Wonders of Asia - Sri Lanka
The ground handler Boulsted Whittam Travel met us, and our guide Tikka was very knowledgeable. He was called tikipedia by the end of the trip!
We transferred to Negombo which took about 40 mins to get to the Jet Wing beach hotel which is a 4-star hotel. We had lunch there with the rep and then went on to the Jet Wing sea hotel. We stayed at this hotel for 1 night. I would recommend these hotels for a pre or post tour. Both are quite central to Negombo town.
The next day we travelled to Habarana – a 4-hour transfer from Negombo - the roads aren’t great over there. Plus, we had torrential rain so some of the roads were shut which made the journeys longer. This area is in the heart of Sri Lanka where you can explore the cultural triangle of Sri Lanka We stayed at the Cinnamon Lodge – a nice bungalow style accommodation. We went to see the Habarana village which is only 5 minutes from Cinnamon Lodge. Both are nice 4-star hotels.
The excursion we went on was the Minneriya National Park which is an Elephant safari. About 55USD per person. It’s not advisable for back troubled clients and takes around 4 hours.
The next day was to climb Sigiriya Rock - 1202 steps on four different platforms (so you can have a breather)! It took about 3 hours to get up and down the rock!
Then onto Kandy the following day which took about 2 hours to get there from Sigiriya. We stayed at the Citadel Cinnamon Hotel which was very nice in a lovely location. There is a lovely pool and it has a very homely feel.
Went to the Temple of the Tooth and watched a cultural dance show at Red Cross Hall. We popped in at Nuwara Eliya. A lovely town to stay in - I would stay here when I go back! The Jetwing St Andrews hotel is a lovely little hotel quite central and quaint. We then went up to the tea factory Heritance hotel - again lovely hotel but out of the way.
We were supposed to pick tea at the Glenoch tea factory, but it was raining! We went through the factory to see how tea is made. Very interesting. The process takes four days and only women work at the plantation. We then went to the elephant safari. Grand Udawalawe Safari Resort (where the cricketers stay) has a jungle feel! It’s just a few minutes from the elephant transit and the elephant feeding time is very cute.
Finally, we got a beach day at the lovely Anantara Peace Haven hotel in Tangalle. This is 5 stars with a lovely infinity pool, Italian restaurant and lots of choice for breakfast – they even organized a breakfast box for our 5am start on the last day, for our 4-hour journey back to the airport.
At Colombo airport coming home you go through security checks 4 times, so you need to get to the airport early. We came home on the daytime flight. There is a quick turnaround at Heathrow. We got off the flight at 8pm, retrieved luggage and then headed for my drive back up north.
Just a few pointers…
The west coast has a nice beach but rough current. Monsoon season is May to November.
The east coast is much better for swimming in the sea. You can get a flight from Colombo up to the east coast – it is quite reasonable too!
The best time to travel is December to April.
A great and interesting trip! I hope you enjoy the read!