Minneriya Safari Tours
Minneriya Safari Tours
4.5
4WD, ATV & Off-Road Tours • Nature & Wildlife Tours
Read more
6:00 AM - 6:30 PM
Monday
6:00 AM - 6:30 PM
Tuesday
6:00 AM - 6:30 PM
Wednesday
6:00 AM - 6:30 PM
Thursday
6:00 AM - 6:30 PM
Friday
6:00 AM - 6:30 PM
Saturday
6:00 AM - 6:30 PM
Sunday
6:00 AM - 6:30 PM
Full view
About
Minneriya safari tours is a jeep safari tour agent for minneriya national park, kaudulla national park and hurulu eco park-habarana for watch great elephant gathering. Safari start at morning 6 am and evening 3pm everyday. Also operates half day & full day Safari. We arrange hotel pickup service from habarana, polonnaruwa, sigiriya, dambulla, anuradhapura, kandalama, pasikudah & trincomalee areas.
Similar Experiences
Minneriya Safari Tours
Booking unavailable on Tripadvisor
Want other options you can book now?
Show optionsTravelers talk about
(3 reviews)
(2 reviews)
(2 reviews)
Contribute
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
31 reviews
Excellent
22
Very good
2
Average
2
Poor
3
Terrible
2
Anthony S
Brisbane, Australia1,732 contributions
Aug 2022
We had a great day, birdwatching and elephant spotting with Nadeesh our driver who arrived at our hotel exactly at the appointed time.
On arrival at Minneriya National Park we collected our birding guide which was a relief as our driver didn’t know much about birds. The guide was excellent and we saw many more birds than expected.
The evening visit to see the elephant herds was at Hurulu Eco Park, as the elephants had moved from other parks. It was a relief that the driver knew of the herd movements and could adjust the schedule to accomodate them.
Only critics was the lunchtime village tour was not explained and we were not prepared for the walk and lunch at a typical farm house. Once we realised what was happening it was a great experience.
On arrival at Minneriya National Park we collected our birding guide which was a relief as our driver didn’t know much about birds. The guide was excellent and we saw many more birds than expected.
The evening visit to see the elephant herds was at Hurulu Eco Park, as the elephants had moved from other parks. It was a relief that the driver knew of the herd movements and could adjust the schedule to accomodate them.
Only critics was the lunchtime village tour was not explained and we were not prepared for the walk and lunch at a typical farm house. Once we realised what was happening it was a great experience.
Written August 5, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Holly F
Maesteg, UK9 contributions
May 2022 • Couples
The company were able go recommend the best place to see elephants for the time of year and we had an amazing experience at Hurulu Eco Park. We saw 20+ elephants, peacocks, an eagle and foxes. Quick response via Whatsap and easy booking process with good value for money. Driver was polite, knowledgable and unobtrusive and respectful of the animals and us.
Written May 1, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Stefan Rotaru
Bucharest, Romania3 contributions
Feb 2020
We had a safari for 2-3 hours with our childen (3 and 5 years old).
We saw lots of elephants and our children loved it.
The tour also included a specific Sri Lanka village tour (on the way back from the safari) which also was a very nice experience.
Many thanks to our guide, @travelwithdenzil , for telling us about this safari and for helping us having a wonderful holiday.
We saw lots of elephants and our children loved it.
The tour also included a specific Sri Lanka village tour (on the way back from the safari) which also was a very nice experience.
Many thanks to our guide, @travelwithdenzil , for telling us about this safari and for helping us having a wonderful holiday.
Written February 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
TiffandChris SA/HK
32 contributions
May 2018 • Couples
I’m not even sure where to begin with how terrible this company is... I emailed them prior to coming to Sri Lanka asking if they could help with transport between a few points we planned to visit and they came back with 2 quotes one for if the driver stayed with us for the whole trip and another for someone to drive us point to point but not stay at each destination with us. We chose the second option as it was a little cheaper. The person we were in contact with at no stage mentioned that the second option would involve outsourcing everything.
