Itinerary advice - 11 days in Sri Lanka!

Hi everyone,

Thanks first for all of the previous posts and advice in this forum. These have been incredibly helpful, and based on previous threads, I%26#39;ve patched together the following itinerary for a quick 11-day jaunt through Sri Lanka in late Jan/early Feb.

I wonder if this sounds feasible, and/or if any of the frequent Sri Lanka travellers have any suggestions?

Day 1 - Arrive late, tuk tuk or taxi to Negombo. I%26#39;ve booked a night at the Silver Sands Hotel.

Day 2 - Hire a car and driver to take us to Kandy. Silver Sands say they can do this for Rs. 6500. Visit the elephant orphanage along the way. Stay at the Freedom Lodge.

Day 3 - Explore Kandy, temple of the tooth, dancing, etc. Buy onward train tickets to Ella.

Day 4 - A day of intense city ruin and temple exploring. Hire a driver to take us to Dumballa, Sigiriya, and Polonnaruwa. Leave at dawn, and back to Kandy at day%26#39;s end. I%26#39;ve been in touch with Jagath Tours who say they can do this for Rs 8000 in a van, or 10k in a car.

Day 5 - Train to Ella. Possibly stay at the Ella Holiday Inn, or other.

Day 6 - Walks around Ella, visit Ella Gap, Little Adam%26#39;s Peak, etc.

Day 7 - Train, bus or driver (?) down to Galle. Explore, and stay the night.

Day 8 - Bus to Mirissa. Relax at the beach. Possibly stay at Mirissa Beach Inn.

Day 9 - Either stay in Mirissa, or move on to other beaches in the Hikkaduwa direction.

Day 10 - Another beach day.

Day 11 - Train or bus to Colombo. Explore the city a bit - walk around the Pettah/Fort area, and possibly check out the national museum or a temple or two. On to airport for 1am departing flight.

Does this sound about right for a rather whirlwind tour around the island? Or is this too ambitious?

The day up to Dumballa, Sigiriya and Polonnaruwa in particular is a stretch, I know. Would it be better to go from Negombo first up to the Sigiriya area and spend a night there before heading south to Kandy, rather than using Kandy as a base for three nights?

Are the driver rates decent (6500 from Negombo to Kandy, 8000 for a van tour from Kandy) or would it be better to find a driver and negotiate when I arrive?

Will I be able to book the train to Ella from Kandy, or should I do that in advance somehow (perhaps Jagath can help me if I book him for the drive up to Sigiriya).

Any suggestions on how long it would take to get from Ella to Galle, what the best way to go is, and how much it will cost?

Would it be worth squeezing in a quick one day visit to Yala national park, or one of the other parks? If so, would you recommend cutting out Galle, or one of the beach days?

Thanks again,

Alex

Itinerary advice - 11 days in Sri Lanka!

Hi Alex,

A few replies.

%26gt;Would it be better to go from Negombo first up to the Sigiriya area

It IS more efficient in terms of road distances etc.

%26gt;Are the driver rates decent

Sound quite good!

%26gt;Will I be able to book the train to Ella from %26gt;Kandy, or should I do that in advance somehow

If you%26#39;re happy with 2nd class (which Rod and I would recommend), fine. The 1st class can sell out just after opening sales which is 10 days before departure, so for that someone like Jagath might be needed.

%26gt; Ella-Galle

First, it%26#39;s an UNLOGICAL sequence. Mirissa is about 40 km east of Galle and closer to Ella. So better skip Galle as a separate destination, and do it from Mirisse,.

%26gt;Any suggestions on how long it would take to get from Ella to Galle,

If you mean Mirissa now, that%26#39;s about 5-6 hours from Ella by car. By bus with transfers maybe 7 hours, assuming your luggage is small enough to fit into their seats. Cost: around Rs 9,000-10,000?

%26gt;Would it be worth squeezing in a quick one day visit to Yala national park, or one of the other parks?

Yala is still FCO blocked but if you have a China travel insurance well doable, and better than Udu Walawe. That one could be an alternative. Do as a (long) day trip from Mirissa, or instead as a stopover on the Ella-Mirissa route.

All the best,

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

Itinerary advice - 11 days in Sri Lanka!

Thanks, Eric. Really appreciate the speedy reply. :)

Based on your feedback, I%26#39;m still thinking of going straight from Negombo to Kandy, and then making the ruins/temples visit a long day trip. I%26#39;m sure it would save some time/distance to go to Sigiriya first, but by going to Kandy, I can catch the elephant orphanage en route (so won%26#39;t have to backtrack for that), and we can drop our bags in one place for three nights. Does that make sense, or is this a truly crazy idea?

