Negombo Active and outdoor Trips

In a short period the trip packed in so much visiting several UNESCO sites , a traditional village, the former Capital Kandy . We went to a stunning beach and went on safari . We crossed the island seeing the countryside and the mountains and an interesting stop to see toddy tapping . I felt I saw the diversity of this beautiful island and what it offers . I would highly recommend this trip . It’s full on but worth every minute .

Fantastic trip to Sri Lanka, we saw and learnt so much from our wonderful tour leader Mimi. A full on tour with so much packed in, plus extras suggested by our guide. Hotels all very good, clean with excellent food choices. We visited so many Buddhist and Hindu temples, for our daily blessings, each one, quite different from the other in size and material used to form them. We saw beautiful caves filled with statues and wall paintings. We climbed Sigiriya or Lion rock before breakfast, and were so pleased that the whole group made it to the top. We went on three safaris seeing elephants, deer, buffalo, many species of birds and even saw the elusive leopard. We visited many different workshops displaying local crafts, and the production of them, and even had a blissful Ayurvedic massage one afternoon. All in all a great tour, with like minded people, and we would thoroughly recommend it The cruise around the beautiful islands and the turquoise atolls of the Maldives was much needed to unwind from the fast pace of Sri Lanka. No Wi-Fi meant time to fully relax, read and rewind. The cabins were small but had sufficient places to unpack and put things away, and the en-suite compact but adequate. Visited different reefs twice a day to snorkel around and the crew and tour leader Suja were always there to point out the different flora and fauna. They even dived down with our cameras to make sure we got some amazing photos, and also not being a strong swimmer myself, they made sure I was always safe and supported. The food was excellent with the chef producing three delicious meals a day plus snacks and drinks. We moored up at night near sandbars and deserted islands where we watched the sunset with a nice gin and tonic. We visited a couple of inhabited islands, and were invited to a drumming performance and ended up dancing quite enthusiastically. We snorkelled with sharks before breakfast and with turtles before lunch, not many people can say that. We booked this holiday to celebrate our Golden Wedding, and both tours surprised us with very special celebrations, which we shall hold in our memories forever and to share it with the lovely people we met, now friends, made it even more special.

This was a wonderful tour. My sixth trip with Explore and my best. Our excellent tour leader, Cham, was both knowledgeable and went out of his way to be helpful and the Sri Lankan people were invariably friendly, welcoming and polite. Sri Lanka is so diverse it has attractions for everyone from tropical surf beaches to hiking in the mountains, rainforest and tea plantation hill country, visiting the temples and stupas of ancient cities to safari trips in the national parks, plus a high standard of hotels and some wonderful cuisine. My one gripe was although we stayed in some luxury hotels with swimming pools and great views, the itinerary was so full on that we often had very little time to enjoy the hotel. But I realise, you can't have it both ways!

There was great variety on this tour. The Sri Lanka days were packed and were a little tiring but we saw so many places and such diversity of wildlife and culture, it was definitely worth it. The pace in the Maldives was more leisurely, though, so this created a great balance.

This was an excellent short tour but, even though it was only 6 days, it felt as if we packed in at least 12 days-worth of activity. It was a great introduction to Sri Lanka with a fantastic range of visits and activities. Our tour leader, George, was great and highly informative and our bus driver, Tony, was a very good driver and organiser. I think I would like to go back to each place we visited again to spend longer and this really has provided a great taster.

Travelling as a family with two teenagers (16 and 14), we all had the most fantastic time in both Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Highlights for the adults included the variety of activities included in the itinerary, the elephant transition home and learning about the culture, history and geography of both Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The highlights for the teenagers were the train ride, the snorkelling and the elephant safari. We all loved the food and our guide, Ashan, in Sri Lanka was truly outstanding.