Andrew & Janice
Australia, June/July 2026
What did you like most about Sri Lanka?
Warmth, food, different ecosystems, beaches, wildlife, birds, snorkelling.
What did you like least about Sri Lanka?
Too much rubbish around – such a shame.
What is your opinion of your accommodation in Sri Lanka?
It was great. Loved all of the hotels.
Maho [Boutique Hotel, Anuradhapura] had the best chef.
[The] Palmyrah [House] Mannar was beautiful but the natural pools were a bit skanky (dry season).
Great swimming pool and food [at] Fox [Jaffna] was great in Jaffna.
C-beyond [Nilaveli, Nilaveli] was cute beachy vibe and rustic.
Anantaya Passikuda [Resort & Spa, Passikudah] was great (great clean wide beach), and they’ve just opened a seafood restaurant on the beach which is excellent.
Lake Lodge [Kandalama] in Dambulla lovely (we were the only ones there, as the pool-precinct had just finished being renovated).
Lake Lodge by Nyne Colombo was chic and lovely with an excellent restaurant (Table by Nyne – or ‘TbyN’).
What is your opinion of your chauffeur guide in Sri Lanka?
Ravi was lovely, excellent driver – considerate, happy to collect us 4:30 am to climb Pidurangala, and had initiative to arrange a snorkelling / dinner / lagoon cruise package in Trinco. Well presented and helpful.
He had a good knowledge of wildlife and birds, and a good eye.
He tended to forget that we’d like to have lunch! So we needed to remind him. Vegetable roti’s were a godsend! [We will emphasise to Ravi that our customers do like lunch even if he doesn't! Hope you didn't go hungry too often...]
Some driving round touring Mannar was boring (e.g. along the SW side by all the wind turbines --- ) but that’s really only a minor criticism.
Would be better to communicate each day what the plan was – often we weren’t really sure. [We do encourage our guides to outline plans 24 hours ahead so we will remind Ravi. Thanks for your forbearance.]
The snorkelling trip that he arranged in Trinco with a friend was very basic and dinner by the lagoon was bordering on scungy – some guests would have struggled with it. Hugely generous, but very basic conditions otherwise. [We apologise for the poor standard of this excursion and the dinner provided. I am afraid that we have no direct control of the guide's recommendations en route but we will discuss with Ravi how to proceed in the future.]
What is your opinion of your flights to and from Sri Lanka?
Easy from Melbourne, direct MEL-CMB about 10 hrs. [Arranged own flights]
Any other comments?
Thank you for your assistance, John. Communication with Mahesh in Kandy was good.
We’re considering doing a trip in 2028 with our adult kids / partners / grandkids. They’re into surfing so > 5 days at Arugam bay would be in order sometime July – Sept. [That sounds great and we will be delighted to host you in Sri Lanka again, this time en famille! Please get in touch when you are ready to arrange.]
