Top Polonnaruwa Hotels

We would recommend anyone visiting Sri Lanka to stay somewhere near to Polonnaruwa as a visit to Sigiriya and the ancient cities is a must. We thought Sigiriya was spectacular and the climb to the top was not as difficult as expected (try to go at the end of the day when temperatures are cooler). Beware of guides who insist on helping you and then ask for a large fee 30 USD is not appropriate and somewhere around 500 rupees is all that is required. Polonnaruwa needs a minimum of 4 hours and the visit should commence with the excellent museum. We found a guide to be invaluable and very reasonable. Unless you have a second stop near to Anuradhapura we did not think sightseeing worth the long journey if you have already visited Polonnaruwa. We rented a micro bus and driver for our trip and found it both excellent value and a pleasurable way to see the country. Our guide spoke excellent English and directed us to various places to stop on route, including a pineapple farm and spice/herb garden. 12 days vehicle hire covering 1500km (Colombo-Polonnaruwa-Anaradhapura-Kandy-Bentota-Galle-Colombo) cost approximately 200GBP

Sigiriya was the highlight for us, and a jeep safari which enabled us to view many elephants and buffalo in the wild. We hired a car with English-speaking driver from Colombo for 30Rps per Km plus 300Rps per day per diem for the driver. A six day tour of the main sights was about 1200Kms.

The 1000 year old remains of the old capital city in Polonnaruwa are certainly worth a visit. It is worth hiring a guide.