It’s slightly out of town, but not too far. You can walk or find a Tuktuk easily. The owner will also pick you up and drop you off from the bus station.

Very nice staff and property. Having the hotel be able to book a safari for you is fantastic. According the bus station attendant in Thissa, route 10 buses leave at 7am and 8:10am from Thissa to Ella. The full bus route is from Katharagama to Kandy, which is shown on the bus signage along with its route number. The bus from Thissa to Ella costs 467 Sri Lankan rupees (about usd$1.58 at the time of this post)

Stayed in April 2025

The accommodation was perfectly clean, comfortable, spacious and very pleasant. Wifi working, A/C working. Breakfast was excellent and generous – we looked forward to it every morning(stayed 2 nights). The host provided a safari for us, which was very well organized and of excellent quality. He also took us on an evening drive around the lakes and birdwatching, which was a beautiful and memorable experience. He was very friendly, helpful, and always ready with great advice. Overall, excellent value for money. We highly recommend this place!

Stayed in April 2025

Non

The owner has been doing his best to offer great service ! Picked me up and sent me to wait for the bus , It’s way more than I expected! We also did the birds and bats watching the same evening when I arrived!!!! I highly recommend this place to stay in Tissa !!!!! Also , the food provided by them is tasty and not too salty !!!! Great and clean room !!!!

Stayed in April 2025

Nothing

The room was very clean, spacious and comfortable. It was so nice to have a HOT shower! The hosts go out of their way to make your stay special. Priya’s wife knocked for us when the parrot comes in for a snack which was brilliant to watch. Priya met us after he finished work and still offered to take us to the lake to watch the bats, look for crocodiles and birds. It was great. We went back the next day to see them in the daytime. Their safari was good. They provided us with breakfast for our half-day option and they provide more if you select full day option. They also gave us tea/coffee before we set off. The price was very competitive, one of the best we had seen and was very happy with what we paid.

Stayed in March 2025

We had one of our best stays of our whole trip in Sri Lanka here. The owner was so kind and helpful. He drove us around to see birds and bats in the local area, which is a protected wildlife park. He even drove us into town to get food and offered to take us to the bus station on our last day. The room we stayed in was clean and spacious, with AC. The breakfast was delicious. We booked our Yala safari through the hotel, and this was awesome. If you're coming to Tissamaharama for the safari (or not), I definitely recommend staying here!

Stayed in March 2025

I had an amazing stay with Priya! If you are searching for a host that goes far and beyond to make your stay perfect and feeling comfortable, you really need to stay here! He picked me up at the bus station, went with me in the evening on a lagoon safari, his wife made the perfect dinner (you can choose from a diverse menu), arranged a perfect early morning safari (and even woke up to make coffee/tea and some snacks!) And afterwards brought me to the bus to Tangalle and even put me on the bus! Thank you so much for this experience Priya and family! ☺️

Stayed in March 2025

By far the best homestay we have stayed in for the past 2 weeks traveling in Sri Lanka. Spotlessly clean, very comfortable, AC rooms and the hospitality of Priya makes it the best! He helped us arrange the safari in Yala, took us bird and crocodile watching in the evening 😊 and picked us up and dropped us at the bus station. Can’t wait to be back, thanks Priya!

Stayed in March 2025

Dead cockroach on the floor in the morning

Friendly, helpfull personel

Stayed in March 2025

-

Calm place, wonderful hosts, clean beautiful house! The hostess cooks great! The host's safari is unique !!! Thank you from the heart !!! Be alive and well, the whole family !!!

Stayed in March 2025

Priya was a fantastic host. As mentioned in many previous reviews, he goes above and beyond and we had an amazing evening when he took us out to see the birds and the bats. We ate here for dinner and the Sri Lankan food they served us was delicious. Rooms are great for what you pay, lovely and clean! The Safari was great, our driver Amil was a brilliant driver and you could sense his passion for trying to get us to see as many animals as we could. Priya also arranged a taxi for us to Ella, including stops and cheaper than other taxi companies. All round amazing stay!

Stayed in March 2025

The host went above and beyond to make us feel welcome. He helped us organize a safari in Yala with a fantastic guide. He also took us on a long walk around the area, where we were able to see a variety of birds, crocodiles, fireflies, and bats. The food was delicious, not only the breakfasts but also the extra meals we ordered at the hotel (the curry was fantastic!). We had a wonderful time and would highly recommend this place.