We landed in Colombo and were not met in the arrivals hall as planned. Another man at the airport kindly helped us contact the person in our emails and he said the driver would be there in 5 min. This went on and on an eventually 90min later than the agreed time a man arrived. He then took us to a small car which our bags did not fit in. We were not carrying anything unusual for 2 ppl staying 10 days in Sri Lanka. So we had bags on the front seat which completely obscured the drivers vision. Anyways we continued on our journey and we were tracking our progress on google maps ( as we were completely camped in this tiny car and could not sleep) and noted that the driver was no longer on course... he insisted he was and that our accommodation was 7 km away. 2 hrs later than planned we arrived. He had to back track to the point we told him he was going in the wrong direction. He also seemed to have no idea how to de mist a wind screen and at times I have no idea how he was navigating. He also drove very fast at times trying to make up for lost time. To say we felt unsafe is an understatement.
After this I refused to pay the full amount up front as I was not happy with the car and service we had been given. I emailed the person we had been dealing with but have still not had a reply to this email. The next thing we get a whatsapp message informing us we must pay online for the Next leg of the journey upfront as he has actually outsourced everything and he must pay upfront and so must we. In addition we must cover all online fees - amounting to an extra US$6.
The next guy who fetched us arrived on time and delivered us to our accommodation adequately but probably because he had nothing to do with this tour company.
The 3rd guy arrived 1 hr later than the agreed to time but he also in the end was pretty decent.
On route to our 2nd to last destination we had booked a Safari with Minneriya Safari tour company. To our surprise it was the same driver who met us at the airport. the safari vehicle they provided was ok but the flaps of the side sit directly in the line of vision so you have to stand. The driver was pretty shocking again and got stuck in the mud going off road and another driver had to drive the vehicle out. He also disregarded our request to remain in a spot or stop while driving and was only interested in showing us what he wanted to show us. He also seemed to be following other vehicles cues. Overall the safari was pretty crap and this was very unfortunate as the Park was beautiful and there were many birds we would have liked to see but obviously this isn’t what he thought we should see. We only saw elephants for the first part of the Safari as you never loop back to see them again. It honestly felt like a conveyer belt of things to see and no deviations were allowed. We also realised that the price charged was twice as much as the next Safari we booked with another company for a far more superior level of service.
We thought we were done with them at this point as we had paid everything and it was up to the 3rd outsourced company to get us to our second to last and last destination. So we were very angry when we arrived and there had been no accommodation booked for our driver. Our quote had included the driver to stay at accommodation near to ours for our last 2 nights so he could then drive us back to Colombo. So at 8.30pm with poor signal we are trying to find out what is going on and trying to arrange accommodation last minute for something that has been planned for months.
To summarise - I would think long and hard about using this company for ANYTHING! My worst thing though has been the complete lack of sincere apologies about what has happened. The company was involved in all of legs of the trip and required constant communication so I feel it definitely distracted and in some ways ruined our otherwise great impression of Sri Lanka.
We landed in Colombo and were not met in the arrivals hall as planned. Another man at the airport kindly helped us contact the person in our emails and he said the driver would be there in 5 min. This went on and on an eventually 90min later than the agreed time a man arrived. He then took us to a small car which our bags did not fit in. We were not carrying anything unusual for 2 ppl staying 10 days in Sri Lanka. So we had bags on the front seat which completely obscured the drivers vision. Anyways we continued on our journey and we were tracking our progress on google maps ( as we were completely camped in this tiny car and could not sleep) and noted that the driver was no longer on course... he insisted he was and that our accommodation was 7 km away. 2 hrs later than planned we arrived. He had to back track to the point we told him he was going in the wrong direction. He also seemed to have no idea how to de mist a wind screen and at times I have no idea how he was navigating. He also drove very fast at times trying to make up for lost time. To say we felt unsafe is an understatement.
After this I refused to pay the full amount up front as I was not happy with the car and service we had been given. I emailed the person we had been dealing with but have still not had a reply to this email. The next thing we get a whatsapp message informing us we must pay online for the Next leg of the journey upfront as he has actually outsourced everything and he must pay upfront and so must we. In addition we must cover all online fees - amounting to an extra US$6.
The next guy who fetched us arrived on time and delivered us to our accommodation adequately but probably because he had nothing to do with this tour company.
The 3rd guy arrived 1 hr later than the agreed to time but he also in the end was pretty decent.
