Lucinda
  • (Member) (Topic Starter)
(Member) (Topic Starter)
I have recently arrived home from Sri Lanka, and what a lovely holiday I had. It was only a small group of 13, which was nice as we all got to know each other. We had very hot, humid weather with quite a bit of rain. However this didn't really effect the holiday as we tended to do the excursions in the morning so that we could relax by the pool in the afternoon. All the hotels were lovely, especially the ones we stayed in for a number of nights. A high factor sun cream is definitely required-I had 30 on and still got burnt! I would recommended light weight cover ups.

All the excursions were really good, it was great to see the elephants at Pinnawela and in the wild on safari. We all climbed the Sigiriya rock, some of us making it right to the top. The dambulla caves were really interesting along with the ancient cities and temples. The train ride we had was a very different style to over here and was fascinating. The tea plantation was also interesting and we got a go at tea plucking!

All bar the last meal was buffet style. There was always something you could find to eat. The Sri Lankan curries were rather too hot for me, but they had English, Italian, Indian, Thai as well.

And a big thank you to our tour manager Amanda who was excellent throughout and is definitely responsible for how good a time we had

AbbaDave
(Member)
Hi Lucinda

we did Sri Lanka in 2009 and was one of the most scenic islands i have ever been to, the elephants at Pinnawala orphanage was really interesting especially bottle feeding the babies and we only got up as far as the Lions paws at Sigiriya but it was getting late in the day at the time and a hornets nest put us off going the full way plus we had a elephant ride through the jungle to fit in just as the light was fading, the coastal ride from Kandy back up to Colombo was beautiful though we didn't do this with JY but by ourselves, loved seeing so many monkeys but didn't think the Sri Lankan curries were up to much

Thanks for the review

Dave

nixon
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(Member)
Lucinda

I love hearing about animals and elephants are my favourite, sounds like a very god tour.

Cindy

Lucinda
  • (Member) (Topic Starter)
(Member) (Topic Starter)
'nixon' wrote:

Lucinda

I love hearing about animals and elephants are my favourite, sounds like a very god tour.

Cindy

It was elephant heaven! The Pinnawela sanctuary, a jeep safari where we saw loads of elephants-all different sizes and to cap it off a ride on an elephant. You also had to feed your elephant bananas as you were going along!

Jaya
  • (Member)
(Member)
Hi Lucinda

Thanks for the great review. Hopefully Sri Lanka will be on offer for the next 2-3 years as this is one destination which is on my list.

Regards

Jaya

TimH
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(Member)
This really was a good tour, think it was helped by the fact that it was a small group and for most of us this wasn't our first just you trip so we all knew the process, so no hanging about for the late arrivals. The buffet style eating was good as it gave you the chance to sample the local cuisine while still having a fall back of something you know you'll like to eat and if you found something you liked you could go back for more. One of the highlights was getting to ride sitting on the elephnants neck, but don't tell Amanda and certainly don't tell her about crossing the railway tracks. Our local guide was excellent.
Julie White
(Member)
Hello Lucinda,

I am glad that you had a great time in Sri Lanka. You have left a fab review.

I have been to the Pinnawela elephant sanctuary and I loved it and I especially loved seeing the baby elephants playing up and getting into mischief. It is a wonderful experience.

You need to start planning your next big adventure.

Take care Julie