Wonderful trip with Harsha Gayal Perera. Sri Lanka is a very beautiful country. We highly recommend Aitken Spence Travel Agency for the tour guides they work with. Our tour included the visit of the ancient capitals of the country, the most important temples and also focused on the current culture and society. A mixture of nature and history, which allows you to learn a lot from this experience. Our vacation was perfect thanks also to our guide Gayal, who made it unforgettable. Aitken Spencer Travel should be proud to have a person like Gayal. We invite all readers not to worry about choosing Sri Lanka as a travel destination full of history, legends, spirituality, colours, sound and wonderful people. You can trust an expert tour guide like Gayal and you won't run into any challenges. Enjoy this country! ! !
From spice-filled bazaars to white sandy beaches, opulent palaces to spice plantations, discover India in all its glory on this well-balanced 15-day adventure. Delve into a world of delicious street food, ride rickshaws through narrow alleyways, stroll by beautiful lakes and forested hills, mingle with Mumbai merchants, and explore centuries-old icons. Finish up on the shores of easygoing Goa, where yoga, cocktails, and golden sands are all you need to chill out after the bustling big towns of India. Now that’s an idyllic Indian adventure.
City sightseeing
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel, Sleeper Train
Age Range
15-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
New Delhi, Goa, Udaipur, Mumbai
New Delhi, Goa, Udaipur, Mumbai, Agra, Jaipur, Pushkar
27% OFF TODAY
This deal is valid for limited time. Book now to reserve your seats.
I always wanted to visit india at least once and this Golden Triangle Tour of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur has left me yearning for more. The amazing sights of Old and New Delhi as well as the charm of Agra and the royal splendor of Rajasthan has completely hooked me. Visiting the Taj Mahal was the top highlight of my tour and trust me, you should not miss it, if you come to India.
Art and architecture
Tour Type
Group Tour
Accommodation
Hotel, Resort
Age Range
6-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
New Delhi, Jaipur, Agra
New Delhi, Jaipur, Agra
15% OFF TODAY
This deal is valid for limited time. Book now to reserve your seats.
So enlightening and enjoyable to experience the country, we were able to enjoy various different aspects of the culture through food, music, dance and many other activities etc which were always available/optional. I know many of our group will certainly be returning to India!
Cultural, religious and historic sites
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Discover the most famous monuments of India during eleven impressive days exploring this mystical cradle of an ancient civilization. See with your own eyes the glory of the iconic yesteryear, giving off a sense of nostalgia and nevertheless of belonging. Delhi has the influence of Moghul and British architecture, whereas Jaipur is known for being India’s first planned city. On the other hand, Agra, once the heart of the Moghul Empire, boasts the unparalleled beauty of the Taj Mahal, which adorns the banks of the Yamuna River. This route brings together the best this fascinating country has to offer: history, heritage, culture, and exoticism.
Art and architecture
Tour Type
Group Tour
Accommodation
Hotel
Age Range
6-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
New Delhi, Varanasi, Jaipur, Agr
New Delhi, Varanasi, Jaipur, Agra, Khajuraho, Allahabad
15% OFF TODAY
This deal is valid for limited time. Book now to reserve your seats.
Set off on a hill country tour to visit breathtakingly lush tea estates and cultural highlights such as the Temple of the Tooth that is sure to mesmerize you. From the last royal capital of Sri Lanka to a town in the mountains known as “Little England”, discover the awe-inspiring beauty of the region, which has its own unique old-world charm.
Art and architecture
Tour Type
Private Tour
Accommodation
Bungalow, Hotel
Age Range
6-99 yrs
Operated in
spanish, dutch, french, italian, german, english
Destinations
Colombo, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Ella
Colombo, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Ella
15% OFF TODAY
This deal is valid for limited time. Book now to reserve your seats.
Explore the best of Rajasthan by joining our 10-day tour, which will take you to the adventure of the fascinating medieval history of North India. Get on the vibe by walking in the busy streets of Delhi, and admire its unique contrasts between the old and modern influence. Go through the real Indian adventure once you take a local train to Ajmer, this magic pilgrimage center for Muslims and Hindus. Rajasthan will display its colors while you will visit the ‘Venice of the East´, Udaipur and the pink architecture of Jaipur will wake up your romantic feelings before entering the awe-inspiring Taj Mahal, love poem in the stone. This tour will expose the gems of Rajasthan and will fulfill your expectations and inspire your senses.
Art and architecture
Tour Type
Group Tour
Accommodation
Hotel, Resort
Age Range
6-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
New Delhi, Pushkar, Udaipur, Jod
New Delhi, Pushkar, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jaipur, Agra
15% OFF TODAY
This deal is valid for limited time. Book now to reserve your seats.
