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Blogs from Tikalanka are designed to enhance your knowledge of Sri Lanka and Maldives and keep you up to date with recent developments. We intend to post regular features on travel, news, lifestyle and accommodation as well as guest articles from current and past customers, which will give you first-hand experience of Tikalanka, Sri Lanka and Maldives.
Posted by John on 19th August 2019
The annual closure of Zone 1 of Yala National Park has just been announced from 01 September to 31 October 2019. This allows the normalisation of the wild animals’ natural behavioural patterns and habitats, and to improve the park’s infrastructure. Only Zones 4 and 5 will be open to the public during this period, via the Galge entrance, which is north of Kataragama bordering Lunugamvehera National Park.
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Posted by John on 31st July 2019
Today was the official launch of the Visa Fee Exemption programme to Sri Lanka for 48 countries, including the UK, most of Europe, Australia, Canada and the USA. As from tomorrow, the Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) fee will be waived for six months as another incentive to visit Sri Lanka. Please apply for an ETA in the usual way through the official ETA portal and you will not be charged for a visa if your return date is on or before 31 January 2020.
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Posted by John on 27th July 2019
We sadly say farewell to the Fortaleza hotels and restaurant in Galle Fort this week, which succumbed to the downturn in Sri Lankan tourism since the events on Easter Sunday and have now closed. The villas were some of our favourites in the Fort and we wish the Fortaleza team all of the best for the future. We hope that these properties will reopen at some stage in the future and delight our customers once more. Adieu.
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Posted by John on 20th July 2019
Travelling to Sri Lanka since the tragic events three months ago should not be all about benefiting from discounts and deserted sites and beaches but how your money contributes directly to the Sri Lankans badly affected by the dramatic drop in tourism. As highlighted in The Guardian yesterday, the greatest benefit to travellers going now is the knowledge that their trip will have a direct and significant impact on local lives.
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Posted by John on 15th July 2019
Tikalanka is 15 years old today! So much has happened since we launched in 2004 that it’s hard to remember what Sri Lanka was like way back then. The civil war was about to escalate further, a devastating tsunami hit the island on Boxing Day and tourism was in its infancy. Now, Sri Lanka is at peace and the island is the number one Lonely Planet destination for 2019 – how times have changed! We’ve changed, too, and remain the specialist travel company to Sri Lanka and Maldives.
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Posted by John on 30th June 2019
Until there are zero emissions aircraft we will need to find other strategies to compensate for travelling long-haul… and there are many approaches on offer. Lifestyle adjustments are the obvious and definitive way of reducing your carbon footprint, and to encourage family and friends to follow suit, as well as lobbying parliament and challenging the tourist industry for change. Let’s all make this our mission in life for the sake of our planet!
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Posted by John on 21st June 2019
A present day conundrum is how to travel to far-flung places yet endeavour to be sustainable. With air travel emitting 80% of tourism’s greenhouse gasses, is it responsible to visit long-haul destinations like Sri Lanka and Maldives? What would happen to Sri Lanka if foreign tourism was reduced dramatically when tourism generates over 25% of foreign income? This week’s feature discusses possible ways of ameliorating your carbon footprint when travelling to Sri Lanka and Maldives.
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Posted by John on 19th June 2019
We are pleased to announce that we have joined the Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance and feature on its website, Love Sri Lanka. The Alliance consists of a like-minded group of professionals from Sri Lanka’s private tourism sector. The aim is to provide tourists and friends overseas with consolidated information, status reports and advice from credible sources on the ground. We hope that all visitors will benefit from a one-stop shop for up to date information and local advice on travelling in Sri Lanka.
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Posted by John on 16th June 2019
The Poson Festival celebrates the arrival of Buddhism to Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BC and it is held over the full moon in June (17 June this year). Poson Poya Day is one of the most important religious events of the year, particularly at pilgrimage sites such as Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Thanthirimale where devotees flock to offer prayers and alms to the Buddha. I am sure that this year’s Poson will hold more significance and be a more poignant occasion than ever.
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Posted by John on 6th June 2019
BREAKING NEWS – The FCO travel advice has just been updated to: “change to advice against travel; the FCO no longer advise against all but essential travel to Sri Lanka”. This means that UK citizens are allowed to travel to Sri Lanka once again. If you haven’t already booked your summer holiday, please contact us as soon as possible for a holiday of a lifetime in Sri Lanka. The country and its people will welcome you with open arms and there are special discounts on offer at many hotels. So, what’s stopping you?
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