Silver Dawn - Singapore to Mumbai: Sri Lanka & the Spice Coast

Where this cruise calls, day by day

13 ports and 5 sea days over 17 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Singapore

   SingaporeDepart

   Singapore is the turnaround hub for most Southeast Asia itineraries, so for a lot of passengers it is embarkation day rather than a port call. Ships use either Marina Bay Cruise Centre, purpose-built for the largest hulls, or the older HarbourFront terminal next to VivoCity. What you get on arrival is an efficient, very hot city where the metro is fast and cheap and almost nothing worth seeing is more than half an hour away.

   • Gardens by the Bay - the Supertree Grove, Cloud Forest and Flower Dome
   • Hawker lunch at Maxwell Food Centre or Lau Pa Sat
   • Chinatown and the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, then the shophouses of Little India
   • Singapore Botanic Gardens and its National Orchid Garden

   Getting ashore

   Docked. Marina Bay Cruise Centre is a 10-minute walk from Marina South Pier MRT and a short taxi from downtown; HarbourFront sits directly above its own MRT station.

   Best months

   Feb-Apr (driest); hot and humid year-round

2. Day 2

   Port Klang (Kuala Lumpur)

   MalaysiaPort

   Port Klang is Malaysia's main container gateway, and the cruise berth is at Boustead Cruise Centre out on Pulau Indah, a good way from anything. Kuala Lumpur is the draw and it is an hour or more inland, with traffic that can turn ugly on the return leg. Passengers who would rather stay local usually settle for the Hindu shrines at Batu Caves, which are on the KL road anyway.

   • The Petronas Twin Towers and the KLCC park below them
   • Batu Caves - the 272 steps and the golden Murugan statue
   • Merdeka Square and the Sultan Abdul Samad Building
   • Central Market and the food stalls of Jalan Alor

   Getting ashore

   Docked at Boustead Cruise Centre, Pulau Indah; Kuala Lumpur is about 40km inland, 60-90 minutes each way depending on traffic, and there is nothing walkable at the terminal.

   Best months

   May-Jul (relatively drier); rain is possible any month

3. Day 3

   Phuket

   ThailandPort

   Phuket is a large island rather than a single town, and where your ship puts you changes the day considerably. In the November-to-April high season most ships anchor off Patong and run tenders to the beach; in the wetter months they use the deepwater pier at Ao Makham on the east coast. Patong is loud and commercial, but Old Phuket Town's Sino-Portuguese shophouses are a genuinely different Thailand.

   • Old Phuket Town - Thalang Road's Sino-Portuguese shophouses and the Chinese shrines
   • The Big Buddha on Nakkerd Hill, with the view over Chalong Bay
   • Wat Chalong, the island's largest and busiest temple
   • A longtail or speedboat out to Phang Nga Bay and the limestone stacks

   Getting ashore

   Varies by season - tender to Patong Beach in the Nov-Apr high season, or dock at Phuket Deep Sea Port (Ao Makham), about 20-30 minutes from Patong and 15 from Old Phuket Town.

   Best months

   Nov-Apr (dry season, calm Andaman)

4. Day 4

   Phuket

   ThailandPort

   Phuket is a large island rather than a single town, and where your ship puts you changes the day considerably. In the November-to-April high season most ships anchor off Patong and run tenders to the beach; in the wetter months they use the deepwater pier at Ao Makham on the east coast. Patong is loud and commercial, but Old Phuket Town's Sino-Portuguese shophouses are a genuinely different Thailand.

   • Old Phuket Town - Thalang Road's Sino-Portuguese shophouses and the Chinese shrines
   • The Big Buddha on Nakkerd Hill, with the view over Chalong Bay
   • Wat Chalong, the island's largest and busiest temple
   • A longtail or speedboat out to Phang Nga Bay and the limestone stacks

   Getting ashore

   Varies by season - tender to Patong Beach in the Nov-Apr high season, or dock at Phuket Deep Sea Port (Ao Makham), about 20-30 minutes from Patong and 15 from Old Phuket Town.

   Best months

   Nov-Apr (dry season, calm Andaman)

5. Day 5 · At sea

6. Day 6 · At sea

7. Day 7

   Trincomalee

   Sri LankaPort

   Trincomalee sits on one of the largest natural harbours in the world, on Sri Lanka's north-east coast, and ships anchor in it and tender ashore. The town is small and easily covered on foot: a Portuguese fort on the headland, with a Hindu temple on the cliff beyond it. Everything else is beaches and reef, spread north along the coast road.

