Multi-Country Holidays: South India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives
Many travelers flying a long way to India want to get as much as possible out of a long flight and the time off work, and the southern tip of the subcontinent makes that unusually easy. Sri Lanka lies a short flight from Chennai, Kochi, Madurai, Bangalore or Trivandrum, and the Maldives are barely more than an hour away from Kochi or Colombo. Our South India with Sri Lanka and Maldives tours link these destinations into one private holiday, with every flight, transfer, guide and hotel arranged so the connections feel simple rather than stressful.
The 20 itineraries on this page range from a one-week Kerala and Maldives retreat to a slow, three-week circuit of southern India and Sri Lanka. Each one is built for travelers from abroad and for NRI families who want to add a second or third country while they are in the region.
South India and the Maldives
A Kerala and Maldives package is the most popular combination in this collection. You spend the first part of the trip among tea hills, spice gardens and backwaters, staying on a private houseboat or in a lakeside resort, then fly to an island resort for days of snorkeling over coral, swimming in clear lagoons and eating dinner by the water. Couples can choose a honeymoon version with a water villa, and wellness travelers can begin with a short Ayurveda program before the beach.
We also pair the Maldives with Goa's Portuguese-era towns and beaches, with the temple coast of Chennai and Pondicherry, and with a two-week tour of Tamil Nadu and Kerala for those who want a long cultural trip followed by a week of rest. Some islands are reached by fast boat and others by floatplane, and in both cases we time the connection so that you step onto the jetty in daylight whenever the schedule allows.
South India and Sri Lanka
A South India and Sri Lanka tour shows how two neighboring cultures grew from shared roots and took different paths. On the Indian side you can stand beneath towering Tamil gopurams, the palaces and ruins of Karnataka or the backwaters of Kerala. Across the water, Sri Lanka offers the rock fortress of Sigiriya, the cave shrines of Dambulla, the ancient capitals of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, the tea-covered hills around Nuwara Eliya and Ella, and the walled colonial town of Galle on the south coast.
Special-interest trips cover the ground in different ways. The Ramayana Trail follows sites linked by tradition to the epic, from Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi to the hill country of Sri Lanka. A temple-focused route links the Shiva shrines of the Kaveri delta with Nallur in Jaffna and the clifftop Koneswaram at Trincomalee. Tea lovers can follow the leaf from the Nilgiris and Munnar to Ceylon's famous estates, wildlife enthusiasts can pair Kabini and Bandipur with Yala and Udawalawe, and families can choose a relaxed route with beach time at Bentota. A Kerala and Sri Lanka Ayurveda tour compares the healing traditions of both countries.
Three Countries in One Trip
For travelers who want everything, our India Sri Lanka Maldives tour combines Kerala's backwaters, Sri Lanka's Cultural Triangle and a final stretch on a Maldivian island. A luxury version upgrades every stay, adds private specialist guides and finishes in an overwater villa reached by seaplane. Travelers on their first India visit can open the trip in Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, then fly south to Kerala and on across to Sri Lanka.
Planning Your Multi-Country Holiday
Each country has its own entry rules. India requires a visa or e-Visa for most nationalities, Sri Lanka has its own electronic travel authorization process, and the Maldives issues a tourist visa on arrival to visitors with a confirmed booking. We explain the current requirements for your passport when you book. Domestic and regional flights are included where the itinerary lists them, and we choose routings that keep layovers short.
The best months for most combinations are November to April, when the west coast of India, Sri Lanka's south and west and the Maldives all enjoy their driest weather. Sri Lanka's east coast follows a different pattern and is at its best from May to September. Browse the routes below, tell us your dates and the countries you most want to see, and we will put together a multi-country plan at the pace and budget that suit you.
Every itinerary can be customised: adjust cities, pace and nights to suit your travel style.
N.S. Rathore & Mrs. Omlata Rathore · Managing Director
We still read every enquiry ourselves. Tell us the places you liked and our planners will send a day-by-day route with drive times and a clear price.
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Good to know
Colombo is roughly an hour or a little more by air from Chennai, Kochi, Madurai, Bangalore or Trivandrum. Flights to Male from Kochi, Bangalore or Colombo are similar in length. Depending on the day, some routes are direct and others need one stop.
Yes, each country has its own rules. Most nationalities need an Indian visa or e-Visa, Sri Lanka requires its own electronic travel authorization or visa, while the Maldives stamps a free tourist visa into your passport at Male once you show a confirmed booking. We advise on the current requirements for your passport when you book.
November to April suits most of our itineraries, with dry weather in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka's south and west, and the Maldives. Sri Lanka's east coast, including Trincomalee, is drier from May to September, so we adjust routes for travelers coming in those months.
Depending on the island, transfers from Male airport are by speedboat or seaplane. Seaplanes fly only during daylight, so if your flight lands late in the day we may arrange a night near Male and continue the next morning.
Alcohol is served at resort islands, which is where our Maldives stays are based. It is not available on local inhabited islands, where modest dress is also expected. Your resort team will explain the local customs if you take an excursion to a nearby village island.
Yes. Our Ramayana Trail Tour visits Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu and then sites in Sri Lanka associated by tradition with the epic, including the Sita Amman temple near Nuwara Eliya and the area around Ella. Our guides present these places with respect for the beliefs of pilgrims.
Very much so. The Kerala and Maldives Honeymoon pairs a private houseboat and a tea-hill stay with a water villa, and the Kerala and Maldives Holiday and the luxury three-country tour also work well for couples. Romantic extras such as a sandbank dinner can be added on request.
Yes. One of our routes is designed around children, keeping road time short and mixing in beach afternoons and hands-on activities. Most Maldives resorts welcome families, and we can choose islands with kids' clubs and beach villas rather than overwater villas.
Jeep safaris in Sri Lankan parks such as Yala feature in our dedicated wildlife combination and in the longest grand tour. Some parks close for a few weeks each year, and we plan around those dates or use another zone or park.
No. Riding or handling captive elephants has no place on any of our itineraries. If you pass Pinnawala, you watch from the viewing areas only, and many guests prefer the rehabilitation center near Udawalawe, which releases young elephants back to the wild.
A passenger ferry between Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and Kankesanthurai in northern Sri Lanka has operated intermittently in recent years, but its schedule has been unreliable. For that reason our itineraries use scheduled flights, which are quicker and easier to plan around.
Prices include accommodation with the meals stated, private cars and drivers in India and Sri Lanka, local guides, the regional flights and Maldives transfers listed in the itinerary, and taxes. Entrance fees at monuments, temples and heritage sites, camera fees, flights to and from your home country, visas, insurance and tips are not included.