Holiday in Sri Lanka

[newpup]

We have just booked a 2 week holiday in Sri Lanka for next July. 10 days touring and then 4 days by the beach. Dds will be 10 and 13 by then. Would love any advice and tips from those who have been. thanks

bump anyone?

The beaches on the south coast are wonderful, far better than those on the west. In your position I would travel south from colombo and stop off at Galle, which is a beautiful little Dutch fort. Then head to Mirissa for some beach time. After that there are lots of options. You could head north to the hill country and see Little England (Nuwara Eliya) and then north again to the Cultural Triangle - loads to see here, but Sigiraya is not to be missed.

Sri Lanka is small but travelling takes a really long time, so you do need to plot your route a bit carefully.

Hope this helps

Thanks Bloody. We have booked a tailor made tour with Kuoni, includes our own driver who stays with us for our stay and will take us where we want. We have just taken kuoni's advice regarding where to stay. We are staying 1 night in Columbo then onto Sigiriya, Kandy,Nuwara Eliya, Yala, Galle and then 4 days at the beach in Negombo! So far we have planned a trip to the elephant orphanage in pinnewala and a safari in Yala.

Does that sound good to you? Any tips? thanks

That actually sounds like a fantastic itinerary! I've never been to Negombo but I know it's super convenient for a blast of beach before coming home. Kandy is great. Can I hugely recommend that you treat yourself to a meal at Helga's Folly whilst there? That really is an experience!

SL is a wonderful place, I'm sure you'll have a great time. Oh, another piece of advice - eat at places other than your hotel.

The hotel food is beyond bizarre almost without exception, whereas the little cafes tend to be great.

Thank you! Great to have some advice from someone who has been! Will definately try Helga's Folly. Have not looked it up yet but do you know which vaccinations are needed? Will we need malaria tablets? Thanks again for your advice.

Sorry, I haven't a clue on the vaccinations, but just standard Asia I think. I am really rubbish and don't take malaria tablets despite an addiction to holidaying in malaria-ridden countries. What I reckon though (and I do think this is right!) - Nuwara Eliya is too cool and Kandy too high for malaria but everywhere else is affected. I don't recall mosquitoes ever being a huge problem though..

Thanks. Will look into that.

We went last Easter and took our 4 kids , then aged 3, 5, 7 and 9.
I've blogged about it quite extensively from here if you are interested. Some of the entries are quite brief as they were written on my phone but you will be able to get an idea of where we went and what we did.
Basically we went south from Colombo to stay in a villa just outside Koggala and used that as a base.
It was fantastic, we loved it and would love to go back sometime.

The whole spectrum of the usual vaccinations are needed but they last 10 years.
Great places to eat in Negombo by the beachfront hotels. Take a small torch though, to negotiate the broken pavements, especially if you develop a tast for Arrack (palm whiskey) like me!
Your itinerary sounds fab but be prepared for painfuly slow travel by road from Columbo to Negombo (due to anarchic driving).
I travelled this year from Columbo to Kandy by rail, for the Perahera (annual Temple of the Tooth procession) and the views were to die for. Compared to the road it was a more pleasant experience altogether.
The mozzies in Negombo are the hungriest I have ever encountered but the risk of maleria is small.
Sri Lankan people are very friendly and they love Europeans. I go once a year to visit friends (and stock up on prescription stregnth Retinol A anti wrinkle cream!). I hope you are staying in nice hotels as although they can be quite variable, the nice ones will stay in your dreams forever.
I hope you have a great time.

Oh Thank you everyone! If I was not excited enough I am now! Will read your blog with interest Fivehours, thanks. YNK Will stock up on insect repellent! Hotels look good and have scoured trip advisor. Staying in Jetwing Sea shell in Negombo, looks fab. Hope it is as will we end our trip there with 4 days by the beach!

Oooooh Jetwing is very exclusive!!! By far the poshest hotel in Negombo!
Ive stayed at Blue Dolphin and Browns Beach (closed at the mo) - nowhere near as posh!!! My friends live in Columbo and her mum lives in Negombo so I have had resident guides for all my trips, but I always factor in beach time in Negombo. Nearby shops will sell you 'pay as you go' sim cards for your phones - well worth it for communicating with your tour guide and each other.

That is good to know Thaks YNK.I am super excited now!

We hada similar trip with Kuoni for our honeymoon, although we had two weeks in the Maldives followed by a week touring Sri Lanka.

We started in Colombo at the Lanka Oberei round the coast to Hambantota then up into Kandy and Newara Eliya (the Hill Club is a really experience), climbed Sigirya and went to the Temple of the Tooth and the Botanic Gardens in Kandy. Also went to Polonnuruwa and did the safari at Yala. and ended up tt Negombo but can't remember the names of the hotels.
I am very jealous would love to do it all over again.

Thanks Bruffin. That sounds like an amazing honeymoon. We are going on the safari at Yala too. Dds are so excited.

Anyone been on a Jungle safari? Would love some tips!

The road is full of huge potholes, so hang on for dear life We were in an open landrover

I would take a pair of binoculars and a camera with a good lens. We didn't see any big animals other than a crocodile/alligator resting on a sandbank in the lake, which then opened it's mouth and ate a stork standing near by DH got some lovely photos of weaver birds building their hanging nests.

We did a Yala Safari during Easter and saw crocodiles, wild pigs, crocodiles, buffalo, Monitor lizards, elephants (such cute babies), a leopard and loads of different birds. It was a fantastic experience.
We were in an open landrover with only one seatbelt!

Oh Lord Bruffin! It ate the stork! Lol DDs would love that. Binoculars might have to invest in those. Might have heart failure at the lack of seatbelts though. We went on a rainforest jeep ride in the West Indies it was SCARY, driver only had one eye!!!! But there were seatbelts!

Would love to see a leopard Fivehours.

Wow, this is exactly the thread I need. Planning a trip there at the moment with Dc of 15,11 and 6 so I will follow with interest. Newpup, also planning for July see you there