   • Koneswaram Temple on Swami Rock, reached by walking up through Fort Frederick
   • Fort Frederick itself, still partly military, with deer wandering the grounds
   • Uppuveli and Nilaveli beaches north of town
   • Snorkelling at Pigeon Island National Park, a short boat ride off Nilaveli

   Getting ashore

   Tender into the harbour; the town centre and Fort Frederick are walkable from the landing, and Nilaveli is about 10km (20-30 minutes) north.

   Best months

   Apr-Sep (the east coast's dry season, the reverse of Colombo)

8. Day 8

   Trincomalee

   Sri LankaPort

   Trincomalee sits on one of the largest natural harbours in the world, on Sri Lanka's north-east coast, and ships anchor in it and tender ashore. The town is small and easily covered on foot: a Portuguese fort on the headland, with a Hindu temple on the cliff beyond it. Everything else is beaches and reef, spread north along the coast road.

   • Koneswaram Temple on Swami Rock, reached by walking up through Fort Frederick
   • Fort Frederick itself, still partly military, with deer wandering the grounds
   • Uppuveli and Nilaveli beaches north of town
   • Snorkelling at Pigeon Island National Park, a short boat ride off Nilaveli

   Getting ashore

   Tender into the harbour; the town centre and Fort Frederick are walkable from the landing, and Nilaveli is about 10km (20-30 minutes) north.

   Best months

   Apr-Sep (the east coast's dry season, the reverse of Colombo)

9. Day 9

   Galle

   Sri LankaPort

   Galle is a tender port on Sri Lanka's south coast, and the reason to come is right there when you land: a Dutch-built walled town on a headland, still lived in, with ramparts you can walk the whole way round. Inside the fort are churches, a lighthouse, coral-rag warehouses turned into cafes and jewellers. The harbour is a naval base, so expect security checks on the way ashore.

   • Walking the Galle Fort ramparts, ideally the lighthouse and Flag Rock corner
   • The Dutch Reformed Church and the old warehouses of Church Street
   • Unawatuna Beach, a few kilometres east
   • A sea turtle hatchery on the coast road towards Habaraduwa

   Getting ashore

   Tender ashore - the ride is only a few minutes, and the fort entrance is a 15-20 minute walk from the landing, or a very short tuk-tuk.

   Best months

   Dec-Apr (south-coast dry season)

10. Day 10

    Colombo

    Sri LankaPort

    Colombo berths cruise ships in a working commercial port, usually at Queen Elizabeth Quay, and you will be shuttled to the gate rather than allowed to walk through the container terminal. Once outside, the Fort district starts almost immediately. It is a hot, traffic-clogged, genuinely interesting capital - colonial arcades, Buddhist temples and a seafront promenade that fills up at dusk.

    • Gangaramaya Temple and the Seema Malaka pavilion on Beira Lake
    • The Pettah market district and the red-and-white Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque
    • Galle Face Green at the end of the afternoon, when the food carts appear
    • The Old Dutch Hospital shopping precinct and the colonial buildings of Fort

    Getting ashore

    Docked in the commercial port; a shuttle runs from the ship to the port gate at Fort, a five-minute ride, after which the Fort district is walkable. Kandy, at nearly four hours each way, is not a port-day trip.

    Best months

    Dec-Mar (dry season on the west coast)

11. Day 11

    Colombo

    Sri LankaPort

    Colombo berths cruise ships in a working commercial port, usually at Queen Elizabeth Quay, and you will be shuttled to the gate rather than allowed to walk through the container terminal. Once outside, the Fort district starts almost immediately. It is a hot, traffic-clogged, genuinely interesting capital - colonial arcades, Buddhist temples and a seafront promenade that fills up at dusk.

    • Gangaramaya Temple and the Seema Malaka pavilion on Beira Lake
    • The Pettah market district and the red-and-white Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque
    • Galle Face Green at the end of the afternoon, when the food carts appear
    • The Old Dutch Hospital shopping precinct and the colonial buildings of Fort

    Getting ashore

    Docked in the commercial port; a shuttle runs from the ship to the port gate at Fort, a five-minute ride, after which the Fort district is walkable. Kandy, at nearly four hours each way, is not a port-day trip.

