first trip to sri lanka

Hi,

my b/f and i are planning our 1st trip to Sri Lanka at the end of Feb and I was wondering whether i could get some advice please..

Ive been going through lots of forum msgs and have a very rough itinerary in mind(but kinda going around in circles!). Unfortunately we will only be there for about 10days (fri eve until the following sun morning) we understand Sri Lanka is full of must see places, but with such limited time, which would you reccommend most?

bearing in mind we%26#39;d like to have a couple of days on the beach, maybe Unawatuna!:)

Also could anyone please recommend a reliable friendly driver

We will be grateful for any advice, Thanks

Lauren

first trip to sri lanka

Hi Lauren,

Kandy is a must-see, heart of the country. Next to that it really depends on your taste:

%26#39;Northern loop%26#39; around Cultural Triangle gives the ancient cities, temples, and jeep safaris.

%26#39;Southern loop%26#39; with the hill country gives tea plantations, waterfalls and vistas and also jeep safari in the south.

Both inland options take 6-7 days, remainder is nice for the beach.

Plenty of drivers mentioned in the forum, also on request by PM with all Destination Experts...

All the best,

%26lt;Erik%26gt; %26amp; [Sandya]

first trip to sri lanka

Hi Lauren,

We are a Swiss couple and have just returned from our 3 weeks holiday in Sri Lanka, and it would not have been the same without our guide, Mr. Nimal De Silva.

Our tour covered all most popular destinations in this beautiful country, from the royal cities such Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, Kandy, Sigiriya, Dambulla, Nuwara Eliya, Ella and Yala National Park, where we%26#39;ve even seen a leopard!

Then we stayed for one week on the great beaches in the south part of the island. The best beaches in our opinion are Tangalle, Dikwella and Unawatuna.

Nimal organized everything perfectly and made many efforts to give us an excellent service. You can contact him directly on his personal email ndsilva67@yahoo.com.

You will enjoy it, Sri Lanka is really amazing!

Luana

Hi laurely,

As with most people going to Lanka for the first time and asking about itineries, Erik had the operative word in his first sentance.

DEPENDS.

It all DEPENDS on your personal preferences and it also DEPENDS on how busy you want to be.

I%26#39;d suggest, depending on your stamina, that when you land you head straight to Kandy. I know it%26#39;s gonne be late and and you%26#39;re gonna be tired but it gets that bit of the travelling out of the way.

Again, it depends on what you want to see, but you could then use the weekend to visit, Sigirya rock fortress/palave and Dambulla cave temples on one day and maybe the Temple of the Tooth and the Botanical gardens the other day,

Then, after the weekend, get the train south through the hill country. The ride from Kandy to Ella is about 6 hours and the scenery from the train is fantastic.

Over night in Ella ( or Haputale ) and next day hire a local car and driver to take you to the coast.

Ask around th guest houses etc and you%26#39;ll find a car and driver with no problem.

En route, Ella to the southwest coast you could visit Udawatale National park for then elephants if you wanted to.

That way, you%26#39;ve used about 4 days and seen a little of the cultural triangle, the hill country, including mountains, water Falls etc a national park and you still have a reasonable amount od beach time.

This way would be a tiring way to start but with a restricted time to see as much as possible at least you%26#39;d get around a little and still have time to relax.

Rod.

Thankyou for all the advise, i am really keen to see the cultural triangle etc- so i think it%26#39;ll have to be a hardcore first few days touring, but i reckon the last few days at the beach will pay off! :)

Lauren

we are doing similar route next week, jsut looking thru hotels in Kandy, thialanka, hilltop, topaz, any advice anyone? we are going to be staying somewhere more lush and lovely in the second half of our trip so looking at reasonable budget options for a family with 3 children for the first few days using Kandy as our base while we tour around from there.

Hi Pancakes, Lauren...

Enjoy Sri Lanka - and Kandy, my town of birth! I know you will both have a great time. I left SL as a teenager and have lived in the US east coast the past 20+ years where its crazy cold right now (minus 10 degrees fahrenheit with ~2 feet of snow turned into ice sitting on my deck!) but its too long a flight to SL for regular visits any more.

I absolutely agree that Kandy is a must see. But a drive upto Kandy from the airport (after a long flight) will be very tiring - especially with kids. The roads are narrow, and people drive on both sides of the road - so try and get a night%26#39;s rest if at all possible. I love the Hill Top Hotel - I grew up swimming in its little swimming pool - the hotel itself is relatively small and quiet, nestled high atop the town of kandy with breathtaking views of the hills and Kandy below. I believe the hotel is pretty good value for money. Definitely visit the Temple of the Tooth (evenings where you will hear chanting and the sound of drums), and stop bye at the botanical gardens during the day. Just walk around the town - soak in the atmosphere and the energy - it is so diferent from anything you%26#39;d experience in the west.

There is lots to see and do in SL - that 1 week or 10 days is really not a lot of time - unless you want to rush through them all. I break down SL into 4 key categories - the hill country (waterfalls, tea plantations, beautiful drives), cultural triangle (rock paintings, ancient ruins, buddha statues etc), wild life (safaris, bird watching) and the beaches. I can make the case to see it all - but if you are on holiday - sometimes less is more, so you get to pace yourself and relax verses spend all that time on SL roads. I generally suggest getting a car and driving yourself (I do it in every country I visit), but Sri Lankan roads / driving is dangerous - so a good guide and driver will make a big difference to your holiday. But remember - your driver will want to show you everything - because theoretically it is all possible - but control the pace of your vacation, if not you will want one after leaving SL!

For the beach - I love Hikkaduwa and Unawatuna. Hikkaduwa is a rustic beach town (you could get yourself some SCUBA lessons and do some great dives if you were into that!), Unawatuna (30 mnts further south) has amazing snorkelling/fish/reefs. I have stayed at the Coral Gardens Hotel in Hikkaduwa and the Unwatuna Beach Resort. They arent the greatest hotels - but if you are looking for top hotels, youd have to stay further north - like in Bentota @ the Taj Exotica or the Bentota Beach Hotel.

Enjoy planning your trips and PM me if you have specific questions. My family and I are heading out to Maui in Hawaii next month (to escape from the cold), so I am on TripAdvisor a lot these days to l earn from other knowledgeable travellers who have been there before:)