Yala Jeep Safari tour by Hilton Yala Resort
Recently, my family stayed at the Hilton Yala Resort near Yala National Park in Sri Lanka, which is famous for its jeep safaris. This newly opened, stylish hotel offered outstanding hospitality✨. The hotel organizes various activities, including jeep safari tours of Yala National Park and bushwalk tours through the forest with a guide. We decided to book the jeep safari through the hotel.
After researching later, I realized that we might have booked a more expensive luxury safari tour than the average price… So, I’ll share a report on what made it a luxury experience and how much more we paid.
ch more we paid.
Information about Yala National Park
Located in the southeastern part of Sri Lanka, Yala National Park is the second largest national park in the country. Covering an area of 979 km², the park is divided into five regions, featuring grasslands, beautiful lakes, wetlands, and areas lined with distinctive large rocks.
The park is home to approximately 44 species of animals and 215 species of birds. It is especially famous for its high leopard density, with an estimated 350 leopards inhabiting the park. In addition, rare animals such as Sri Lankan elephants, crocodiles, monitor lizards, and sloth bears can also be spotted.
KIKOOf course, the main attraction for most visitors is the leopards 🐆, but what makes the experience truly captivating is the opportunity to venture into the wild on a jeep safari and witness animals in their natural habitat. It’s an immersive experience where you can see animals living freely in the untouched wilderness.
The review of Jeep Safari with 6 and 3 years old kids
About Jeep Safari tour by Hilton
Yala National Park is divided into five vast blocks, and Hilton offers tours where you can choose from three different routes. We opted for the route through the “PALATUPANA ENTRANCE,” the closest entrance to the hotel. If you’re a first-timer or don’t have specific preferences, this route might be a good choice, as it shortens travel time.
As for the timing, you can choose between the morning tour, which starts at 5:30 AM and returns by 9:30 AM, or the afternoon tour, which departs at 2:30 PM and returns by 6:30 PM. Since we were traveling with kids and were unsure about getting up early, we went for the afternoon tour at 2:30 PM 😊.
When reading reviews of the safari, many participants seemed to favor the early morning tours. However, there’s no definitive answer that the morning tour guarantees more animal sightings. So, really, it’s up to personal preference 😊.
Meeting Point
We joined the afternoon safari on the second day. The meeting time was at 2:30 PM. This is a typical Sri Lankan experience: the meals at the restaurant are served rather slowly, so I was a little worried about whether we’d make it in time (we were seated around 12:30 PM but it was a prefix course appetizer-main-desert so it took 2 hours to finish the lunch).
By the time we arrived at the front desk just after 2:30 PM, the guide and jeep were already there and ready, so we could hop in immediately.
Having the guide and vehicle come right to the hotel premises to pick us up made the extra cost of the hotel-organized tour feel worth it, as it ensured a smooth start to the adventure.
Safari Entrance
It takes about 20 minutes from the hotel to the park’s ticket counter. The unpaved roads in front of the hotel were quite bumpy, making the ride feel like an amusement park attraction 😆 (Seat belts are a must!).
We have arrived ticket counter shortly and the driver went to buy our ticket.
Entrance fee of foreigner was 36USD per person（≒10,450LKR）
For this tour, our entrance fee was included the tour fee◎
Driving about 10 minutes, we finally got the Yala national park entrance✨
Some peacocks welcomed us😆
After this, the driver and guide will take you to various spots where animals can be seen or where herds are gathered, exchanging information with other guides and drivers along the way. It’s a collaborative effort to ensure you get the best views of wildlife during the safari.
We saw water buffaloes taking a bath and peacocks, which had become quite familiar in the area. Then, we heard that there was a herd of elephants, and all the jeeps headed in that direction to see them.
There were so many elephants!
It’s fascinating how elephants take sand baths after their water baths to protect their skin from parasites and bacteria. The guide explained that elephants have delicate skin, so the sand helps to maintain their health after the cooling water bath. The bulging belly is because their digestive system isn’t very efficient, so they accumulate a lot of gas from the food they eat, and they’re constantly eating to try to get enough nutrients. It’s a tough life for them, isn’t it? 🐘😭
That must have been amazing! Kingfishers are such striking birds, with their vivid blue feathers really standing out. It must have been a treat to spot them during the safari! Maybe I needed a good zoom camera..😂
I also saw birds and crocodiles by the water, as well as a herd of deer
They served us a snack box during the safari time.
Each person received a nice snack in a sturdy lunch box. It included crackers, chicken sandwiches, a sweet cake, and plenty of cashews. Given that cashews have been getting more expensive recently, I think the cashews alone cost a lot. As for drinks, they provided bottled water from the hotel and a refreshing, chilled watermelon juice, which was a nice touch. This is definitely what you’d expect from a Hilton hotel tour ✨.
