Holiday Reviews
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same trip can have different views!
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Sri Lanka wildlife holiday, independent reviews
 Reviewed 7 May 2006 by Janet DeLand |  |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Our trip to Sri Lanka was excellent--all we had hoped for and more. It would be difficult to single out any one part that was most memorable, however. Our driver was very capable, friendly, and knowledgeable, and the visits to the national parks and other wilderness areas were fascinating.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
I would certainly recommend a wilderness safari to anyone who is interested in beautiful scenery, unusual flora and fauna, and an introduction to Sri Lankan hospitality, food, and culture.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
I hope that our visit benefited the local people by our patronage of their accommodations and our purchases. We met almost no other Americans, which is really a shame. The American travellers are missing a very fine opportunity for a wonderful holiday. The managers of the eco-lodges at which we stayed all seemed concerned with preserving the natural environment, and I would hope that our stay did not have any negative impacts.
4. Any other comments?
Thanks again for introducing us to a fine local travel agent and a most rewarding experience.
Read the operator's response here:
It was indeed our pleasure to have the Janet and Family on holiday with us. I only met them briefly on day 01 but was constantly updated by our chauffeur on progress. One thing I did notice was their appreciation of simple accommodation such as at Sinharaja and Uda Walawe. They obviously placed higher value on the experience rather than comfort. I was also told how Mr. Deland couldn’t care less about the Leeches (which make some Sri Lankans squirm) and trekked into Sinharaja. He is one of the fittest 80 year olds I know. We do hope to see you all back soon.Janet’s observation on the lack of Americans to Sri Lanka is an accurate observation. Sadly we do not see many Americans come to Sri Lanka although Sri Lanka has so much to offer other than beaches. We are seeing more Canadians visiting us but no Americans. Maybe this observation would encourage Americans to visit Sri Lanka and discover why Marco Polo called it “The finest island of its size”.
| Reviewed 7 Mar 2006 by Dave Torr | |
In brief - we had a great trip and really enjoyed ourselves. From the magnificent fortress on top of Sigirya (well worth the climb) to the view from World's End to the brief glimpse of a leopard at Yale we have had a wonderful time, and complement the operator on the planning of the tour. We would certainly recommend Sri Lanka and your firm to anyone who was interested in seeing the country in detail.
We saw lots of elephants and other wildlife, including two sightings of wild cats which apparently are rarely seen. Whilst it was not a "birding" trip I was very happy to come away with 196 species seen in our 13 days in Sri Lanka - we met an English couple who had 14 days with a full time bird guide and they had seen 200 species, so I think we did very well.
Hotels
Very hard to rate out of 10 as they differ so much, so some comments on them.
Amaya Lake and Yala were very good overall and pretty similar. The rooms and service were good in both of them. Amaya Lake had the nicer grounds and pool (Yala pool was disappointing as it was too shallow for a proper swim). The buffet in Amaya offered a huge choice but most of the food was pretty bland and on the first night most of the food was only warm, not hot. The advertised naturalist at Amaya Lake for bird walks was not available whilst we were there, which was disappointing. The buffet at Yala offered less choice than Amaya but the food was better - although again the food was almost cold on the second night. There was a very good naturalist at Yala and I had an afternoon trip birding with him - he is very good. Had a lot of hassle trying to check out early from Yala as there was no-one on duty.
St Andrews was also very good - excellent room and the food was good as well.
We really enjoyed Martins - I guess we had been expecting something really primitive from the web sites we looked at, but actually it was comfortable and had all we needed - and a great view. The food was good as well.
Selara was also pretty good - we were the only guests I think. Comfortable room and the food was good - served by a very well trained waiter.
Willy's was OK - they were clearly not expecting us and made a lot of fuss about it - even though I think we were the only guests! Room was Ok but there was not much choice of food - what we had was OK.
Rafter's Retreat was disappointing - it seemed to be deliberately crude - badly finished furniture, sharp rocks to walk on to get to the shower etc. Nice setting though and the food was OK.
Driver
Gayan was a good driver and we always felt safe with him, despite the local conditions. He spoke good English and was polite, punctual and friendly - and had an excellent knowledge of the country and was able to answer most of our queries about things we saw as we were driving. Our only drama was a puncture (not surprising on some of the roads) and he handled that very quickly and efficiently. I guess one of our worries about the holiday was being stuck with a driver for the whole period who we did not like or found unsafe - but Gayan really helped to make our holiday a success.