Stayed in March 2025

No mosquiros

We liked the friendly owner who took us to the lake to see the burds

Stayed in March 2025

All fine

Priya really made our stay memorable. Due to the recent rains our park visit was delayed. Priya took us for a very informative walk and tuctuc around the nearby lake to view over 20 different birds and made our morning. The food and accommodation were also good.

Stayed in March 2025

In between other houses but was not a big deal.

Very nice room in the house of the owner. Breakfast was made with love and the man seemed to be a guide. In the evening we saw bats and even a glimp of a crocodile in the very nearby lake.

Stayed in February 2025

The host drove us to the lake in the village, showed us crocodiles, different birds, bats and told us some interesting stories about their life. The room was clean, there was A/C. You can order homemade food at the villa. Good place to stay when you go to safari.

Stayed in February 2025

During the night, we were awakened by the unsettling sounds of what seemed to be large animals scurrying across the roof. It was quite unnerving trying to recall in the darkness whether we had remembered to close the window.

We absolutely loved our stay at Blue Birds Tissa & Yala Safari. The room and house were simple and clean, but what truly made our experience exceptional was the host, Priya. He is an incredibly kind and attentive person who goes above and beyond to ensure his guests have a memorable stay. At first, we were a bit suspicious due to his remarkable generosity, but it turned out we had nothing to worry about. Priya genuinely enjoys hosting and takes great pleasure in introducing guests to the stunning wildlife around the nearby lake. Oh, and he also organized our safari to Yala. Everything went smoothly, and we found the price to be quite competitive when compared with other travelers on the day. We highly recommend this place for an authentic and heartwarming experience

Stayed in February 2025

Nothing, everything was great.

Priya collected us from the bus stop, so kind! Later that afternoon he took us to look at the local wewa, the bird life was amazing and we saw a crocodile and hundreds of bats at sunset. Priya answered all our questions, he's been a safari guide so knows a lot. He organised our full day safari with Asanka who was excellent.

Stayed in February 2025

I can absolutely recommend this guesthouse as a place to stay when visiting Yala on a safari. We stayed 2 nights and on the 1st afternoon Priya took us around the local lake area to view the numerous birds. We also saw a crocodile. The safari the following day was well worth the 4am alarm call. The ensuite room was spotlessly clean and comfortable and breakfasts were also very good. We are vegetarian and well catered for. The very caring hosts were also very helpful with our onward travels and made sure we caught the right bus from Tissa. A very memorable stay. Many thanks 🙂

Stayed in February 2025

Priya and his wife were fantastic hosts. Breakfast and dinner was very tasty and wholesome. We went on the safari with them and the experience was brilliant thanks to the thoughtfulness of Priya and his team. We saw elephants up close and the remarkable leopard too

Stayed in February 2025

The only thing was the animals jumping on the roof in the night but not a fault of the home stay!

We loved it here! Priya was sooooo lovely! He helped us find crocodiles and arranged our safari, he took us to the bus station and waited to make sure we got on the right bus. They were up at 4am with us to make us tea and cake before the safari, and they gave us a later checkout too 🥹so so nice, he was the best. The house is also perfect 👌🏾 clean and big also with aircon.

Stayed in February 2025

Our stay at this guesthouse was fantastic! The room was the best we had during our entire trip—super comfortable bed, hot water in the shower, and reliable WiFi. The owners were incredibly kind, friendly, and welcoming. They prepared a delicious breakfast and snacks for our early morning safari, which was really thoughtful. We also had an amazing tuk-tuk tour around the lake, where we saw crocodiles, water buffalos, various birds, and thousands of fruit bats—such an incredible experience! On top of that, they added a special touch by decorating our bed beautifully for our honeymoon, which made our stay even more memorable. Highly recommend this place for anyone visiting Tissamaharama!

Stayed in February 2025

We had a short stay but it was very nice. The place is very clean and has all you need, inclusing hairdryer. The host is very nice and helpfull and you can benefit from the fact that he is a guide so you cand take a jeep safary from them directly. 100% recommend.

Stayed in February 2025

Mr. Priya he will organise your stay absolutely perfect!

Stayed in February 2025

Hosts will go above and beyond to make you feel like at home. The host organises every evening a free bird watching tour around the lake that is amazing!! They even packed us breakfast for us to take on the safari at 4:30am.

Stayed in December 2024