Sri Lanka in Depth

It is the 9th time I have used Explore for a holiday. From booking to the actual holiday have always been easy to sort and this was no different. Unfortunately, we had trouble with our flight connection but communication with the tour company was easy and helped us get to our destination. The holiday was exceptional and sri lanka is a beautiful country to visit. Our tour guide guide was exceptional and went above and beyond to make it an amazing experience for us all on the tour. From the beautiful scenery to the experiences with the wildlife and the people was something we shall never forget. The food was amazing and varied. The tour helped us understand a diverse and beautiful country and covered everything to enhance our experience. Yet again, our tour leader, bus driver and bus boy were so friendly and helpful. They made everything run so smoothly. Sir Lanka is an amazing country and we would definitely return. We cannot thank Explore for another experience of a lifetime.

Fantastically varied and action packed trip in beautiful, vibrant, colourful Sri Lanka. This tour had everything; two millennium of fascinating history, interesting towns and cities as well as stunning scenery and golden beaches. Wildlife in abundance including leopards, elephants and blue whales. The bus, food, and hotels were all good and made even better by the always friendly Sri Lankan hospitality lead by Sujesh our wonderful guide, who was kind, thoughtful and entertaining in equal measure. One of the best trips I have been on for sure.

This was my first Explore trip, and it turned out to be the best group tour I’ve done so far. I really enjoyed the itinerary, the group, and above all, our tour leader Sujith. He was outstanding – attentive to everyone, full of knowledge about Sri Lanka’s history, culture, people, and economy, and always finding ways to make the journey special with spontaneous stops and unique local interactions. I would highly recommend both this trip and Explore to anyone considering a visit to Sri Lanka.

An excellent trip that delivers what it promises at a fair price.

The leader was exceptional and made efforts to introduce us to local experiences. He provided information on a number of interesting topics and was open to questions of all kinds. He was friendly, kind and made everyone in the group feel included and important!

An excellent, well-organised Sri Lankan trip, full of fantastic memories of a beatifical diverse island, kind and friendly people and awesome food - thank you so much

This was definitely a mixed bag of experiences, some highs the temples and the wildlife, some lows the gemstone factories. We saw some amazing sights and we were privileged to be in Sri Lanka for Holy Week, and Sri Lanka new year. Mimi our guide did an amazing job of trying to please 14 women who all had their own thoughts on things to see. He dealt with this always with a smiling face, he really strived to show his beautiful country to us. My experience of the hotel in Kandy was not the best, but Mimi had the necessary conversations to rectify the situation. Hector was an amazing driver!

Would thoroughly recommend this tour as a way of getting a comprehensive introduction to Sri Lanka, its geography, culture, religions, food and people. You do visit a lot of temples as they are an important part of Sri Lankan life. The tour is busy and can be physical with a couple of challenging climbs which are optional. The accomodation is varied so don't always expect the standards that you may get in more developed countries but the hotels are always clean and some are really top notch. Our tour leader (mimi) and driver (hector) were amazing. Mimi was so knowledgible and passionate about his country, and willing to accomodate all our many requests

Good varied trip with lots to see. Particularly enjoyed the final safari, siguria rock, tea plantations, whale watching and seeing everyday life in Sri Lanka. We visited during new year and also arrived at Kandy the day they opened the casket at the temple of the tooth for the first time in 15 years so was very busy but interesting to see. First included safari was very bumpy and didn't see much but second included one much better. We did the Adams Peak itinerary but I didn't do the climb.Our guide Mimi and driver Hector were excellent and made a great trip. Hotels mostly good but lots of changes and hotel near Galle was a bit far out. Blackpool Hotel was excellent with a great buffet dinner and breakfast. Overall well worth doing to get a good insight into Sri Lanka.

