Jackie & Kate
England & Australia, March/April 2025
What did you like most about Sri Lanka?
Green and luscious vegetation especially the Hill Country.
History / wildlife / fauna / mountains.
People and amazing food.
What did you like least about Sri Lanka?
Traffic in busy areas / vehicle pollution.
On south coast, litter.
What is your opinion of your accommodation in Sri Lanka?
It was all lovely and quirky, even Meena Amma Line Bungalow. Couldn't have asked for anything else. Suited us perfectly.
[Villa Hundira, Negombo; Galkadawala Forest Lodge, Habarana; Hanthana House, Kandy; Meena Amma's Tea Experience, Ambewela; Clove Tree Cottage, Ella; The Spice House, Mirissa; Fort Bliss, Galle]
What is your opinion of your chauffeur guide in Sri Lanka?
Wasantha was the perfect guide. Patient, thoughtful, knowledgeable and kind. Drove us for miles through challenging terrain [with] never a moan or groan.
Bought us jackfruit to try, different types of banana, and we ate cooked sweetcorn at the side of the road.
Hugely knowledgeable on birds.
What is your opinion of your flights to and from Sri Lanka?
Fine. [Arranged own flights]
Any other comments?
Firstly, we had a great holiday with many adventures, highlights and laughs and we’d highly recommend Sri Lanka to our friends and family.
Standouts were Sigiriya, Kandy botanical garden, hill country especially walking up to Ella Rock from Clove Tree and wading across the dam / bitten by leeches! Meena Amma Line Bungalow and Horton Plains Worlds End, bird life, fauna, history, stunning scenery and the people/amazing food.
- Airplane noise at [Villa] Hundira - late at night 1 or 2 very loud and low planes, otherwise not affected.
- Access road to Jetwing [Warwick] Gardens fairly treacherous, narrow, windy 'track', steep drops, helped Wasantha get van around hairpin bends! We were all concerned for our safety and Wasantha totally professional. I feel that Wasantha should have been advised in advance on access 'roads' to all our accommodation as his vehicle was large. [As an experienced professional, Wasantha would have known this area from previous trips since we visit Horton Plains often, but many thanks for helping him out! We appreciate that the tea estate roads in the Hill Country are poor and neglected when you are off-the-beaten-track. I am sorry if you felt unsafe on these roads but Wasantha is an excellent and careful driver, as you experienced firsthand, and our customers' safety is always paramount - we would never knowingly expose you to unnecessary danger.]
- Meena Amma - no time to do any of the items listed in the itinerary. We walked alone through 'hamlet' on arrival late afternoon. Misleading information, sets an unrealistic expectation. [We appreciate that your time was short at this particular location and I am sorry if you felt the information provided was inaccurate or unrealistic. However, depending on timings, various activities are possible from Meena Amma's tea bungalow, and a two-night stay would be preferable and recommended to be able to take in these experiences. Obviously, the rescheduled train trip from Kandy to Hatton instead of the planned route from Nanuoya to Ella on another day reduced the amount of time you had at Meena Amma's, unfortunately, but I hope you enjoyed this other scenic train ride in its place.]
- Clove Tree Cottage - fantastic place to stay and food outstanding. Everything, apart from walks, in itinerary not available. 11am too late in the day to join tour of tea plantation, other guests felt the same. No cookery courses, and no range of hands-on experiences. Unrealistic expectations. We asked and were allowed to watch dinner being prepared x 45 mins. [This is certainly a surprise to us as previous customers have joined in with various activities at AMBA Estate over the years. I am disappointed to hear of your experience and will contact the management to find out what happened during your stay. I realise this is no consolation to you and I apologise unreservedly for the lack of local information or activities.]
- Spice House really lovely and again breakfast outstanding. Whale trip - fortunate to see a 'fin whale' but there had been no Blue Whales x 3 weeks and no 'sperm whales' x 10 days. Occasional dolphin. More 'touristy' than expected, can't say I would recommend doing. [I am afraid that too many boats have now jumped on the bandwagon and offer whale watching safaris from Mirissa. The best way to experience whale watching is on your own private boat, but obviously this comes with price considerations.]
- Litter at small beach near Spice House was bad, you just had to ignore it was there. However, Kate surfed for x 2 days which was great. Traffic and no pavement a huge culture shock.
- Galle fort - one night would have been ample if 'tour guide' available on first afternoon arrival. Hugely knowledgeable and interesting, took us places we normal visitors wouldn't see, would recommend. [We are very pleased to hear that you enjoyed the organised walking tour of Galle fort. Regarding timings, this special daily walking tour is only available from 07.00 to 09.00, so you would not have been able to do it on the afternoon of arrival, I am afraid.]
- Litter on Galle beach awful.
- Abandoned rundown buildings in Galle not expected. As a UNESCO World Heritage Site very disappointing and would not recommend.
- Suggested sightseeing trips from Galle unrealistic as miles away and not in a position to pay a driver for a long road trip. Probably more realistic from Hikkaduwa. [Many of our customers have enjoyed various activities away from Galle when staying there independently, but I appreciate that it will cost extra for the transport.]
- Hugely disappointed not to take train from Nanuoya to Ella. Lots of people we met had obtained tickets and done the journey. [The train from Nanuoya to Ella is by far the most popular section of the island's entire railway network and train tickets are very difficult to purchase during the main tourist seasons. We are sorry that you were disappointed not to take this particular train ride, but we did manage to acquire tickets for the Kandy to Hatton section through the scenic Hill Country. We hope you enjoyed the experience.]
