I thoroughly enjoyed the combination tour giving 8 days of busy sight seeing followed by a week of relaxing snorkeling. Both the CEO were fantastic in the own ways.
Explorer
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel, Yacht Cabin, Tent
Age Range
12-100 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
New Delhi, Male, Agra, Dhula Vil
New Delhi, Male, Agra, Dhula Village, Jaipur, South Male Atoll, Felidhu Atholhu
The trip was an absolutely fabulous way to explore southern Sri Lanka and the northern Maldives atolls. Brilliant CEOs, lovely accommodation and amazing sights. What an experience. I would heartily recommend this tour
CruiseBeach
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel, Guest House
Age Range
12-100 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Negombo, Male, Kandy, Ella, Udaw
Negombo, Male, Kandy, Ella, Udawalawe National Park, Unawatuna, South Male Atoll, Felidhu Atholhu
Its not often that I ever write a review for anything. Felt compelled to do so for this holiday! We were the 1st group to do this trip.....
This holiday was excellent on every level! Perfect combination of the sea, snorkelling 2-3 times every day in the azure sea, truly unbelievable that I managed to snorkel alongside a giant whale shark (about 6 metres long & 15 tons) within touching distance for about 15minutes!
WildlifeMarine wildlife
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Yacht Cabin
Age Range
16-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Male, Guraidhoo, Dhangethi, Khud
Male, Guraidhoo, Dhangethi, Khudarah, Dhigurah, South Male Atoll, Hulhumale
An excellent 3 weeks with 2 excellent guides. Sri Lanka section was well organised by our guide Nala. he tweaked the itinerary so that we got the very best out of our time and imparted so much information about every aspect of Sri Lanka. He kept us on time fitting extra stops in if we were passing something to see like a banana market and fishermen hauling nets in on the beach. Accommodation was exactly as described and the usual Explore authentic assortment of comfortable and more rustic.
There were lots of English style plug sockets in the hotels, but i would take an adaptor as well just in case.
Highlights were climbing Adams Peak starting at 2am, and passing some very elderly people making the pilgrimage to the temple at the top. A unique experience. Also the train journey over 9 arch bridge. Great fun.
Maldives- again we had a superb guide- Moosa. Extremely knowledgeable about the ocean and also gave us a lot of fascinating history and politics background of the Maldives. Island visits provided an insight into the real country.
The boat was spacious clean and comfortable. Didn't expect the hotel like room services - bed making and towel changing! Food on the boat was amazing. Plentiful and a variety of dishes inc freshly caught fish. Had 2 snorkels a day building up the length and difficulty of them. So many colourful fish, it was like swimming in a tropical fish tank. Also saw turtles, moray eels, sharks and rays including a manta. The tender was always out with us keeping an eye on us whilst snorkelling.
Overall a fabulous itinerary and guides on land and sea
Active and outdoorWildlife
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Absolutely loved my Dhoni snorkelling adventure in the Maldives. Magic!
The sealife was sublime - the hawksbill turtles, dolphins, tropical fish and sharks were phenomenal. Unfortunately the coral was extensively bleached but trying to rejuvenate.
Our guide Teddie was exceptional, skilled at positioning our small group in the best snorkelling spots and capturing it/ us on camera. The crew worked tirelessly - Chef Asitha and Waiter Libee produced delicious banquets for every meal, .Captain Anees took us where we needed to go and Rahul kept a watchful eye whilst we were snorkelling and kept things ship-shape.
As expected, the accommodation was very basic, but met all our needs.
Tips:
1. Follow Explore!’s recommendation and bring a smallish soft bag - the drawers under the bunks are roomy and you actually need very little ;
2. Ignore Explore!’s recommendations and allow more for tips than the 25sterling recommended. The team work tirelessly to provide outstanding experiences.
3. Bring sunscreen and shirts for sun-protection.
I did this trip as an extension to a Sri Lankan tour and it was a fabulous combo: its going to be hard to beat and especially hard to beat the value.
Active and outdoorWildlife
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Explore leader: for Sri Lanka only satisfactory. Not easy to understand, didn't seem to feel part of the group, didn't join us for meals, a poor communicator (relative to past explore trips)
For the dhoni Maldives cruise: Moosa was excellent in every way.
Active and outdoorWildlife
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