Parks
As you indicated, most of the trackers were pretty hopeless, apart from Lal (obviously) and at Singaraja and Bundulla - at both of these we had really good trackers. The others contributed very little, but the drivers were very knowledgeable and helped us see a lot of wildlife. Pity about the state of the jeeps! If we were going again I'd probably miss Uda Walawe. Don't think we saw much there that we did not see anywhere else. And Bundula was a definite attraction with lots of good birds so glad we managed to fit that in. Surprisingly the afternoon safaris at Yale and Wasmagura were more productive than the early morning ones.
Minor issues
Lunch was not always easy to get on the days when we had long drives between hotels. We appreciate that there is not a great range of options on the way for lunch and I am sure that Gayan did his best - maybe your clients could be warned about this and the possibility offered of getting some sandwiches to take from the hotel? I think there was perhaps more driving than we anticipated - distances are not large but average speeds are low. Maybe people need to be informed that this is the case?
We saw lots of elephants and other wildlife, including two sightings of wild cats which apparently are rarely seen. Whilst it was not a "birding" trip I was very happy to come away with 196 species seen in our 13 days in Sri Lanka - we met an English couple who had 14 days with a full time bird guide and they had seen 200 species, so I think we did very well.
Hotels
Very hard to rate out of 10 as they differ so much, so some comments on them.
Amaya Lake and Yala were very good overall and pretty similar. The rooms and service were good in both of them. Amaya Lake had the nicer grounds and pool (Yala pool was disappointing as it was too shallow for a proper swim). The buffet in Amaya offered a huge choice but most of the food was pretty bland and on the first night most of the food was only warm, not hot. The advertised naturalist at Amaya Lake for bird walks was not available whilst we were there, which was disappointing. The buffet at Yala offered less choice than Amaya but the food was better - although again the food was almost cold on the second night. There was a very good naturalist at Yala and I had an afternoon trip birding with him - he is very good. Had a lot of hassle trying to check out early from Yala as there was no-one on duty.
St Andrews was also very good - excellent room and the food was good as well.
We really enjoyed Martins - I guess we had been expecting something really primitive from the web sites we looked at, but actually it was comfortable and had all we needed - and a great view. The food was good as well.
Selara was also pretty good - we were the only guests I think. Comfortable room and the food was good - served by a very well trained waiter.
Willy's was OK - they were clearly not expecting us and made a lot of fuss about it - even though I think we were the only guests! Room was Ok but there was not much choice of food - what we had was OK.
Rafter's Retreat was disappointing - it seemed to be deliberately crude - badly finished furniture, sharp rocks to walk on to get to the shower etc. Nice setting though and the food was OK.
Driver
Gayan was a good driver and we always felt safe with him, despite the local conditions. He spoke good English and was polite, punctual and friendly - and had an excellent knowledge of the country and was able to answer most of our queries about things we saw as we were driving. Our only drama was a puncture (not surprising on some of the roads) and he handled that very quickly and efficiently. I guess one of our worries about the holiday was being stuck with a driver for the whole period who we did not like or found unsafe - but Gayan really helped to make our holiday a success.
Parks
As you indicated, most of the trackers were pretty hopeless, apart from Lal (obviously) and at Singaraja and Bundulla - at both of these we had really good trackers. The others contributed very little, but the drivers were very knowledgeable and helped us see a lot of wildlife. Pity about the state of the jeeps! If we were going again I'd probably miss Uda Walawe. Don't think we saw much there that we did not see anywhere else. And Bundula was a definite attraction with lots of good birds so glad we managed to fit that in. Surprisingly the afternoon safaris at Yale and Wasmagura were more productive than the early morning ones.
Minor issues
Lunch was not always easy to get on the days when we had long drives between hotels. We appreciate that there is not a great range of options on the way for lunch and I am sure that Gayan did his best - maybe your clients could be warned about this and the possibility offered of getting some sandwiches to take from the hotel? I think there was perhaps more driving than we anticipated - distances are not large but average speeds are low. Maybe people need to be informed that this is the case?