Trincomalee Tours and Visitor Attractions

Trips that suit a first visit

Trincomalee has no sightseeing bus network or hop-on hop-off service. Guided visits here are boat trips, jeep safaris and walks with a local guide or tuk-tuk driver, and most are arranged through your hotel, a dive centre or a boat association. Agree the price, the duration and what is included before you set off.

Pigeon Island National Park

Pigeon Island is a marine national park run by the Department of Wildlife Conservation. Boats leave from Nilaveli beach, where the ticket counters stand, and the crossing takes roughly 10 to 15 minutes each way. The Nilaveli Private Boat Service is the boat association.

  • You pay twice, once for the park ticket and once for the boat. Foreign adults pay more than locals, children pay about half, and prices vary and rise, so ask for both figures first.
  • Some operators sell a bundle that adds gear and a guide. Compare it with buying each part separately.
  • The island has no shops or facilities, so bring water and take every scrap of rubbish back.
  • Rules protect the reef. Do not stand on or touch coral, do not chase, grab or feed sharks, turtles or fish, and follow your guide.
  • The park closes for the north-east monsoon. The calm season runs about May to September.

Whale watching from the east coast

Boats leave at about 06:00 to 06:30 and head about 8 nautical miles east. The whales are about 30 minutes out, and a trip can take 5 to 6 hours. The season runs from about March or April to August or September, with April to July the busiest. Trinco Blu by Cinnamon runs trips with in-house naturalists, and Pigeon Island Tours also runs whale and snorkel trips. Sightings of blue whales, sperm whales and spinner dolphins are not guaranteed, and dolphins are the more reliable sight. Ask whether the boat cuts its engine near animals.

Temple and fort visits

Koneswaram Kovil on Swami Rock is an active Hindu shrine and not a stage for shows, so treat it as a place of worship. Entry is free. Dress modestly with shoulders and knees covered and take your shoes off. It opens in the morning and late afternoon, so check when you arrive. Fort Frederick leads up to the temple and is free to walk through, with spotted deer along the road. Do not feed the deer, and follow the signs near military areas.

Hoods Tower Museum is the Sri Lanka Navy museum at Ostenburg, inside the Navy Dockyard. Part of it sits in Second World War casemates, and it includes captured Sea Tiger craft. Entry depends on Navy security, so check before you go.

Elephant safari

Kaudulla and Minneriya jeep safaris run in the afternoon and are the main wildlife outing away from the coast. The Minneriya gathering peaks from August to September, and Kaudulla is busiest from about September or October to November or December. Allow about 2 hours each way, and expect hundreds of elephants in a good year, though that is never certain.

Read more: Sightseeing in Trincomalee and Day trips from Trincomalee .

Tours can be compared on GetYourGuide and Viator . Official and background pages: Department of Wildlife Conservation , Cinnamon Hotels on whale watching and Wikipedia on Hoods Tower Museum .