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 Traveller's Tales: Places to go and see in Colombo, Sri Lanka
Take a tour of the top places to go in Colombo, Sri Lanka. You may read about must see places and activities in the area. Also, you might want to read our
Sri Lanka city guide.
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| J Ranasinghe |
24 May 2005 |
Stayed at Mount Lavinia Hotel - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
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Colombo - don't drive!! take taxi's!
Must visit - Sigiriya and surrounding cultural triangle. Pinnawela Elephant orphanage.
Shopping - some good stores for cheap good export quality clothes - Odel, Arena, House of Fashion
Advice- leave early on tours, distance is not great but driving is hectic hence give enough time for the road. Don't eat from dodgy road side outlets; take plenty of water, drink plenty of king coconut!!! Sri Lankan Papaya and pineapple is the best in the world!!!!
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| G Newall |
17 April 2005 |
Stayed at Taj Airport Garden - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
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Sri Lanka is just gorgeous. Stunning beaches and clear blue warm water. Galle Fort is interesting for a day or so. We also did a safari in one of the National Parks, which was fantastic. Had a wonderful dinner in the Sun House in Galle. Food at the Amans is also good, though you need order well ahead of being hungry.
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| R Rogers |
08 September 2004 |
Stayed at Mount Lavinia Hotel - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
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Avoided all organised tours, took bus to Trincomale & then on up to Nilaveli, stayed and Nilaveli Beach Hotel - fantastic value, super friendly & beautiful location. Train Kandy to/from Colombo highly reccomended. Visit Dambulla Cave Temples & Temple of the Tooth in Kandy - so worthwhile.
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| M Ellam |
10 April 2004 |
Stayed at Apa Colombo House - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
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We didn't spend long in Colombo but do visit the 19th century Galle Face Hotel on the seafront. The National Museum is recommended. Getting around the city is easy and cheap by tuk-tuk, but negotiate the price down before you get in. Paradise Road is a smart shop for interesting local nik-naks and souvenirs. But the cafe is overpriced.
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| A Lee |
10 November 2003 |
Stayed at Galle Face Hotel - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
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Tours: My visit was 2.5 days, so I only took one tour. For convenience and reliability, I arranged for a hotel car and driver to take the 3 hour drive up the mountain to Kandy, for a full day tour (55USD). My driver spent most of the time braking and honking to pass on the one lane roads, but drivers seem used to this system. Kandy is most noted for the large, colonial-built Buddhist temple (“Tooth Relic temple”). Other touristy stops include the Baby Elephant Orphanage (which I skipped); the Botanical Gardens (spice garden, nice selection of local and rare species); handicrafts shops; and of course, the ubiquitous jewelry shops. Fortunately, it was a holiday (every full moon), so most of the shops were closed, and I was able to stroll along without too many hawking shopkeepers. Non-locals are charged a small entrance fee for the Temple (200 LKR) and Botanical Gardens (300 LKR).
In front of the hotel and during my walks, the tuk-tuk drivers were persistent but not overly aggressive. Advice: carry lots of 50 and 100 LKRs, and bargain, and agree on the fare before entering the tuk-tuk otherwise you will be charged an outrageous price. The fare from the hotel to the downtown area should be only about 100-200 LKRs. Of course, gem and jewelry prices are very inflated for tourists, so bargain hard.
Touts: can be avoided with a friendly "no,thanks" but two, in particular, to watch for: 1) a friendly, elderly gentleman will start a conversation while you are walking down the road, he will tell you he is a teacher for a Blind and Deaf school and then will ask you for a donation, showing you a list signed by donors (all western names). 2) A friendly man will tell you about some special local event he is on his way to attend and invite you along. For example, that today is a special day at the Buddhist temple, when they are showing the bone relics. He will also try to show you the sacred elephant that carried the bone relics and take you to a jewelry factory with the “best, non-tourist,” prices. His tuk-tuk driver will try to charge you USD40 for the “tour.” If you are curious and go along, make sure the tuk-tuk cost is agreed in advance, for each leg of the “tour.”
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| T Vaidya |
30 May 2003 |
Stayed at Taj Samudra - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
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Was there on business so did not get to see much. Went up to a hill station called Nuwara Eliya - pretty, amidst tea estates and clinging on to its colonial past which is refreshing.
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| M Crain |
16 April 2003 |
Stayed at Colombo Plaza, The - Colombo, Sri Lanka.
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Sri Lanka is a truly lovely country. I don't believe April is the best time to visit as it is coming into monsoon season and the sea was fairly rough. Was told that the eastern side of the island is better at this time of year. The mountain areas are a must see. My advice is hire a car or van with a driver as their road rules are very very different to anywhere else in the world and it makes for a far more relaxing visit to be driven rather than self drive.
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