Barbara & Jeremy
England, December 2025
What did you like most about Sri Lanka?
The people are lovely. The flora and fauna are outstandingly gorgeous and interesting. The geography of the island is amazing to see. Having been to India we appreciated the cleanliness everywhere we were in Sri Lanka.
What did you like least about Sri Lanka?
The longish drives in the hills due to winding roads – but necessary to get to great locations!
What is your opinion of your accommodation in Sri Lanka?
All excellent, really very good, very hard to compare because they all offered something different – think you chose very well for us. We especially liked Ellerton [Bungalow, Kandy] simply because we met the owner Luca and his wife – and Jeremy speaks Italian so we had a lovely experience there.
[Uga Ulagalla, Thirippane; Ellerton Bungalow, Kandy; Camellia Hills, Dickoya; Kumu Beach, Balapitiya; Paradise Road Tintagel, Colombo]
What is your opinion of your chauffeur guide in Sri Lanka?
This is difficult to answer because we were disappointed. We have been on quite a few private and small group tours (Uzbekistan, India, Georgia, Oman, Japan, Azerbaijan etc) and we felt Anura was perhaps the least impressive guide, least communicative and least entertaining (in a sense of presenting historical information enthusiastically or building up a context about what we were seeing or where we were going) we have ever had. At one point I asked how many tours he had led recently and he said ours was the first one this year, eg, in all of 2025. He had been a delivery driver the rest of the time. Perhaps he had been unwell? [Anura obviously misinterpreted your question since he was the chauffeur guide on many holidays during 2025... I am unsure why he would affirm otherwise.]
If you have met him John, perhaps your ear is more attuned to the lilt of his voice, or the syntax used by Sinhalese non-native English speakers – but we found it very difficult to understand him, especially as he mumbled, or seemed to be chewing on something (cough candies??). We would ask him to say it again more slowly, but too often we were still left unsure of what he was describing. And too often, if we asked a question, speaking slowly and clearly, he couldn’t quite work out what we asking about so we would give up and just google it. We made a note that we had to simplify our questions, but even so, it didn’t help us to get more information about something. In effect, we learned more by reading our guide book than from Anura.
Please note: He is a very very kind and gentle man, and clearly a dedicated husband and father as he delighted in telling us about his family. He is an enthusiastic nature lover – we liked that. We always felt well looked after and cared for. He presented us with a huge bag of bananas on the first day that we couldn’t possibly have eaten in the whole week of travelling with him. He was always on time and he also showed concern if we were comfortable and happy.
We ended up having a very weird phone call with Pathi. He had obviously tried to message me using the wrong number – and that took a bit of sorting out. (Interesting Anura does not use a smart phone). When we managed to speak, it was to do with lining up our departure /pick up times from hotels after our stay at Ellerton – and subsequent messages from Pathi seemed to cover the same thing. All a bit repetitive.
Also: On our pick up at the airport, with a 4 hour drive to do, Anura did not have water in the van for us. We had to stop somewhere for him to get it – every other driver we had always had water for us in the car.
Also: I know it’s different in Sri Lanka but drivers really must not be making or answering mobile phone calls while driving! Ever. If they need directions, then they should pull over.
[Well, I don't know where to start with your comments concerning Anura, who I know well after many years of working with us. I am really sorry that you found him difficult to understand and not up to the standard of previous guide experiences elsewhere around the world. His inability to communicate effectively with you from the start was a serious issue, which you should have raised with us immediately so that we could have made alternative guide arrangements. We understand that customers do not always 'fit' with the guide appointed to them and we are always more than happy to change guides if requested. However, his behaviour is another issue. We ALWAYS instruct our guides to carry bottled drinking water in the vehicles, and NEVER to use mobile phones when driving, which is an absolute prohibition. We will be taking him to task about these issues and I apologise if you felt unsafe at any time due to his inappropriate and irresponsible actions.]
What is your opinion of your flights to and from Sri Lanka?
Fine, terrific, no problem. [Etihad Airways - Economy Class - London Heathrow]
Any other comments?
The spice garden Anura took us to was dreadful. You can view the comments on TripAdvisor to see that it receives a low rating. I was super looking forward to it and then we couldn’t wait to leave. [We apologise for your experience at the spice garden which Anura chose for your visit. However, Tikalanka does not recommend a visit to a spice garden as a matter of policy since past customers' experiences have been mixed to say the least.]
We ended up using a Tuk Tuk guide in Colombo for 3 hours – he was terrific, spoke excellent English and was young and enthusiastic and all the things we had hoped for with Anura.
While staying at KUMU [Beach] we met a very illustrious Sri Lankan family who stopped there for drinks and to see how the hotel was developing. We got chatting with them as our room opened onto the lawn near where they were sitting. It turns out he owns the land that KUMU is on, and is the Chair of the Geoffrey Bawa Foundation – you can always look up the foundation for more info. We had a very interesting chat with him and his family. A bit like meeting Sri Lankan royalty! [We know the foundation well and regularly visit the properties managed by it, particulary Lunuganga Estate near Bentota, and No. 11, 33rd Lane and De Saram House in Colombo.]
All in all, we loved our trip and we have already recommended Tikalanka to friends but with the proviso to be specific with what they’re looking for in a guide/driver. [We very much appreciate your recommendations of Tikalanka to friends and sincerely apologise for your poor guiding experience with Anura.]
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