Sri Lanka on a shoestring

Planet

On this trip you get to visit the Yala National Park which is a protected area of land which is helping preserve the animals and wildlife that live in this area. We have chosen Yala as it is a responsible park and due to tourism is highly protected by the Sri Lankan government safeguarding the animals who reside within. Our guides and staff are trained on how best to protect the flora and fauna and our customers are also informed on this via our 'how to be a responsible traveller' document.

We also include a train journey in this itinerary from Nuwara Eliya to Ella which is a low-carbon way of travelling with minimal impact to the environment.

Our local partner in Sri Lanka also shares the same values as us in terms of using as little energy in the office and also recycling. We both use minimal paper in our offices and have all paper used recycled. They also have strict times at which they use the air-conditioning in their office.

People

On this trip you will mainly travel with in a private car with a driver. Our drivers know the best places to stop for food/drinks/snacks and will stop at small places where the locals will profit from much needed income. You will also stay with a local family in a homestay in Kandy where the family will make you feel at home and teach you how to cook traditional Sri Lankan dishes. This is a great support to the local families here as it gives them a steady income from tourism.

Our local partner also runs a lot of charity projects in Sri Lanka and supports many local communities. In 2008, they provided emergency lights and installed lights at a girls home in Nugegoda. In 2013 our local partner bought 40 new mattresses for an retirement home near Colombo. Other projects that they have funded include providing food and rations to local charities, helping restore the homes of some of Sri Lanka's most needy, and paying for cancer drugs for patients at some local hospitals.