We booked the Classic Ceylon Sri Lanka Tour for our honeymoon. The tour agent was Aitken Spence Travels. Day 1: Arriving at Colombo airport, we were greeted by our guide/driver named Rane (guide and driver are the same person throughout the tour). Our first stop was the Ramada Hotel in Columbo, where we checked in. You can take advantage of the afternoon to explore the city or relax at the hotel. We have reviewed each hotel separately in this thread if you want to learn more about each hotel review in detail. Our guide agrees on a time for you to be picked up the next morni g, which was ours at 8am. to start on time. Colombo is a busy city so traffic can be very busy. Day 2: Drive from Colombo to Dambulla, which is approximately a 4-hour drive away. Your guide will make a rest stop for a drink if you wish. Once we reach Dambulla we visit the Temple of the Rock. This fascinating temple is built on the side of a rock with some historical monuments of Buddhas and paintings. Once we had visited the temple, we stopped for lunch at one of the various Sri Lankan tourist restaurants. The food is in keeping with the country and there are usually rice, potatoes, various meats and salads on the menu. We were never disappointed. Lunch is not included in the tour price so it is extra, but at approx 600 rupees it is very reasonable in terms of cost. Some days we didn't fancy lunch and you can skip this if you want. Your driver will be very accommodating. We were then taken to our hotel which would be home for the next 3 nights: Amaara Forest Hotel (review available separately). The following days consisted of: Day 3 - Drive from Sigiriya to Polonnaruwa to visit the 2nd Heritage of the Capital City. This is an amazing experience that offers a fantastic insight into Sri Lankan history. After this we reached Minneriya to the national park. The opportunity to see elephants in the wild is something not to be missed. There are also wild buffaloes, monkeys, birds, and many more animals to witness. We also visited a silk shop where silk was made, and we were dressed in traditional Sri Lankan clothing, where you can take photos of each other. The ladies at this store were wonderful and we bought a few items. The woodcarving factory is also a good stop, where you can watch how they make traditional Raksha masks and other items. We really wanted to buy a pair of these and the factory store on site had plenty to choose from at reasonable prices. Day 4 - Sigiriya Rock Fortress (Lion Rock). This spectacular rock of approximately 200 m high has impressive views. The only way to achieve this is through lots of steep steps so you will need to wear some good trainers as flip flops will wreck your feet. It can get quite busy on the stairs for the first part as there are historical paintings to see a third of the way which causes the delay, but it picks up soon after. Don't let this delay put you off, I almost decided not to bother you, but the wife talked me into it and I'm glad I did. When you get to about 2/3 of this way, this is where the Lions entrance is. At one point this one had a huge rock lion face on it which is sadly gone. From this point you can reach the top and the view of Sri Lanka can be seen for miles. Word of advice to all of you, there are people who offer to "show" you the rock, they will expect payment for their services, so you politely say no or agree to a cost up front. Also when on the stairs there will be men offering to help him up (at one point taking my wife's hand and escorting her down the stairs which I soon said no to) in all fairness once I say no they will leave you alone, so don't do it. Don't let this discourage you, but be prepared. This day you also have a tour of a rural town in a carriage and a boat ride. You may be offered lunch here which is a great experience and at 600 rupees well worth it. A local lady prepares dinner in her cabin in the woods, and there is a good choice to have. You won't get a chance to experience this again so totally recommend it. Day 5 - Kandy. The journey from the hotel above to here is around 2.5 hours, but it breaks down to an intermediate stop at Spice Garden, where you can see how various spices grow and are shown how to make curry mixes from scratch. The day also included a visit to a gem museum. Generally these places have a room or two showing the history of the gems etc but then a shop at the end. We found the gem shop too expensive for what we wanted to get out of our souvenir shopping, so we didn't buy anything. Again, you don't have to buy anything if you just want to look around. After you transfer to another hotel, we stopped at Earls Regent in Kandy. Day 6 - We visit the Botanical Garden which is a lovely relaxing day where you can walk slowly and take in the surroundings. After this, you can have lunch or return to the hotel to relax. Day 7: We visit a tea plantation on this day where you can see the process from tea leaf picking to the final product. We were allowed to pick tea leaves in the hills as well as visit the shop on site to pick up some reasonably priced local tea/souvenirs. From this point, you can return to the final hotel of the tour to rest in Nuwara Eliya. You can, if you wish, take a walk in the area near the hotel. Day 8 _ This is the route back to the airport, which takes around 7 hours in total, but is broken down by the different sights offering opportunities for waterfalls and a few breaks at local cafes and restaurants. As a guide, we leave at 8:30 am and arrive at the airport at 3:30 pm. Overall the tour was amazing but very tiring. It's not a relaxing vacation, so if you can get a second week in a row somewhere, you can relax. We went to the Maldives which is a 1 hour flight to Male airport. Some final points:
We were advised to tip the driver between $5-10 per person per day as an example, but you can tip what you feel was worth. Your guide will offer to take you to other places that are not listed on the tour and will be charged. If you don't want to do this, just say no thanks and they won't accept you. We almost fell for this and arrived at a spa which we were told would cost 5,000 rupees each for an hour which works out to a total of �40 so not a huge cost but we really didn't want a spa visit So we politely said we weren't interested. On the last day you will also be asked if you want to go rafting, which we didn't do as the last thing we wanted was to get wet en route to the airport. Overall, a worthwhile trip to an amazing country.
