Im thinking of going to sri lanka. Advice please!

Im thinking of going with my boyfriend in may. Where is best to buy flights and is it easy to book accommodation when im there? I have been to thailand and found it very easy to book bungalows etc when i got there. Is this the case in sri lanka? Where do people recommend to visit?

Is it cheap to eat and travel? I only spent 拢300 in thailand and that was a fortnight of travel accommodation food and going out.

I really appreciate any advice.

Michal.

Im thinking of going to sri lanka. Advice please!

Hi Michal,

1) Flights: just compare the various UK-based ticketing sites or callcentres. E.g. Travelocity and dial-a-flight. Presently Kingfisher, a new and as far as we know reputed player, undercuts the prices of all other airlines and has a daily schedule.

2) Yes, easy to book locally. Maybe it makes sense to have a guesthouse in Negombo (near the airport) for the first 2 nights because in a jetlag state some of us don%26#39;t really like shopping around for good acco, but from that you can arrange on the spot.

3) If you can handle local food (as spicy as Thai) it%26#39;s quite cheap to eat around. But even tourist food in the popular tourist areas doesn%26#39;t need to cost more than 2-4 quid per day as long as you stay outside the costly hotels and upmarket restaurants.

4) Same for travelling. If you can stick to trains or express buses, the latter having relatively limited luggage space but okay for backpackers, you%26#39;re as cheap as Thailand. If you need private car/tuktuk, prices increase strongly.

5) The general areas to visit, next to the Southwestern beaches (e.g. Hikkaduwa, Unawatuna or Mirissa or Tangalle), are Kandy area, Hill Country and Cultural Triangle. Each of these deserves at least 2-3 nights to enjoy the main attractions.

Hope this helps as a starter,

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

Im thinking of going to sri lanka. Advice please!

Thank you for the reply. That really helps. I just found a flight for 拢370 with netflights.com. That seems like a bargain and id be surprised if i do better.

I absolutely love spicy food so am looking forward to that. The prices seem to be reasonable too. I assumed with the world as it is at the moment that they may have increased.

Is it correct that may is a nice warm and dry time of the year to go?

Thanks

Hi again Michal,

Sounds good. May is a reasonable time but not perfect; usually esp. the 2nd half can be hit by some %26#39;first intermonsoon season%26#39; weather days with mostly clouds and intermittant monsoon showers. Safest periods, but also most busy and expensive, are December (after 15th) - March and July-September. May is not the worst however weatherwise, that is June and Oct-Nov. And also mind that these statuses/seasons mostly apply to the southwestern beaches, during your 9+ days inland travel weather should be basically dry and mostly sunny.

All the best,

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

Qatar has flights for GBP 369 but with a stop in Doha. That is booking directly with the airline. I personally like to book with the airline than a third party (if I can).

Hi there Michal.My advice is to book with Mercury Direct as we have used them twice before. Excellent value for money. I can give you names of 2 super hotels (all inclusive), which give excellent value for money and are the standard you will want for your stay. Some hotels are quite run down and you been to ber sure that the accommodation is suitable for your needs.Eating out is cheap.Travel cheap but crowded. Please contact me if you require further information.

Not sure it would be that cheap...but it%26#39;s certainly good value for money! Check out Tangalle, in the south. New cabanas on Coconut beach! Best accomodation for miles!

is February a good month to go to Sri Lanka? Ive read about a few festivals and just wondering if it will be more expensive for that month. Thanks for the help.

February will be great as far as the weather is concerned. The prices generally do not change between Jan and Feb. If you look at any tour brochure you will be able to see how the price fluctuates by the month. April is the most expensive. However going indepently you will find many reasonable priced hotels when and where ever you go. I can give you a super hotel( price/facilities) on Negomo beach if you are interested.Lots of small shops around the hotel and a nice interesting walk to the centre of the town.Best wishes. Duncan

If you dont mind Duncan, could you give me that information about the super hotel in negomo beach? thanks!

This hotel is Brown%26#39;s Beach. You will find the full details and prices on the Mercury Direct site. The tour guide who lives about a quarter of a mile away on the main road is called Lucky. He has an email address. What you can do is book the hotel and flight for say 7 or 10 nights,then during that time do the local day trips. Then get Mercury to book you on the return flight some days after the end of the hotel stay and you can then do the longer tour by yourself or with a guide(like Lucky) in his vehicle. His knowledga is fantastic of the island. The advantage of Negombo is that it only takes about 20 mins. to get to the hotel from the airport. By the way if you do go on after the hotel stay you will have to get to the airport for the return flight yourself but as it is so close it will not cost you very much, and Lucky would do this,if he is available. If you do use Brown%26#39;s let me know and I shall give you some tips about the area. Now if you do not use a travel agent for Sri Lanla I can also let you have details of another good hotel in Negombo, again on the main road, facing the beach that I have stayed in on a b and b basis prior to going to the airport after my longer tour as I wanted a 2 days stay on the beach after the tour. By the way do not confuse Brown%26#39;s Beach with The Beach hotel.(5 star). Very expensive and a bit further away from the main Negombo town.Kind Regards, Duncan