Sri Lanka Cultural, religious historic sites Trips

Anjana was an excellent Tour Leader and made our experience of Sri Lanka a very memorable and enjoyable one. I only have two items of feedback. Be prepared to walk in bare feet/socks once you enter the grounds of a temple; not at the actual door, as you'd expect. This means you could be walking on hot stones, pathways, gravel, sand, dirt and for some time. Take socks that you are prepared to sacrifice at the end of the holiday! If you have problems with your feet, then this holiday may not be for you. In Dalhousie, Adam's Peak location, the hotel is on 4 x floors and the rooms with the view are located away from the main building and up 262 steps - and that is not just 'a series of steps' (per the Trip Notes) - that's a lot! The porters will take your luggage, but you have to walk up/down yourself. If you have bad knees or hips, you may want to consider a room in the main building. (But you still have to get up at least 2 x floors.) Thoroughly recommend this holiday. It was my favourite EXPLORE tour so far!

Positives: Sri Lanka and its people are beautiful and I felt very welcome here. Our guide (Ash) shared his expert knowledge with us in a very considerate way, always providing a well timed and appropriate level of detail but without information overload. I found him to be very calm, caring and mindful of individual interests across the group. I felt that he gave us an immersive experience of his county and culture as well as a guided tour. Our driver and helper were also great. My most memorable highlight was climbing Lion Rock to see the sunrise. I also enjoyed the food and authentic cooking demonstrations. Most accommodations were very good and overall I was very glad to have taken this tour. Room for improvement: Transport - our minibus was very uncomfortable for long journeys. Adam’s Peak - only 4 of our group of 12 did the climb and the accommodation was awful with over 300 external stone steps to climb to our room. Quite treacherous after heavy rain and fallen leaves. No soap provided in the ladies’ loo by the dining area. For me, this is a red flag on hygiene standards. I suggest offering Adam’s peak as an optional tour rather than part of the core itinerary. Offer other options - e.g. we were 5 mins drive from our next hotel before heading past to a mediocre food court and the tea factory. I felt that a hotel drop could have been offered for anyone wanting to spend the afternoon there to enjoy the spa, pool etc. instead. Safari - I didn’t enjoy the first one. We spent 3 hours bumping around on a dusty track in the afternoon heat and saw one elephant and a few water buffalo in the far distance. The other two safaris were also scheduled in the afternoon heat so I chose not to join them although fellow travellers said that both were better than the first. Consider whether safaris could be scheduled for early morning.

Our Sri Lanka tour was really wonderful - wide-ranging but well-enough paced to avoid overload. The Adam’s Peak climb was more challenging than expected but worth doing. It’s just a shame that we had a 300 step climb to get to our rooms afterwards. Sigiriya, Kandy, Ella, Galle and the ancient Buddhist sites were really memorable, although Wilpattu game reserve was disappointing as we drove for a long time on forest tracks with little to see. Udawalawe and the elephant transit camp the following week were much better. Our guide was exceptional and went above and beyond on a couple of notable occasions. Details such as snack and toilet breaks had been well-planned and almost all of the meals were excellent. There were just a few too many visits to craft workshops (woodcarving, batik, jewellery) as, although they were interesting, we felt like there was an expectation to make a purchase. The dhoni cruise in The Maldives was fascinating with some excellent snorkelling. The first two days were a little slow, however with little to see or do apart from the daily snorkel trips twice a day. For anyone not wanting to snorkel, it could have been a little disappointing. The sea life was stunning and our well-informed guide provided some expert knowledge about the wildlife and about the country and culture as a whole. Overall, the trip was an exceptional experience and I would highly recommend.

The Sri Lanka tour was excellent. The tour was full on, visiting 2 - 4 sites each day. We saw temples, took safari rides to see the wildlife, looking at landscapes from beaches, through rainforests, and up to the highlands and mountains. We saw a huge variety of animals and birds in the national parks. Our guide Mimi was kindness personified, and gave us a fascinating insight into the country's history and culture. The hotels and restaurants were great. The Maldives cruise was based on board a fairly traditional boat. We were well looked after by the whole crew, and visited lots of sites to snorkel and see reefs, fish, turtles, rays and even sharks. We visited 2 local islands - they are very small, not so much to see.

15 days touring holiday packed with activities showcasing the rich and immense history, culture and wildlife of Sri Lanka with an outstanding local guide leading the trip along with his driver crew. We visited temples, ancient cities, waterfalls, tea plantations and saw an immense amount of flora and fauna, and had a wide variety of amazing food every day. Travelling around the south of the country we saw stunning landscapes and got to experience the real Sri Lanka as we cycled and hiked through villages and national parks.

The Sri Lanka in Depth trip was really enjoyable. We visited a great mix of places seeing temples, ancient capital ruins, beautiful countryside filled with tea plantations, beaches and cities. The trip was packed with activities however you always had enough time to see what you wanted at each place. The trip was well run and one I would recommend.