Trip was amazing. We covered all the places as per the itinerary. Our guide is very humble and great person, explained about all the places in detail. Worth visiting the coutnry with Aitken & Spence.
This tremendous 14-day trip takes you through the immense area of Rajasthan to explore its great past. Discover the great times of the maharajas of the area and travel back in time, discovering its magnitude of strengths and impressive forts. You will visit important cities, the desert and the illustrious Taj Mahal. This trip combines contrasts and cultural riches with all the magic of Rajasthan.
Art and architecture
Tour Type
Group Tour
Accommodation
Hotel, Resort
Age Range
6-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
New Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Mandawa
New Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Mandawa, Rajasthan, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur
15% OFF TODAY
This deal is valid for limited time. Book now to reserve your seats.
Blissful Sri Lanka with Exceptional service. Sri Lanka with its endless beaches, oodles of elephants and flavourful food makes this beautiful country irresistible. My husband and I were extremely fortunate to spend 7 days in Sri Lanka, made fabulous with all the tour guides and arrangements made by Aitkin Spence. The itinerary, service, and attention to detail was nothing but exceptional! All tour guides were extremely knowledgeable always willing to answer any questions we had on all sorts of topics and also pointing out interesting things to see and sharing their wealth of knowledge on Sri Lanka. Both my husband and I had a few last minute changes to the itinerary and Aitken Spence staff were always happy to ensure our trip was memorable, always going above and beyond. Hotel stays and choices of restaurants for food were breathtakingly beautiful and we could no way have found them ourselves. We were accommodated for as a couple and our tour ended with a private elephant ride in the sunset and a romantic private dinner at a beautiful hotel amongst the tropical beauty of Sri Lanka. A special commendation to Nihaal for greeting us at the airport and showing us the hustle and bustle of Colombo, Malikante for warmly meeting us at our hotel to run through the itinerary and making us feel very welcome to Sri Lanka, and Deepthi for giving us memorable experiences with elephants (our favourites), this really made the trip . A heartfelt thank you to Anil Sir for making this dream a reality for my Husband and I. We look forward to booking with you again very soon.
Art and architecture
Tour Type
Group Tour
Accommodation
Hotel, Bungalow, Resort
Age Range
6-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Colombo, Dambulla, Kandy, Nuwara
Colombo, Dambulla, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Unawatuna
15% OFF TODAY
This deal is valid for limited time. Book now to reserve your seats.
Exception tour of Sri Lanka with Sujith Hewawellalage. Sri Lanka is an incredible country to visit and an experience not to be missed. The culture and history are fascinating, the scenery and wildlife breathtaking and the people generous, warm and friendly. I was incredible lucky to spend 8 days in Sri Lanka with a fabulous tour guide and amazing human being Sujith (Roshan) Hewawellalage. His knowledge of Sri Lanka and management of the tour were impressive. From the moment I met Sujith at the airport I was confident in his abilities as a safe and responsible driver and an intelligent and caring guide. I have travelled all over the world and taken a huge variety of tours and this trip with Sujith still rates as one of the best I have experienced. I was travelling alone on this trip but I have no doubt that Sujith would be the perfect guide for couples, families and small groups. You won�t regret it
Join us on this memorable eight-day trip that will stay with you for a lifetime!. Explore Bhutan's ancient monasteries and shrines of historical and archaeological interests in the heartland of three major towns of the Dragon Kingdom; Thimphu, Punakha and Paro. Hike across the spectacular mountain scenery of Tiger's Nest , a backdrop to pristine forests and picturesque valleys and discover Ganteng Monastery in Gangtey.
Art and architecture
Tour Type
Group Tour
Accommodation
Hotel, Eco Lodge, Lodge, Resort
Age Range
6-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Paro, Thimphu, Gangtey Valley, Punakha
Paro, Thimphu, Gangtey Valley, Punakha
15% OFF TODAY
This deal is valid for limited time. Book now to reserve your seats.