Fabulous trip! Visited lots of beautiful and very interesting sites. Our guide had good historical knowledge and was informative. Our driver and his assistant were fabulous and took good care of us! I loved the safaris, seeing the elephants and other wildlife in their natural habitat and watching the sunrise from the top of Sigiriya. These memories are priceless. In future, it might be helpful if the trip information shares when white/light clothing is required to enter specific temples. A couple of the hotels we stayed in, whilst well situated, were not very good quality. Otherwise the hotels were either good or sufficient for one night. Overall, I was very happy with the trip and have returned home with fantastic memories of Sri Lanka, the people and amazing sights.

This was a really comprehensive tour of Sri Lanka covering many of the must-see sights. Our guide, George was knowledgeable, organised and helpful, with a good sense of humour and our driver (Hector) was always welcoming and patient with the photographers among us. The programme is very full and involves a lot of time in the coach and on some occasions not enough time to just experience the place. However, unlike recent reviews, our accommodation was great and the locations well chosen. Although there were sometimes western alternatives, be prepared for a lot of Sri Lankan curries at lunch and dinner. While the trip requires only moderate stamina overall, the optional Adam’s Peak ascent is definitely not for the faint-hearted or those with weak knees!

You know when you meet someone, and you know they are in the wrong career and will talk about this moment in their lives negatively later in life? Our guide told us on day 1 that she gets “angry” when she is asked the same question twice by tourists. That’s not a great trait for a tour guide. She was fine at arranging the logistics (she would sometimes forget to send us the itinerary or tell us about temple visits so we could dress accordingly) but she lacked empathy and the passion for showing off her country to her groups. It’s a hard job and not for everyone. I didn’t feel like I was being hosted by the guide and it made me think twice about booking an Explore tour again. I have toured with other companies in other countries and have always had great tour guides. The itinerary was needlessly packed, with way too many temple visits and early morning wakeups. The hotels were all over the place, a couple of nice ones but we stayed at them for only one night. The bad ones were terrible (leaking toilets, cockroaches, broken locks etc) and we stayed at them for two nights (obvs not an accident as they were cheaper)

Well organised and led with a busy itinerary. A reasonable degree of fitness required to make the most of this tour. A great taste of Sri Lanka.

The tour was fantastic. The itinerary fast paced and varied and Ish, our guide was a source of much information and insight. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country, the people warm and friendly and food divine. I would recommend it to anyone.

Some of the accommodation was poor, with hygiene issues and broken furniture and equipment. Sadly this fell below the usual standard I have previously had with Explore. The itinerary was good but had a few days of nothing but temples which we felt could have been spread out. The guide was less helpful than other guides I have had. She didn't communicate with the group very well, often leaving information until the night before when it was late to prepare. She could be a bit snappy if you asked her to repeat information. We also had two people in the group who had informed Explore that they had dietary requirements. ( Gluten free and dairy free) None of the hotels were prepared for this which I felt should have been the job of the guide to prepare in advance . She was , at times dismissive of their dietary needs.

If you want to make the most of a fortnight in Sri Lanka this is the tour to go on. We ticked all the boxes that were on my list, on safari we saw elephants, a sloth bear, water buffolo, crocodiles and far more. We visited many temples and old city ruins. We visited Sigiriya or Lions rock, starting off early so we could see the dawn spreading out over the misty landscape. There's plenty of walking, so bring comfortable shoes. The food provided was good - I can't eat chilli and that was catered for. The hotels we stayed in were either basic or comfortable level. All the rooms were clean and the beds comfortable. Sadly, there was little in the way of exciting adventures, NO zip lines/white water rafting/Ambuluwawa Tower. All of which I would have welcomed.

It was a very good trip we saw lots of sights and the accommodation was all serviceable. Sujith our tour guide was really good he looked after us very well and I would definitely recommend him as one of the best tour guides I've experienced in all the trips I've made over the years.

We saw and did so much in Sri Lanka in our two weeks. Our Guide Sujth was amazing. He looked after us, got us into ancient sites before the crowds kept us safe and enabled us to experience the fabulous wildlife everywhere. The group of 16 got on well and we even celebrated a birthday dancing in an amazing hotel on a tea plantation .