On route to our 2nd to last destination we had booked a Safari with Minneriya Safari tour company. To our surprise it was the same driver who met us at the airport. the safari vehicle they provided was ok but the flaps of the side sit directly in the line of vision so you have to stand. The driver was pretty shocking again and got stuck in the mud going off road and another driver had to drive the vehicle out. He also disregarded our request to remain in a spot or stop while driving and was only interested in showing us what he wanted to show us. He also seemed to be following other vehicles cues. Overall the safari was pretty crap and this was very unfortunate as the Park was beautiful and there were many birds we would have liked to see but obviously this isn’t what he thought we should see. We only saw elephants for the first part of the Safari as you never loop back to see them again. It honestly felt like a conveyer belt of things to see and no deviations were allowed. We also realised that the price charged was twice as much as the next Safari we booked with another company for a far more superior level of service.
We thought we were done with them at this point as we had paid everything and it was up to the 3rd outsourced company to get us to our second to last and last destination. So we were very angry when we arrived and there had been no accommodation booked for our driver. Our quote had included the driver to stay at accommodation near to ours for our last 2 nights so he could then drive us back to Colombo. So at 8.30pm with poor signal we are trying to find out what is going on and trying to arrange accommodation last minute for something that has been planned for months.
To summarise - I would think long and hard about using this company for ANYTHING! My worst thing though has been the complete lack of sincere apologies about what has happened. The company was involved in all of legs of the trip and required constant communication so I feel it definitely distracted and in some ways ruined our otherwise great impression of Sri Lanka.
Written May 15, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Stéphane B
1 contribution
Sep 2019 • Couples
Very nice place, nature is wonderful. Nevertheless bad guide and bad organization. They lied to us saying that they will be a lot of animals thanks to the rain but it was totally the contrary. We saw almost nothing. I don't recommend this place. Only thinking about the money they earn...
Written September 19, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
rongyouyolanda
New Delhi, India1 contribution
Sep 2018 • Couples
We booked this trip online at the price of 65 USD per person, for two person. When we arrived at our hotel, the hotel owner offered 3000 SL rp for two! The same trip.
There were not many elephants in the park, not the correct season.
So do not book online at such a high price, go there first and arrange locally.
There were not many elephants in the park, not the correct season.
So do not book online at such a high price, go there first and arrange locally.
Written September 9, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Lia G
Colombo, Sri Lanka60 contributions
Dec 2017 • Couples
Lovely natural landscape with lots of elephants and you can have a great experience here. We saw over 200 elephants, eating grass in the bank of Minneriya tank which provided a lovely view. Recommend to go in the evening then you can see sunset too.
Written February 13, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Nikki Z
Melbourne, Australia26 contributions
Jan 2018 • Family
This was fun if you like racing in a Jeep on a bumpy ride, which we did. Lots of elephants. Don’t need to book beforehand. Just turn up and negotiate a price for a Jeep (and driver) you then also need to buy tickets. Tours usually quoted about $160USD per person but doing it this way was about $105 per person and we had more choice of the Jeep. Also I read there were two tour times but really you could just rock up when it suited you
Written January 25, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
upeksha a
2 contributions
Aug 2017 • Couples
we know about minneriya safari tours by searching google map & sms them for same day safari with pickup from heritance kandalama. They reply quick & offer cheaper price than hotel. Classic jeep ride is fantastic. In the bank of minneriya reservoir we saw more than 200 elephants. They eat grass continuously, play on mud & baby elephants are so cute. Janaka is our driver cum guide, friendly person & drive care through the giants. Well organized tour for reasonable price. Thx guys!
Written October 12, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Hello
Thank you for choosing us as your safari tour agent. Hope you will join us for a tour again.
Written March 15, 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Kirsten J
35 contributions
Dec 2019 • Couples
Overall this was an ok experience but not value for money. Our guest house host was shocked when we told him we had paid $100 for two of us. You could get the same experience for a cheaper price elsewhere.
Written January 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Annabel G
Semaphore, Australia9 contributions
How do I get a discount coupon
Sri lanka Residence Visa holders can get special discount.
Rangaad
Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka27 contributions
Do you pickup from hotels in Dambulla?
Yes. We arrange pickup & drop off service from Dambulla / Sigiriya / Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa...