Disclaimer

What this site is

Madu River Boats is an independent travel guide covering boat safaris on the Madu Ganga estuary at Balapitiya, Sri Lanka. It is written and published by people who live on that coast and is funded by affiliate commission.

What this site is not

Not an official website. We have no formal relationship with any boat operator on the Madu Ganga, with any jetty owner, or with any Sri Lankan government department or tourism authority.
Not a travel agent. We are not licensed to sell travel services and we do not attempt to.
Not a booking platform. We take no payments, hold no customer data related to bookings and issue no confirmations.
Not a tour operator. We own no boats and employ no crews.

Business names, trade marks and logos referred to on this site belong to their owners. They are used to identify and describe those businesses, which is what a guide is for, and their appearance here does not imply any partnership or endorsement in either direction.

Affiliate disclosure

Links to GetYourGuide on this site are affiliate links. If you book a tour after following one, we receive a commission from the platform. You pay the same price you would pay by navigating there yourself.

Commission does not buy coverage. No operator or supplier on this site has paid to appear, to rank higher, or to be described more favourably. Where a product has a weak review record, we say so — including products we earn commission on.

Affiliate links on this site are marked with rel="nofollow sponsored" and routed through a redirect, so search engines can see they are commercial.

Accuracy

Everything here is checked by hand and dated. Even so:

Prices change. Every figure is the lowest advertised rate at the stated check date, not a quote.
Jetty prices are not published anywhere. Where we describe how walk-up pricing works, we are describing a mechanism, not quoting a tariff.
Operating conditions change. Boats, crews, meeting points and business names all move.
Facts about the wetland come from the Ramsar Sites Information Service and Sri Lankan government sources, cited on the relevant pages.

Always confirm current prices, times and conditions on the operator’s or platform’s own channels before you travel.

Liability

We provide information in good faith and take reasonable care over it. We accept no liability for loss, injury, cost or disappointment arising from decisions taken on the basis of this site, or from the acts or omissions of any third party mentioned on it.

Boat travel on an estuary carries inherent risk. Check life jackets, use your own judgement about weather and boat condition, and travel insured.

Corrections

If something here is wrong, write to contact@maduriver.boats. We will check it, correct it, and update the date on the page.

Frequently asked questions

Is this the official Madu River website?

No. Madu River Boats is an independent guide with no formal connection to any boat operator on the Madu Ganga, to the owners of any jetty, or to any Sri Lankan government or tourism body.

Do you sell tickets?

No. We take no payments and issue no vouchers. Booking links go to GetYourGuide, where the transaction takes place between you, the platform and the supplier named on the listing.

Do you earn money from the links?

Yes. Booking through a link on this site pays us a commission. Your price is exactly what it would be if you went to the platform directly.

Are the prices on this site guaranteed?

No. Every price here is the lowest advertised rate at the moment we checked it, and the date is stated. Prices move with demand, season and the exchange rate. The live listing is always the authority.

What if a tour goes wrong?

Contact the platform and supplier on your booking confirmation. We have no access to your booking and cannot arrange changes or refunds. We are glad to hear what happened so we can update the site.