Diane & Mike
England, February 2018
What did you like most about Sri Lanka?
The spectacular scenery, the diversity, the beautiful beaches and the lovely people.
Also enjoyed the food, particularly the exotic fresh fruit and the variety of spicy curries.
As we like wildlife and nature, our trip to Uda Walawe National Park and the Elephant Transit Home were a highlight.
What did you like least about Sri Lanka?
There were more tourists than we’d expected, which slightly affected our enjoyment of some of the main attractions, eg the Rock Fortress [Sigiriya] and Dambulla cave temples. Also, when we went by boat to see dolphins off Alankuda Beach [Kalpitiya], we were joined by at least 20 other boats looking at the same group of dolphins and at Uda Walawe, despite arriving at 6.00am, there were already 30 jeeps ahead of us.
Whale-watching at Mirissa was a disappointment as, again, there were at least 20 other boats circling the same area. In the event, we only saw 2 whales but from quite a distance and it was hard to see even them, as the 50 odd people on the lower deck all rushed to one side of the boat. The boat journey took around 4.5 hours and we didn’t feel the experience was worth the time spent.
It was difficult to wander around on my own, into the local town or wherever, due to the volume of traffic on the roads - animals and people as well as tuk tuks, bikes, cars, vans, etc!
On the whole, the seas were too rough to swim in without risking getting bowled over by powerful waves.
What is your opinion of your accommodation in Sri Lanka?
All of the accommodation was excellent with large rooms and wonderful views from balconies or terraces.
Some of the accommodation was really stunning, especially Palagama Beach [Kalpitiya], Melheim Resort [Beragala] and Palm Paradise Cabanas & Villas [Tangalle].
The food in general was of a high standard and there was plenty of variety.
The staff were excellent – nothing was too much trouble.
Although it wasn’t a major factor for us, it was amazing that everywhere, however remote, had Wi-Fi access!
What is your opinion of your chauffeur guide in Sri Lanka?
Sateesh was impeccably polite and punctual and did very well to navigate the chaotic roads around Sri Lanka!
He was very attentive and came on all of our excursions ensuring that we had the best experience possible. On the whale trip he was the first one to spot a whale and in Uda Walawe he was able to point out a variety of different birds. He was very knowledgeable about a wide range of topics, including temples, wildlife and nature.
Sateesh was very helpful in identifying extra points of interest on our journey and frequently stopped so that we could admire waterfalls, tea plantations, rice fields and numerous other objects of interest.
Sateesh also recommended good lunch venues, where appropriate, and found places for us to change money, buy postcards, etc.
What is your opinion of your flights to and from Sri Lanka?
The air crew were attentive and the food was good in comparison to other airlines. The in-flight entertainment did not offer many current films, although the choice was better on the return flight. On the outgoing flight, there was a lot of crackling through the earphones.
As the flight was full, space seemed particularly tight, although it’s probably no different from other airlines. [SriLankan Airlines – Economy Class]
Check-in and security checks were very efficient at Heathrow, although less so at Colombo, where we had to wait quite a time to check in our luggage, despite having already checked in online, as they did not have a separate queue for baggage drop.
Although the flights should have been more or less on time, on the return journey we had to circle around Heathrow for at least 45 minutes, which wasn’t helped when the pilot had to abort our first landing attempt as, it seems, he overshot the runway.
Any other comments?
Overall, it was a very interesting and varied trip and we enjoyed it very much.
All of the arrangements worked like clockwork, except the train from Nuwara Eliya to Haputale was delayed by 1.5 hours. Although we could have gone for lunch whilst we waited for the train to depart, we weren’t hungry having had a big breakfast and Mike wasn’t feeling too good so, unfortunately, we didn’t go on the train journey.
In hindsight, we could have spent slightly longer in Kandy, as I don’t feel we saw enough of the highlights. We should have taken your advice and at least visited the botanical gardens.
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