch to an open jeep for a 3-hour Udawalawe National Park safari. Expect elephants, crocodiles, monkeys, buffaloes, and birds. Guides including Pathum and Mahesh are known for sharp animal spotting. Finish with drop-off in Tangalle, Hiriketiya, Talalla, or Matara.

“Otroligt safari där vi fick se elefanter, krokodiler, bufflar och en rejäl pytonorm. Allt under trygg körning och guidning från Mahesh som gärna svarade på frågor om djuren och naturen. Enda minuset var att chauffören som körde oss till och från safarit höll lite väl hög hastighet.”

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5.Udawalawe Safari with Elephant Transit Home Visit

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 26 reviews · 8 hours · from $70

Travel from Ella by air-conditioned vehicle to the Elephant Transit Home, where you spend 30 minutes watching and feeding orphaned baby elephants. Continue to Udawalawe National Park for a guided jeep safari. Guides such as Koshala and Pathum are praised for spotting hidden animals and explaining bird and wildlife behavior. The $70 price excludes park entrance fees.

“We had an amazing experience with Pethum. He was very patient and waited for the elephant to come outside of the forest. Also, he explained about other birds and animals that are there. Overall I had a fantastic experience.”

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6.All Inclusive Udawalawe National Park Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 19 reviews · 8 hours · from $140

Travel from Ella, Bandarawela, or Wellawaya to Udawalawe National Park for a private jeep safari with an English-speaking guide. Expect about two hours on the road each way and roughly three hours inside the park, with chances to see elephants, deer, monkeys, jackals, monitor lizards, and perhaps a leopard. Food is not included.

“Good bit it wasn’t 8hrs as advertised in fact Safari was only 2.5hrs so I asked driver to keep going another 1/2hr Saw quite a few elephants but had hoped to go into a more open space and see larger herds”

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7.Udawalawe National Park Safari Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 12 reviews · 6 hours · from $84Top rated

Travel from Ella in an air-conditioned car or van, then spend four hours in an open-top 4x4 Jeep inside Udawalawe National Park. Guide Gimhana, who has 10 years of experience, helps spot elephants, crocodiles, monkeys, deer, buffalo, peacocks, and birds. Pickup in Ella and drop-off in Udawalawe are included.

“We had an excellent safari - the whole experience was fantastic. Gimhana was a superb guide - he advised us to change our safari time to the afternoon and we are so glad we did. He took us around a quieter route and we only encountered a couple of other jeeps. We saw a lot of elephants and it was a really special day. I would highly recommend this tour. The pick up from Ella was perfectly timed. Gimhana kept in touch and any questions were answered well and promptly. Thank you for a fab day! :)”

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8.Safari Day Trip to Yala & Udawalawe with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 10 reviews · 1 day · from $95

Leave your Ella hotel before sunrise for a private-guided jeep safari in Yala, then stop for lunch and visit Udawalawe’s Elephant Transit Home before a second safari until sunset. Guides such as Sasanka, Muthu, Naja, Rasika, and Madushanka have earned praise for sharp animal spotting. Park entrance fees are extra, and the full day is tiring.

“The morning safari was excellent. It wasn’t clear that you had to pay entrance fees for all the places to visit so didn’t do the second safari. The elephant orphanage was interesting and was great to see they are being looked after well. Lunch was tasty but thought it was going to be a picnic lunch. The driver was very good.”

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9.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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10.Udawalawe Safari Day Trip from South Region & Transfer to Ella

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 10 reviews · from $180

You’ll travel by private vehicle from Hambantota, Ranna, Tangalle, or Dikwella to Udawalawe National Park for a 3 to 3.5-hour jeep safari. Expect wild elephants, deer, monkeys, peacocks, crocodiles, birds, and more, followed by the Elephant Transit Home and a transfer onward to Ella. Lunch, water, fees, and transport are included.

“We had an excellent tour guide, saw many many animals, especially elephants, peacocks, monkeys, crocodile, various lizards, and birds, and I’m sure there’s more oh yes, and mongoose. Lunch was great.”

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11.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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12.Udawalawa Safari – Drop to Mirissa/Weligama/Galle

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 5 reviews · 7 hours · from $48

Travel from Ella, Wellawaya or Bandarawela to the south coast with a three-hour Udawalawe National Park safari built into the journey. You will ride a shared air-conditioned vehicle, switch to a shared safari jeep, and may spot elephants, crocodiles, buffaloes and birds. Guides such as Patnum and Ranjith help keep the day organized.

“The transfer was smooth and Patnum was an amazing guide at the national park - we saw elephants really close up, also just our jeep and no others. Patnum knew lots of facts about the elephants as well as crocodiles and various birds. Great way for solo travelers/pairs to do a shared safari and transport to the beach all in one go - organising taxis/tuk tuks and a private safari would have been more expensive.”

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13.Safari Day Trip to Yala & Udawalawe w/ Picnic Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 4 reviews · 1 day · from $93

Leave your Ella-area hotel before dawn for a private guided safari at Yala, with sunrise among forests, grasslands, lagoons, and wildlife. After a Sri Lankan picnic lunch, visit Elephant Transit Home, then explore Udawalawe from 3 PM until sunset. Transport, guide, water, soft drinks, and lunch are included, but park fees are extra.

“We had a great time with our guide and it was a good experience. If you never did a safari in Africa, then go for this one. The lunch meal was a delicious Sri Lankan meal - be sure that you’re hungry 😁”

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14.Udawalawe Safari with Elephant Transit Home

★★★★★★★★★★3.3 · 4 reviews · from $65

Leave Ella at 9:00 AM for a long but rewarding day at Udawalawe National Park. A three-hour Jeep safari may bring elephants, buffalo, deer, crocodiles, and birds, followed by a 30-minute visit to the Elephant Transit Home. Lunch and entrance fees cost extra.

“The park and the animals in the park were very beautiful, seen a lot of elephants! Also some babies”

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