    Best months

    Dec-Mar (dry season on the west coast)

12. Day 12 · At sea

13. Day 13

    Cochin

    IndiaPort

    Cochin's cruise terminals sit on Willingdon Island, a man-made island in the middle of the harbour, which means a short hop by road or ferry to get anywhere interesting. Fort Kochi is the destination - a Portuguese, Dutch and British trading post layered on top of itself, where the cantilevered Chinese fishing nets still work the tide. Across the water in Mattancherry is one of the oldest Jewish quarters in Asia.

    • The Chinese fishing nets and St Francis Church at Fort Kochi
    • The Mattancherry (Dutch) Palace and the Paradesi Synagogue in Jew Town
    • A Kathakali dance performance, usually staged in the afternoon for visitors
    • A backwater cruise, either locally around Kochi or the longer run to Alleppey

    Getting ashore

    Docked at the Samudrika or Sagarika cruise terminals on Willingdon Island; Fort Kochi is 10km by road (20-30 minutes) or a 15-20 minute public ferry ride.

    Best months

    Nov-Feb (dry, cooler); the monsoon runs Jun-Sep

14. Day 14

    Cochin

    IndiaPort

    Cochin's cruise terminals sit on Willingdon Island, a man-made island in the middle of the harbour, which means a short hop by road or ferry to get anywhere interesting. Fort Kochi is the destination - a Portuguese, Dutch and British trading post layered on top of itself, where the cantilevered Chinese fishing nets still work the tide. Across the water in Mattancherry is one of the oldest Jewish quarters in Asia.

    • The Chinese fishing nets and St Francis Church at Fort Kochi
    • The Mattancherry (Dutch) Palace and the Paradesi Synagogue in Jew Town
    • A Kathakali dance performance, usually staged in the afternoon for visitors
    • A backwater cruise, either locally around Kochi or the longer run to Alleppey

    Getting ashore

    Docked at the Samudrika or Sagarika cruise terminals on Willingdon Island; Fort Kochi is 10km by road (20-30 minutes) or a 15-20 minute public ferry ride.

    Best months

    Nov-Feb (dry, cooler); the monsoon runs Jun-Sep

15. Day 15 · At sea

16. Day 16 · At sea

17. Day 17

    Mumbai

    IndiaPort

    Mumbai now has a proper cruise terminal at Indira Dock, opened in 2025, which puts ships a ten-minute drive from the Gateway of India instead of somewhere out in the container yards. The city that greets you is enormous and unfiltered, with Victorian Gothic and Art Deco architecture along the seafront and slums pressed against tower blocks. It rewards a plan; it punishes aimless wandering in the heat.

    • The Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Palace hotel opposite it
    • Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, the UNESCO-listed Victorian Gothic railway station
    • Marine Drive and the Dhobi Ghat open-air laundry
    • The Elephanta Caves, rock-cut Shiva temples an hour by ferry from the Gateway

    Getting ashore

    Docked at Mumbai International Cruise Terminal, Indira Dock; the Gateway of India is 10-15 minutes by car, though port security means you take a vehicle rather than walk out.

    Best months

    Nov-Feb (dry, bearable); avoid the Jun-Sep monsoon

18. Day 18

    Mumbai

    IndiaArrive

    Mumbai now has a proper cruise terminal at Indira Dock, opened in 2025, which puts ships a ten-minute drive from the Gateway of India instead of somewhere out in the container yards. The city that greets you is enormous and unfiltered, with Victorian Gothic and Art Deco architecture along the seafront and slums pressed against tower blocks. It rewards a plan; it punishes aimless wandering in the heat.

    • The Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Palace hotel opposite it
    • Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, the UNESCO-listed Victorian Gothic railway station
    • Marine Drive and the Dhobi Ghat open-air laundry
    • The Elephanta Caves, rock-cut Shiva temples an hour by ferry from the Gateway

    Getting ashore

    Docked at Mumbai International Cruise Terminal, Indira Dock; the Gateway of India is 10-15 minutes by car, though port security means you take a vehicle rather than walk out.

    Best months

    Nov-Feb (dry, bearable); avoid the Jun-Sep monsoon