Bentota Hotel Reviews

We hired a driver and guide since driving in Sri Lanka is scary. We found having an extra person (the guide) safer since the guide would assist the driver. Getting anywhere takes a long long time via car because of the heavy traffic and poor road conditions. Despite this, Sri Lanka is a beautiful country rich in history...a great experience. My suggestion is to do the hill country and ancient cities first since the driving is tiring and then go to the beaches at the end for some good R&R.

Recommend the visit to the Elephant Orphanage at Pinewallah, worth the 0630 start. Probably best to hire a driver for the day, but ask around as prices vary wildly. We secured a deal for Rps 15 per KM, which is about average, so our trip which included The elephant Orphanage, a spice garden, a Tea Plantation, a pineapple grove plus lots of roadside sights came to £36.00GBP for 2 of us. Be aware though that this is a long day, we left the hotel at 0630 and got back at 2015 hrs.