Barco Madu River Safari Balapitiya

The entire tour lasted around 2 hours and was absolutely worth both the time and the experience. The people were extremely friendly, helpful, and very informative throughout the tour, making it engaging and enjoyable. The hospitality was truly top-notch, and they made sure everyone felt comfortable and well taken care of. I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone looking for a meaningful and well-organized experience.

A relaxing 90 minute cruise through the waterways. We were welcomed with a fruit juice and bottled water. The calm waters and green jungle trees were refreshing in the heat. We visited Cinnamon Island and saw how cinnamon is produced. We happily paid for the privilege of seeing this and enjoying a small cup of delicious cinnamon tea. You can also pay to have a photo taken with monkeys, baby crocodiles, or have your feet tickled by tiny fish. There was no pressure to do these activities. We chose to hold the baby crocodiles, while wondering about the ethics 😬. We were impressed by the cleanliness of the river and the huge lagoon.

We had a great time on the boat tour! The driver was very friendly and made the trip enjoyable. The boat had a retractable roof, which came in handy when it started to rain — a thoughtful touch that kept us comfortable. Highly recommended for anyone looking to enjoy nature and a bit of adventure!

The boat tour through the RAMSAR Convention-protected delta of the Madu River is a bit touristy, but can not rob the magic of this branched landscape. Especially towards evening, when hundreds of herons and cormorants return to their sleeping trees. Also the island with the old temple and the cinnamon island are definitely worth a stop. And a visit to the corneal nibblefish is fun for young and old.

Madu Ganga Boat Tour is a popular eco-tourism activity located near Balapitiya, along the southern coast of Sri Lanka. Madu Ganga (also known as Madu River) is a beautiful wetland estuary that flows into the Indian Ocean and is famous for its rich biodiversity, calm waters, and scenic mangrove forests. During the boat tour, visitors can explore over 60 small islands, some with temples, cinnamon plantations, and traditional fishing communities. One of the key highlights is a visit to the Kothduwa Temple, located on an island in the middle of the river. Some tours also offer fish foot therapy, where tiny fish nibble gently at your feet — a fun and relaxing experience! The boat ride is peaceful and offers a great chance to observe birds, monitor lizards, crabs, and various species of mangroves. It’s perfect for nature lovers, photographers, and families looking for a relaxing day out.

We had great experience on our Boat trip! We’ve seen Birds Island, learnt some fun facts from our guide about prawns, some birds were flying behind the boat as engine pushed food to the surface, so they tried to get some of it behind the boat, very cool to watch! The guide was there on time. We put our feet in pool with fish that eat our skin, very cool experience! Visiting Cinamon Island is another big thing. We learnt a lot about production of cinamon, general fun facts, taste and were very happy about that! We also sailed through passages with disabled engine which was epic! The guide did us a lot of good photos. Definitely recommend this tour, amazing experience and great guide!

I was on the Madu River Safari all alone with the two guides. Unfortunately, the drive through the mangroves was only very short and apart from a few birds I did not see any animals. The visit to Cinnamon Island was disappointing. There, a quick program showed how cinnamon is produced and of course products were immediately offered for purchase. The Fish Spa was great and cost another 500 rupees extra. It was also offered that I could buy a drink at a floating vending stall. However, I refused that as well as visiting the temple. I have now seen enough of that during my time here in Sri Lanka. A life jacket like all the other tourists I wore during the morning was not offered to me and there was only one in the footwell of the boat. The guides were nice but unfortunately the communication was rather difficult due to poor English skills I was already disappointed because I would have liked to have seen more mangroves and also some animals and not left with the feeling that it is ONLY about making money as so often. After all, I was driven back to Ahungalla for 500 rupees after 1000 rupees were originally demanded and I had then refused. Always a bland aftertaste after such experiences. Were in total about 1.20 hours. on the road for 27 euros

We were extremely happy with the boat tour and it was the perfect morning outing as a family with small kids. We were collected from the hotel on time and all of the communication via WhatsApp was clear and helpful. We were so happy with the safe and patient manner of driving that we also booked a tour to Galle and back 2 days later. It was very important for us to feel safe and comfortable as some of what we have seen and heard regarding tired and inattentive driving is a concern. The driver was great and offered suggestions and pointed out cultural landmarks etc along the way.

Interesting trip local guide very informative Visited temple on one of the small islands Saw monkeys and lizards Rare plant grows on one bush that’s protected

The guide was very friendly with us and our eight years old boy. The river cruise was very good with much to see. And as advertised we stopped at a interesting buddhist temple, and at Cinnemon Island with a informative guide of how to make tea, cinnemon powder, rope etc. from the cinnemon three. And it was very fun with the stop where the fishes did eat from our feet in the water.