In terms of Yala, any idea what the best way to approach this would be for a 1-day safari, and what the costs would be for this? Any recommendations for tours/acco in Yala? Would it be better to take a bus from Ella to Yala, and stay at Yala, and then bus on to Mirissa?

Oh, and by the way 鈥?should I really give Yala a miss considering the current security concerns there? Will I be putting myself (and my mother! 鈥?we%26#39;ll be on a mother/son trip) at risk?

And thanks for the correction on Mirissa. For some reason, I thought Galle was further to the East. :-)

Best,

Alex

Hi again Alex,

1] No, the trick with Kandy and then triangle _can_ work. Otherwise indeed the detour from Kandy to Pinawela...

2) Yala Safari Village is the most upmarket acco there, we loved it. But also quite some hotels and GH%26#39;s at Tissa, Kataragama and Hambantota which are close enough. Cost of jeep, tracker and entrance for 2 persons together is around 50 USD.

3] Security - we%26#39;ve had recent reports of people travelling there safely. The %26#39;human tiger%26#39; activity reported earlier inside the park now has moved to the Eastern Province part of Moneragala district. But still better to inquire locally. If too risky by then, go for Udu Walawe instead.

All the best,

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

Hi,

Jumping in a little.

I tend to agree with you regarding the one day chase from kandy to see something of Polonorua, Sigirya and Dambulla but d keep in mind that that won%26#39;t give you too long for Polonorua. But, if you%26#39;re happy to be on the road before dawn and getting back after dusk, then fine. As you say, that means there%26#39;s no luggage to drag around.

Luggage,, is the main problem in getting a bus from Ella going south. The first part of the journey , usually isn%26#39;t too bad, from Ella to Wellawaya but if you hae to change buses there, getting on the next one, even with just a back pack can be a struggle.If you can afford a car for this section it would be better.

If you do decide on visiting Yala, with an overnight in that area, then it cuts the distance down so a car could be cheaper than all the way to Mirissa.

I once stayed at a place in Tissamaharama which was excellent and ideal fr a Yala trip.

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

It%26#39;s an excellent hotel. Can%26#39;t quote a price as it%26#39;s a few years since I was there but when I went I classed it as a budget hotel.

This hotel is a meeting place for the safari operators so through them, you couldd either book your own or join up with someome else.

THen, you%26#39;ll find the buses from Tissa to Mirissa much less crowded and more frequent.

I think you mentioned the Mirissa Beach Inn, lovely place to stay. Great rooms , food and family runing it.

Rod.

Hi Erik, Rod,

Thanks so much for the advice. I really appreciate it.

A couple last questions...

Can you recommend a good driver in Ella? I haven%26#39;t decided if we%26#39;ll go to Yala yet, or straight to Mirissa, but either way it seems that by car would be the way to go.

Any suggestions on things to do/see in Colombo for a day? Or should we skip this completely? I%26#39;ve read some security reports that recommend spending as little time in Colombo as possible.

Thanks again! You guys are really providing a wonderful service to newbie travellers to Sri Lanka like myself. :)

Cheers,

Alex

Hi,

Sorry I don%26#39;t know the info for any Ella based drivers.

But, about a year ago I stayed there and instead of catching the bus as we usually do, we were asked by a couple of English girls to share their taxi van ( and costs ) down as far as Tangelle .

They were staying in the same guest house as us, The Sun Top Inn , 18 Police Station Road, Ella.

The owner there had introduced the girls to a relative, which is often the way it all works , who had a taxi van... So we joined them and shared costs . I think then we payed total of 6000 rupees between us, from Ella to Tangalle.

So, ask at the place you%26#39;re staying in but if they don%26#39;t know anyone, walk to Police Station road, about two thirds of the way up the main street on the right as you walk up the slope and ask at he Sun Top Inn.

Rod.

Hi again Alex,

Will pass on the Ella driver. %26#39;Our%26#39; contact solely does roundtrips.

Colombo, hmmm... Culturally speaking nothing, sorry to say about the town of which we are part-time residents. Shop-till-you-drop is the main pastime there, next to restaurants and clubs. IF you want to taste the old Colombo, tea on the outdoor terrace of Mount Lavinia or Galle Face hotels is decent. But securitywise indeed the worst place in the touristy areas.

At your service,

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

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