| R Hulme |
09 August 2005 |
Stayed at Deer Park Hotel - Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka.
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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
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| O Tay |
22 May 2005 |
Stayed at Galle Face Hotel - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
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It is easy to go up and down Galle Road by public bus, instead of dealing with the insouciance of the three-wheeler drivers parked outside the hotel, who will overcharge for very short rides and often won't accept reasonable offers.
Just ask a friendly local at the bus stop opposite the hotel on Galle Road, if the bus goes down to wherever your destination is and hop on. A chap holding a bunch of tickets will come up to you and get your fare. Be ready with small change. The fare for a trip to where the Barefoot boutique is costs about Rs.5-8.
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| J Ranasinghe |
21 May 2005 |
Stayed at Trans Asia - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
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take a tuk tuk ride!
In the city - Eat Lamprais! Don't overkill on rice and curry, you will end up with indigestion due to the excessive use of chilli powder. Take gaviscon/digene :-)
Don't change currency at the hotel, rate is very low.
Plenty of nice restuarant with great atmosphere to go to. Visit Galleria Paradise Road.
Gay scene at Kolu's! super!
Shoppping - Odel, Arena, House of Fashion, Paradise Road
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| J Williams |
09 April 2005 |
Stayed at Citadel Hotel - Kandy, Sri Lanka.
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From this hotel we were close to the Pinnewala Elephant reserve, great for families to see these amazing creatures close up. Central Kandy was very accessible with lots of interesting sights and walks. We visited a tea plantation and factory nearby which was very informative and a Batik factory and shop. On the Kandy to Colombo road on the way back we stopped at one of the Spice plantations (no.100) which we toured with a Guide, had a complimentary massage with some of their products and obviously bombarded with sales talk to buy some (quite) expensive products.
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| A Kirk |
18 March 2005 |
Stayed at Grand Oriental Hotel - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
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Just a short visit to Sri Lanka of 7 nights and although usually an independent traveller preferring to use local transport, we booked a very good holiday with Mr. Lindley who has a Tourist Office right near the Ist Class Booking Office at Colombo Fort Railway Station. For a modest fee two of us had our own use of a mini bus and driver with bed and breakfast at hotels in the Central Highlands. Sri Lanka is very cheap to travel in as is eating out. A good place to visit with friendly people.
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| P Hoddinott |
19 February 2005 |
Stayed at Deer Park Hotel - Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka.
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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.
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| M Gelvezon |
13 February 2005 |
Stayed at Galle Face Hotel - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
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I highly recommend JNW Lanka Tours, run by Mr. Wazeer. They are very reliable, very flexible, and have a good fleet of vans and excellent chauffers. Their package tour rates are competitive and I would choose them over any other tour company in Colombo because of their professionalism. One can also design one's own itinerary and Mr. Wazeer will fine-tune it for you. Visit their website www.jnwtours.com
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| G Chown |
15 November 2004 |
Stayed at Taj Exotica - Bentota, Sri Lanka.
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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.
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| C Yvon |
25 October 2004 |
Stayed at Sea Garden Hotel - Negombo, Sri Lanka.
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It's easy and recommended to ask for a driver because driving in Sri Lanka is very dangerous for foreigners! You can find a driver in each hotel and it's not too expensive (4500 rs all included per day).
In Hikkaduwa, taxi service DOUGLES B. GAMAGE was great (091-2277773 or 077-6065819). We had a 4 day-tour with him; sailing an old catamaran at Negombo, bodyboarding at Hikkaduwa,tea plantations and factory, orphanage elephant were great .
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| C Neumann |
24 October 2004 |
Stayed at Blue Water, The - Mount Lavinia, Sri Lanka.
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Opposite of the entrance is a travel agent (called Bennetton Travel) who offers trips to every place in Sri Lanka; reasonably priced and well organized; if you want to go cheaper - there are free-lancer taxis available or 3-wheelers for shorter distances.
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Traveller's Tales: Getting around in Sri Lanka
