Jo & Chris
England, January/February 2020
What did you like most about Sri Lanka?
Pretty much everything, the weather, the wildlife, the food, the people, the history, the culture, the beaches, the fact that everyone speaks English makes life very easy!
What did you like least about Sri Lanka?
Being taken to buffet style restaurants for lunch.
What is your opinion of your accommodation in Sri Lanka?
Fine but variable. We loved Flameback Eco Lodge [Weerawila], Palm Paradise [Cabanas & Villas, Tangalle] and Kalu’s Hideaway [Uda Walawe]. The Other Corner [Habarana] and Zion View [Ella] were fine. Fort Bliss [Galle] and Hanthana House [Kandy] were OK.
What is your opinion of your chauffeur guide in Sri Lanka?
Kapila was very pleasant and helpful. He drove carefully throughout and had a fantastic knowledge of birds (and other wildlife) and an amazing ability to spot birds.
A couple of restaurants we were taken to were not (in our opinion) suitable to eat in (due to their hygiene standards) and Kapila struggled to offer alternatives. Perhaps it would be an idea to provide your chauffeur guides with a list of recommendations close to each tourist destination? [I agree that being offered bland (and more expensive) buffet options is tiresome over a 3-week trip and I prefer to eat in local places rather than touristy restaurants. However, as hard as we have tried over the years to source a network of quality (and clean!) lunch stops, none have lasted more than a couple of visits due to a lowering of standards, change in management or closures, hence the guides’ propensity to take you to straightforward eateries. That said, I am surprised that Kapila took you to unhygienic restaurants and will request an explanation. Apologies if this affected your enjoyment of the trip.]
What is your opinion of your flights to and from Sri Lanka?
We travelled business class with Sri Lankan and it was very pleasant. [own arrangements]
Any other comments?
We were surprised that the train tickets to Ella were for a different time and a different class from that on the itinerary, the train was fine but it did create some confusion
I would have loved to spend more time in Polonnaruwa, but hadn’t realized that we had to leave to have lunch and then couldn’t return. It might have been interesting to suggest a boxed lunch for that day. [The single-entry Cultural Triangle tickets are an annoyance and not like other countries, unfortunately – why they aren’t day tickets still perplexes me. In future, I will highlight this restriction clearly in the information we send out so that visitors like yourselves have the choice of staying longer at the cultural sites if they wish. Apologies again if you feel as though you missed out at all.]
The full day safari in Yala was fabulous, both the company used and the specific driver we had were excellent.
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