Independent Tailor-made Holidays to Sri Lanka & Maldives

Before we send a suggested itinerary and quote, here is my feedback on your wish list:

• Direct flights with British Airways from London Gatwick are available for departure on 06 August 2014 and return on 21 August 2014.
• Yala – possible, but see my comments below.
• Ella – potentially affected by the monsoon. A stay at Ceylon Tea Trails is always recommended as it is one of the best accommodation available on the island, however the Hatton/Adam’s Peak area may be wet at this time of year, also.
• Polonnaruwa – recommended and not affected by the southwest monsoon.
• Kandy – recommended, especially during early August this year as the Esala Perahera, an elephant parade in homage to the sacred Buddha tooth relic and one of the cultural highlights of the year, is 01-10 August 2014. For your information, we no longer promote or visit Pinnewala Elephant ‘Orphanage’ following adverse reports from Travellers’ Animal Alert, the global animal welfare campaign of the Born Free Foundation we support, and some of our own customers.
• Mirissa – potentially affected by the monsoon. Also, the whale watching season off the south coast from Mirissa is between November and April.
• Sigiriya – recommended and not affected by the southwest monsoon.

Considering the southwest monsoon, I would suggest a different itinerary for your trip, which would begin in Kandy (or Ceylon Tea Trails) and then head north into the Cultural Triangle and across to the east coast, which is unaffected by the southwest monsoon. Wildlife watching opportunities include the ‘gathering’ of large herds of elephants in Minneriya National Park (August to October), which is between Habarana and Polonnaruwa, and whale watching off the east coast from Nilaveli (June to October) and a visit to Wilpattu National Park, the island’s largest wildlife reserve. Other sites of interest include Dambulla cave temples and potentially Anuradhapura and Mihintale, if you would like to see more of the cultural heritage of the island. If you are interested, please get back to us and we will check availability before suggesting an itinerary and sending a quote.

To answer your questions:

• All of our holidays include a dedicated Sri Lanka Tourist Board-licensed chauffeur guide with a/c transport.
• The better quality accommodation has in-house executive chefs who will cater for your every need! These will be the types of places I will be recommending in your itinerary.
• I will select hotels based on your requirements.
• Again, the better quality accommodation has King-size beds.
• I suggest staying at Ceylon Tea Trails (near Hatton in the south-western Hill Country), Kandy, Sigiriya, east coast beach and then Dambulla on your way back to the airport. This shouldn’t be too much travelling (except for the drive back to the airport from the east coast beach and I suggest breaking the journey in any case), and the itinerary will enable you to see the major sites and stay at the best beach at this time of year. As a gauge by road, airport to Tea Trails is 4 hours, Tea Trails to Kandy is 2.5 hours, Kandy to Sigiriya is 2.5 hours, Sigiriya to Nilaveli is 4 hours, Nilaveli to Dambulla is 4 hours and Dambulla to airport is 3 hours.
• Yes, if you stay at Ceylon Tea Trails and transfer to Nanu Oya railway station close to Nuwara Eliya, there is a train at 12.00 which arrives in Kandy at around 16.00. Tea Trails to Nanu Oya by road is about 2 hours.

Please confirm that you are happy with the outline ideas and I will check availability before suggesting an itinerary and sending a quote.

Quotation and itinerary sent.