Now, we begin the search for leopards. The driver and the guide sitting next to him exchange information with other jeep drivers to head toward the spots where leopards have been spotted.
Along the way, we came across a buffalo right in front of us and saw a rock that resembled a face. We also gathered information from people on jeeps who had seen the leopard on their way back, but it didn’t show up. In the end, we ran out of time without being able to spot it.
But in the end, we were able to see elephants up close like this. When the elephant was coming toward us, it was so powerful that it was a little scary😂
Before our Yala trip, it had been raining for over a week due to the rainy season, so it was a real treat to finally have clear skies and get to see such a beautiful sunset. We were very satisfied!
Things to bring to Jeep Safari
Sunglasses
On particularly sunny and dry days, the national park can get quite dusty, and the midday sun is intense, so sunglasses are a must to protect your eyes! It’s also a good idea for kids to wear sunglasses!
Long sleeves and long pants
These might be helpful for sun protection and dust prevention. I wore a long-sleeved rash guard and paired it with Airism leggings under my shorts for sun protection.
Binoculars
Although the jeep might provide binoculars, the number available can be limited, so it’s best to bring your own.
Smartphone strap
Since the jeep can get quite bumpy, we were advised to keep our belongings either in our bag or the seat pocket. As smartphones can easily slip out of pockets, it’s a good idea to attach a strap for extra security.
Kids’ entertainment
The safari lasts about 3 hours. My kids ended up napping midway, so it felt like a quick trip, but for children who stay awake, there’s a chance they might get bored. Bringing along some small toys or entertainment might be a good idea to keep them occupied.
KIKOI also recommend wearing a mask to avoid dust. As for footwear, I was considering sneakers, but ended up wearing my TEVA sandals. Since there wasn’t much walking involved, it wasn’t an issue at all.
Was the hotel-hosted tour really worth the cost?
I’m going to review whether the Hilton Hotel’s safari tour was really overpriced or if it was worth the cost.
Hilton Hotel Safari Tour Price (BLOCK1) LKR137,584（≒473USD）
- Entrance fee for Foreigner 36×4=144USD （We are resident so our entrance fee must have much cheaper though..）
- The jeep fee, guide and driver costs, and transportation from the hotel to the national park are all included. 329USD/Total
- Since we went as a group of four, the cost per person was 118 USD (the same price for children).
Reference: If booking through Klook, the cost is 60 USD per person for the jeep with driver and guide, plus an entry fee of 36 USD, totaling 96 USD per person (children pay the same price).
Reference 2: If booking a jeep locally, the cost is 15,000 LKR (approximately 51 USD) for a 4-hour ride, plus a tip, and the entry fee of 36 USD, totaling 87 USD per person (based on information from Sri Lanka Navi).
When calculating the cost of the Hilton-hosted safari tour, which is 118 USD per person (including the 36 USD entrance fee for both adults and children), it appears to be on the higher side. However, when comparing it to booking through Klook for 96 USD per person or arranging a jeep locally for 87 USD per person, the Hilton-hosted tour isn’t significantly more expensive than other options.
Conclusion: Even though it’s a bit more expensive, the Hilton-hosted tour is not a bad option when traveling with children.
The advantages of a hotel-hosted tour include not having to search for a jeep upon arrival, being able to confirm details like timing and payments in advance, and avoiding worries about missing the gathering spot, being late, or facing last-minute cancellations. Additionally, our guide was a young, intelligent woman employed by the hotel, who shared detailed information about the animals and their behaviors. I wish I had asked her more questions, as she clearly had a wealth of knowledge.
If I were to go again, I might consider booking through Klook in advance (with hotel transfer included) and purchasing tickets at a local price for foreigners, which could be cheaper. However, since this was our first safari experience, I’m glad I chose the hotel-hosted tour for the peace of mind and security it provided. 😊
Hotel transfer Yala Jeep Safari Tour (Klook)
Is it enjoyable for young children?
Since you’re mainly just riding in the jeep, there’s no rushing like at a zoo with “Let’s go, let’s go!” or children getting tired from walking, so it was really relaxing for us as parents 😆. The children were thrilled when they spotted familiar animals like elephants, water buffalo, mini pigs, and deer! On the other hand, animals like crocodiles and small birds, which blend in with the water, were a bit harder to spot. Unlike well-maintained safari parks in Japan or other countries, there were no clear events like “carnivores coming up to the bus, and meat being fed with tongs,” but I thought this kind of tour, where you can observe the animals in their natural habitat, was really special and wonderful.
Thank you for reading! ☺️
The hotel review we stayed in Yala
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