Colombo Tours in Fall

Great trip, full pace (not moderate) itinerary. Tour leader, Sam, driver and assistant took very good care of the group. Sam’s bird life knowledge is great, he shared a lot of information about the birds of Sri Lanka. The trip has a good balance of culture and wildlife. Visited beautiful temples and other sights and enjoyed wild elephants on many occasions. Enjoyed the train ride. Some long days, and too many shopping stops, some not on the itinerary. Not a lot of downtime/relax time. Good hotels.

Super, varied trip which demonstrated the beauty and diversity of Sri Lanka…beaches, mountains, abundant wildlife, delicious food, (more local food authentic food options please) tea plantations and so much more. Sam, our guide, looked after us very well along with our driver and assistant. Sam is knowledgeable, interesting and a wonderful ambassador for Sri Lanka and Explore. He shared wonderful stories, told us about the history, religion etc and more. He gracefully listened to requests and looked to address them.

I can only express words of appreciation for the entire group that accompanied our cycling trip. Ash our guide is very knowledgeable and attentive to everyone's needs and interests. The same goes for the drivers and the other guide present on the bicycle routes. Everything went in the best way. A great trip! I brought home only brilliant memories of my days in Sri Lanka.

We had a brilliant trip . Ash and the team were so helpful and knowledgeable- they really made the holiday the success that is was - lots of cycling and lots of interesting places , spotting birds, elephants and a leopard !

The Sri Lanka cycling trip is fantastic. You see such varied landscape, and get away from the tourist trail. There is so much to see, multiple unesco world heritage sites, both natural and man made. A depth of history, 5th century - 12th century and then three colonial periods. The food is amazing - all very fresh, varied and plentiful. The cycling is more than moderate! especially with the humidity. I really enjoyed having a swimming pool at each of the hotels - a chance to refresh at the end of each day. What elevated the trip beyond great, was Ashan, our tour lead. His wealth of knowledge, gentle manner, and leadership made for an exceptional two weeks, that will stay with me for many years ahead.

Overall, amazing trip! From the moment I rang up and spoke to lovely Mandy, I was impressed by Explore. I was part of a group of 8 ranging from 30s-70s, by the end of the trip, we were like old friends. I hadn’t done a group trip before and you are spending a lot of time together so be prepared for that if you are also sharing a room. Luckily we all got on really well and had a laugh together but you do have to carve out some solo time. Itinerary - this trip is described as moderate but it’s quite full on. So many activities are squeezed in to the available time and a fair bit of travel in between, but this is broken up by stops on an off the bus for points of interest. It meant we saw so much of Sri Lanka, we covered 2000km. Think, temples, wildlife, food, hiking, boat / train trip, beach, cities, and history and beautiful scenery. Accommodation - some were lovely, some not so much, but all were clean / acceptable, some just a bit more basic than others. Most had pretty good food as we eat at the hotel most nights due to often being off the beaten track. You are accompanied for the whole trip by your tour guide and we were very lucky to have Sam. Sam made the trip. He has such and in depth knowledge of Sri Lanka and was so willing to tell us everything we wanted to know about the history and customs of the country that we really felt like we had gotten to know the country in depth. He had so many little extras ‘up his sleeve’ from stopping the bus to show us how to blow bubbles with a soap plant to arranging for us to go into the signal room at the train station. I am sure all of the guides are brilliant, but know if you are lucky to be assigned Sam, he is something special. The trip was fantastic, so many experiences packed into two weeks and friends I hope to stay in touch with. If you’re considering this trip, 10/10 recommend.