Bentota River Safari: Mangrove Wildlife

Embark on a unique Bentota River Safari to explore mangroves and spot rare wildlife. Enjoy a 2-hour lagoon safari with free pick-up and drop-off included.

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Bentota River - The renowned Bentota River, located in the southern region of the country, empties into the Indian Ocean, creating a lagoon at its final stretch. This river and lagoon offer the most extensive range of water sports among all the beach resorts in Sri Lanka. Popular activities include jet-skiing, windsurfing, parasailing, and…
What's Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Local guide
  • Bottled water
  • GST (Goods and Services Tax)
  • All taxes, fees and handling charges
  • Local taxes
  • Environmental Management Charge (Reef Tax)
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

The Bentota Travel Mart ( BTM ) offers the Bentota River Boat Safari for visitors staying in Bentota, Induruwa, Kosgoda , Ahungalla, Balapitiya, Ambalangoda, Aluthgama, Beruwala, Maggona, Kalutara, Waskaduwa and Wadduwa. Complimentary pick up and drop off services are provided for these areas.
For an exclusive and novel experience of a lagoon safari,…

Location
Bentota
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(111 Ratings)
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Shidoshiu
Dec 17, 2025
Awesome River Safari Bentota - We booked a number of trips through Viatours & Get your Guide, these were routed through the Bentota Travel Mart, as soon as we had booked I was contacted by Sam the tour manager who confirmed the bookings and made us aware of any info we needed & sorted out any additional tickets needed for certain trips. The day before the river safari Sam contacted us with details of our collection driver Suran who was excellent and had arrived early and a pic of the vehicle via whats app. The river safari was fantastic it was a private tour so just us and our Guide Sumal, Sumal shared his knowledge of the wildlife and was great at spotting even the smaller animals/birds and amphibians from the boat. The tour included a trip through the mangrove sections, the large river up to the point where it joins the sea and the forest area, in total it took about 2 hrs and was well worth it, we thought it was excellent value for money. 5 star rating from us for both the tour operators and the individuals who looked after us Sam, Suran and Sumal. Would def recommend and would do the trip again should we revisit in the future. many thanks Dave & Kathryn T
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Brenda_h
Dec 15, 2025
Great tour with Sumal - Fantastic tour. We had a very enthusiastic guide who ensured we had a memorable experience. We saw 3 crocodiles
Review provided by Viator
F109ujannab
Dec 9, 2025
Perfect! - Amazing experience! Best service! Harry was great boatsman. Nows what and how to do. There was, also, fresh coconut whater and peanaple. Recomend for sure.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Climber66027625351
Nov 25, 2025
Amazing experience - Went twice! First time in 2024 with my Husband, and yesterday we sent our parents on this tour too. The guide is so very kind, it's such a peaceful and fun experience. Our parents truly enjoyed. They are still happily raving about the King Coconut and Pineapple that was served mid tour! Highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Traveltheworld114
Nov 6, 2025
River safari experience - This was such a memorable day. 2 hours approximately on the river cruise, with various animals being carefully shown by the experienced tour guide. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Janpa7557ba
Sep 15, 2025
Very interesting tour, highly recommended - Super nice tour. Pickup and dropoff were very convenient, on time, as agreed without any hassle. Nice and clean tuk tuk's. On the river the guide was amazing. He was devoted to show us as much as he can. And he knew where to look for interesting animals without interrupting their routing. All of us were happy and we agreed that this was definitely above our expectations.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Go599606
Sep 13, 2025
10/10 Bentota Mangrove Safari - We had an amazing boat safari experience on the Bentota River! Our guide, Harinda, was absolutely exceptional. He patiently showed us the beautiful mangroves and pointed out various wildlife along the way, explaining everything with great knowledge and passion. Harinda was polite, humble, and very well-behaved throughout the 2-hour journey. He even surprised us with complimentary king coconut and fresh pineapple, which made the trip extra special. He made sure we were comfortable and truly enjoying ourselves at every moment. We’re so glad we booked this safari — it was the highlight of our trip. Highly recommend this experience, 10/10!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Valeriad895
Sep 2, 2025
Exciting experience - Beautiful boat tour along the Bentota River! Friendly and helpful guide. Many sightings!! Excellent snack with coconut and pineapple in the company of monkeys 😊
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Traceytb
Sep 2, 2025
Fantastic experience, loads to see and very well organised ! - This was one of our favourite ever excursions, we were collected and taken to the river by our driver Janith. Our guide on the boat was super kind and knowledgable, and was great at spotting wildlife as we drove along the river and through the mangroves! All in all in was a couple of hours long and we saw lots of wildlife along the way, including monkeys and crocs! Our daughter got to hold a baby croc which was her best moment ( you’ll need a few rupees to tip the guy who boards the boat so you can handle one) - a lovely touch was added by us stopping in the mangroves and our guide prepared fresh pineapple and coconuts for us to drink! Organisation was fabulous, this company is very very reliable, efficient and their attentions to detail make your trip super easy and enjoyable !
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ana_r
Dec 9, 2025
Respectfull river safari - We enjoyed a River Safari with Bentota Travel Mart agency. They were very professional. All the process, from the booking, the pickup service and the safari was smooth and save. The guide, Harinda, was great, kind and informative. The thing we liked most was the respectful way in of how Harinda approached the animals. We sighted several Srilanken birds, a large crocodile, and a snake among the others. It was expensive but it was really good
Review provided by Viator
From $20
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).