1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Where to start... There were so many highlights! Seeing so many elephants in Mineriya National Park, the visit to the Temple of the Tooth Relic, climbing Sigiriya, hiking in the Knuckles cloud forest, all the birds in Sinharaja rain forest, releasing baby turtles into the sea at Kosgoda. The friendly, smiling people of Sri Lanka. The beautiful scenery everywhere. This was our first trip that included more than very amateur birdwatching and we weren't disappointed - even Danny got hooked! Thanks to Jith's knowledge and sharp eyesight we saw well over 100 species including over half of the endemics. The highlights were coming across a flock of Sri Lanka Blue Magpies feeding noisily in the Sinharaja Rain Forest and seeing the nesting Painted Storks with chicks in Yala National Park. Jith also took a detour to show us the Scops Owl - much appreciated.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Make sure you have lots of small denomination notes for tips. Try the local "fast food" - delicious!

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

Yes, we stayed mainly in small locally owned hotels/lodges. We used local guides everywhere. We stopped for lunch at local places.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Amazing! We asked for culture and history, scenery and wildlife and we received so much more. Jith arranged a perfect holiday for us, making sure we got the best views from our rooms, adding a trip to Minneriya National Park so that Danny could photograph the elephants, changing the itinerary to include Yala National Park, arranging short interesting stops along the way - gem mining in Ratnapura, the Scops Owls, the fishermen returning with their catch in Weligama etc. etc. Jith has an amazing knowledge of Sri Lankan wildlife and thanks to him we saw so much of it and have the photos to prove it! We highly recommend booking a holiday with this operator, we will certainly do so again.

The holiday was amazing - I would give it 5 stars. Jith (from the operator) and his driver Saman were extremely knowledgeable and so kind and friendly that we now consider them friends. Apart from a night at an airport hotel on our arrival, late in the evening, we stayed in small eco-lodges that cooked food grown on their property/estate. I would highly recommend the Eco-Lanka lodge on the Massauwa Estate in the Hill country where we were treated to 2 Sri Lankan cooking lessons.

We also visited the homes of craftsmen in the Kandy area where we bought our souvenirs directly from the craftsmen, ensuring a better price for them.

Jith is also an expert in bird knowledge and has written reports to try and stop the use of mating calls to attract birds on bird spotting tours as this has a negative impact on their ability to mate. He is also writing reports to try and stop cruelty against snakes by snake charmers and porcupines as well. He certainly is doing some excellent work in that field.

My advice to other travellers would be to book with this operator, particularly if you have an interest in birds or wildlife, which is his passion. I will recommend him to all my friends that travel to Sri Lanka. He took us to more places than we had agreed beforehand and, along with Saman, worked tirelessly to make our trip a full and enriching experience. They were on hand to do as much or as little as we wanted and pointed out all sorts of interesting things that we would have missed had we were not with them. Definitely 5 stars!

Thanks very much for recommending them to us.

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

Difficult to say, as we remember enjoying so much, but Elephants, in the wild and the orphanage and transit camp did make a huge impression. The competition for first place on our "Memorable/Exciting" list was intense, particularly from the numerous remarkable and fascinating historical and religious sites.

Although not ourselves "birders" the sheer number of new species we were able to see WAS exciting, and enough to make us more observant and keen to see what birds we can spot in Britain now that we are home.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

DO NOT make our classic mistake of packing too much. DO sample as much local produce, particularly fruit, as you can. Despite what we have heard from other travellers to Sri Lanka, avoidance of "tummy troubles" is straightforward with common sense.

In contrast to some reviews we had read, we found Sri Lanka Airlines (Economy Class) had spacious seating legroom, with good food and plenty of attention from the cabin crew.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

Our travel was, by necessity, in a minibus, so we did produce carbon. There were, however, many opportunities to buy "local" rather than "tourist outlet". Wherever possible, local guides were used. We were also given opportunities to contribute financially, in a small way, to local conservation initiatives (Elephants/Turtles/Tsunami remembrance)

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

The advice and information from Jith, our guide, (and also from our driver Mr Silva) was really comprehensive and always interesting and informative. It ensured that we got the very most from our short stay in Sri Lanka, and that we came away with as much of an insight into the country and its people, history and especially its bird and animal life as was possible in the time we were there.

Our hotels were really well chosen, and we were most impressed by the standard of accommodation and food. The transportation, on many rather poor roads, was carried out with great care and efficiency.

Quite simply we had a fantastic time. We benefited greatly from the fact that we had booked with a small local company rather than a large tour operator. Jith acted as our personal guide, looking after us brilliantly throughout and always concerned to ensure that everything was just right for us on our honeymoon.

We could never have expected such a personal touch from a larger business. The programme was flexible enough to add new items to the itinerary or miss the odd thing if we were too tired. Jith also had a very good handle on local businesses, enabling us to buy some wonderful souvenirs and contribute to the local economy.

It was a busy two weeks but we managed to do and see so much of the Sri Lankan way of life, their history and culture and of course the wildlife as well.

We took over 300 photos in all, the most memorable moments were a visit to a turtle hatchery and a jeep safari with some very close encounters with wild elephants!

Overall I would rate the holiday ****.

Many thanks for your excellent service.