Travel beyond the obvious
Why Ceylon Peacock Travels
We began in a house on the Galle Road at Balapitiya, a coastal town most travellers pass through on the way to somewhere else. Eighty kilometres south of Colombo, a short walk from a stretch of sand where sea turtles have come ashore for longer than anyone has been counting.
We still run the company from that coast, though the office is in Colombo now. We have driven every road we put you on. We have slept in the rooms we book. And somewhere along the way we started a sea turtle hatchery up the beach, which we also still run.
We are not a brand that was designed. We are a family business that grew, and this site is the version of it built for travellers who want the island arranged around them rather than assembled from a catalogue.
The island is not difficult to visit. It is difficult to visit well.
What we’re good at
We know the roads, not the map. A hundred and twenty kilometres can take four hours here. Most itineraries hide that, and you find out on day two, in a van, at four in the afternoon. We plan around it instead - fewer bases, longer stays, and every move made in the morning.
We know when, not only where. Two monsoons run on opposite schedules, so somewhere on the island is always in season. Tell us your dates and we will build the journey around the weather rather than against it.
We say no. If a journey is too ambitious for the days you have, we will tell you rather than sell it. The version that fits is rarely the version that gets enjoyed.
Why we are different
Doors we can open
Anyone can book the ticket. These are the things you cannot book.
A temple before the day begins. Certain cave temples and shrine rooms can be opened for a private hour before the gates. Arranged in advance, always with the community's blessing, never on a poya day.
Lunch at the cinnamon estate. The southern cinnamon families have been peeling bark by hand for two hundred years. We know several.
A morning with a field biologist. Not a safari — a working morning with the people who monitor the leopards, in the vehicle they actually use.
The Perahera from a balcony. Kandy's August procession draws a hundred thousand people to the street. There are perhaps forty balconies on the route.
A kitchen, not a cooking school. The pol sambol, the tempering of the curry leaves, why the coconut milk goes in last — in a family kitchen with the family in it.
A hatchling release, alone. One evening at our own hatchery, just you and the manager, and the walk down to the waterline.
Some depend on season, on permission, and occasionally on the weather. We will tell you honestly which are possible for your dates before you commit to anything.
Tailor-made travel
How a journey gets made
We ask before we plan. Not dates and headcount. What you picture when you picture this trip. Whether you want to be moving or still. What you would be sorry to have missed.
We draft, and we explain the draft. Why this property, why this order, why three nights here rather than two. Then you tell us what to change, and we change it. Most journeys settle by the third version.
We book early enough to be possible. The properties worth staying in are small and fill months ahead. December to March we need four to six months. The rest of the year, eight to ten weeks is comfortable.
Nothing is fixed until you are happy. No deposit is taken and nothing is confirmed until you have seen a plan you want.
Tell us what you picture when you picture this trip.
What follows is ours to carry.
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