cancelled tour wildlife of cylon tour what to do now

we were due to be doing a wildlife of cylon tour in march 09 with fc but they have cancelled the tour due to safety.

we are staying at the club dolphin we would like to do yala and udawalawe, ride elephants, see some waterfalls, rafting and colombo.

who would be best to organise these trips with and what would the rough cost be? we are staying for 2 weeks.

thanks

cancelled tour wildlife of cylon tour what to do now

Hi,

Sorry to hear once again that 1st choice are messing their customers about.

But, don%26#39;t worry , it%26#39;s easy to organise your own tailor made tour.

Some like big companies such as Red Dot tours, and some, like me, prefer the smaller self employed tour operator.

Main thing is to make sure that the operator is a Ceylon Tourist Board approved guide.

Prices should be about 7000 rupees a day for the driver/guide, the aircon vehicle and the fuel.

Most drivers can pre-arrange accomodation to suit your tastes depending on what you want.

If you want , I can recommend a couple of excellent driver/guides and there are others on here who also have experience of guides that they%26#39;ll recommend.

Let me know and I can send a Pm with the info .

Rod.

cancelled tour wildlife of cylon tour what to do now

Hi

Regarding Yala FC has cancelled the tour in accordance with FCO travel advices. It is possible to arrange tours there locally, but be aware that most likely your travel insurance will not cover you, even for the slightest incidents. If you decide to go, check with your insurance company.

Hans

Hi there

Yala - even locals will tell you it is not safe to go there

We went to Uda Walawe for a jeep safari. Lasted about 3 hours. The trip was two days with FC and cost 80 pounds each. Included a trip to Galle and turtle hatchery.

A taxi driver could also take you there and back but i would stay there as the park is about 5 hours from the hotel.

There are bungalows to stay in at the park.

Hope this helps,

Don%26#39;t agree with last post. I%26#39;ve never had a local tell me not to go to Yala and will be visiitng friends there again in a couple of weeks. I travel by local transport without any problem and safaris there are easily arranged.

It is true that insurance won%26#39;t pay out so you need to think whether that%26#39;s a major issue for you, when the likelihood of something happening seems so slight. I like to travel independently and don%26#39;t get hung up about such things but everyone is different.

Hi there I am new to this post but have been avidly reading all the forums here and LP all about Sri Lanka. Rod B, you have a wealth of knowledge so I always like to read your recommedations.

I too would like to do a safari of Yala National Park, I am fully aware of the travel alerts and how this affects insurance but would still like to try to arrange a trip locally if necessary. This will be my third visit to this island of paradise so I am not scared of either public transport or the very unlikely threat to my safety. What I would like is an unforgetable experience of Yala with maybe a touch of luxury thrown in.....what do you think???

Hi Lainey,

Thanks for the compliments.

I%26#39;mm glad that someone else travels around on public transport. Mixing with the local people as they travel about in their daily lives is a big part of my holiday experience.

Regarding hotels around Yala , I can%26#39;t guarantee which one is most luxurious as I usually stay in guest houss but there is one plave I stayed at a few years back and will be returning to in February.

http://www.tissalakeside.com/index.html

The Lakeside Inn was quite a low cost but extremely good. Better than any of the three star places I%26#39;ve stayed in.

As well as being very comofortable, it%26#39;s a staging post for, Yala safari trips so easy to arrange for yourself or to find a group to join.

If you do go there, make sure you leave some time to wander around a little. there %26#39;s some very impressive ancient places around there, including the '; Royal Gardens'; a set of amazingly preserved remains from, I think, a King who reigned there in the 2nd century BC.

Also easy to get into Kataragama which has to be worth a visit.

Rod.