My daughter and I had an excellent trip to Sri Lanka with Explore. Our guide, Sujth Rathmayaka, was outstanding, as was his knowledge of his country. Also his team, who drove the two vehicles used, Hektor and Harsha, could not have been more helpful. The hotels we stayed in were of a good quality, as were the restaurants used for lunches. All in all, we couldn't fault our trip. We saw plenty of elephants, monkeys, birds etc. as well as visits to temples, buddhas and climbs up Lion Rock & Adam's Peak. It would have been good to see a leopard and a whale on our travels, but that did mar a memorable holiday. Thank you, Explore.

This tour packed in the main Sri Lanka highlights and a lot more too. The food and hotels were variable in quality, but generally much better than I had expected. Our tour leader Ish and drivers did a fantastic job. The itinerary includes a range of experiences - temples, shrines, ancient cities, modern cities, safaris, waterfalls, serious walking, craft/shopping visits, a tea plantation, a beach, a train journey, authentic local food - something for everyone. I would certainly recommend this trip.

We really enjoyed our trip to Sri Lanka, our tour guide, Sujith, was so helpful and informative and did everything he could to ensure the trip went smoothly and we got the most out of the holiday. We loved the trip up Lion Rock, and the safaris to see elephant, eagles and other wildlife, the local cookery class, the history, even the hike up Adams Peak! Really interesting trip, and nice to finish on a quiet beach to wind down before heading home.

I never had any intention of missing a night's sleep to climb Adam's Peak, so that one point on the itinerary was kind of a bust for me (watch out for those stairs at the hotel too - they are no joke) but the rest of this trip was absolutely fantastic. We had some lovely hotels and a couple where the rooms were pretty basic but the public areas and pools were all great. The itinerary doesn't really look it on paper but it is PACKED and from the moment you set off on day 1, you are on the go non-stop. This was absolutely fine by me as a solo but couples may prefer more time to themselves, so do choose wisely, or take a couple of extra days at the beginning or end. Sri Lanka was beautiful. Full of friendly, helpful people, amazing food (too much for me sometimes, as group lunches and dinners were often organised by our leader along our journey but i was often just not hungry for them and just sat with a drink while the others ate) and so many opportunities to see wildlife all around and not just in the National Parks. Our leader was very knowledgable and full of history and context to help us understand what we were seeing. We were very lucky and he made such a difference to our experience of Sri Lanka. I highly recommend this trip but just make sure it is for you. This itinerary would not suit everybody.

Kalle room has mouldy shower Hotel j too basic poor food Too many temples initially First safari no regulation of jeeps and they40-50 jeeps, surrounded the elephants Adam’s peak filthy litter - Sri Lanka needs to improve this for tourists industry as a whole Longer trip with less one night stops That said : amazing trip ,full of a wide diversity. A beautiful country . Excellent tour guide and driver.

Most of the hotels were really great only the Adam’s Peak guest house was not. 400 steps up and down to a room was just not on Also given a room not facing the lovely view, facing an area obviously being built on in the future with rubbish on one corner. Thanks to the super hotel room chap he got us decent rooms like the rest of the group and when we said not going down to supper because of the 400 steps brought the food to us

Sam was an excellent tour leader, very knowledgeable about Sri Lanka. We found the itinerary well planned and varied. Not everything we did suited all - not everyone climbed Lion Rock or Adams Peak for example, yet both were highlights for us. The crush at the top of Adams Peak was overwhelming (we were warned it could be busy) but the sunrise views were fabulous. Two things we disliked about the trip - firstly the tour bus was cramped and uncomfortable. With 16 of us, there was very little room. But the worst thing was the Nine Bridges train journey. Despite us having tickets, they had been oversold which resulted in most of us standing for a considerable time in a cramped, stuffy train. mostly we did not have a view anyway. It was most unpleasant and we would have preferred to travel by bus. These aspects diminished our experience which was a pity because Sri Lanka is so beautiful with much to see and do. We really enjoyed visiting a country that was such a dramatic contrast to UK.

What a fantastic trip with a great leader - Sujhit who maximised the enjoyment and ensured everything went very smoothly despite the very full on itinerary.

Our guide was excellent.

Punsisi resort is bad