Honeymoon to Sri Lanka
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.comDeparture information
This trip can be tailor made at a time to suit you throughout the year and adapted to your requirements as necessary.
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Holiday type
Tailor made holiday
This trip can be tailormade to create a unique holiday for your individual requirements by travel experts with intimate knowledge of the destination. It is a more luxurious trip that will suit those who enjoy immersing themselves in new cultures and environments before relaxing in comfort in some of the best and most characterful local accommodation! Quality and value are the hallmark of these trips.Responsible tourism
Responsible tourism: Honeymoon to Sri Lanka
We buy the service of locals who are trained as guides, trackers, cooks, stewards & etc. The hotels that we go to employ locals. Visitors are encouraged to buy craft products straight from the village craftspersons.
We are not a large-scale venture and we will not promote commercial sales aimed at tourists. The aim of this is to improve the lives of the people in the areas that we visit and at the same time to give the visitor a high quality service on their holiday.
The visitor is given the opportunity to buy quality hygienic food and beverages from villagers including native herbal drinks, traditional sweets, locally available fresh fruits & etc. If the visitor decides to have no meat products (to avoid health risks & other reasons), we make sure that he gets quality organic vegetarian dishes.
The money spend in the conservation spots like the Turtle Hatcheries will help conservation.
5 Reviews of Honeymoon to Sri Lanka
4.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed on 30 Nov 2010 by Joanna Brown
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Seeing the (many, many) elephants by jeep safari in the national park.
Climbing up Sigirya rock and admiring the spectacular views, and then swimming in the hotel pool beneath during the stormy monsoon rain. The amazing sunsets at Bentota beach.
The misty views from our hotel in the hills high above Kandy. Friendly people everywhere, and in particular the lovely welcome at the airport with orchid garlands!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
You feel a little isolated from the 'real' Sri Lanka being in the car driving through places, and eating and staying in 'tourist' hotels - it's really rewarding to explore beyond this, and experience village life if you get the opportunity to do so. Also, a suggestion for lunches would be to use local bakeries and shops rather than always going to restaurants offering buffet food.
On a similar note, although it was really good to stop off at the big craft shops (for wood carving, gems, batik, etc), it might also be nice to wander around 'freestyle' and explore other, perhaps smaller and more low-key, shops. Another idea to consider would be including the tea plantation area (i.e. Nuwarya Eliya) in the itinerary if possible (we did not have time, but from what we heard and read, we'd like to go).
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes, as the tourist industry is such a big part of the Sri Lankan economy. And, by using a local tour operator, hopefully the benefit to local people was even greater than if we'd used a large UK-based holiday firm.
We travelled around in an air-con car, so the environmental impacts maybe weren't as minimal as they could have been, but that was definitely the best way to make the most of a short time there.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
We really enjoyed our snapshot of Sri Lanka and would love to go back sometime. All the arrangements were extremely well organised thanks to Prasanjith, who was very helpful with answering our many queries beforehand. We also appreciated the fact that he took the time to meet us at the beginning and end of our trip. Our driver (Mr Jaya) took excellent care of us along the way, and was a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide.
Reviewed on 25 May 2010 by Alastair Francis
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
I don't think that there is a most memorable part of the holiday as it was memorable as a complete package. If pushed I would say that stunning views of the tea plantations and the beautiful terraced smallholdings of the local Sri Lankans on the way to Nuwara Eliya were awe-inspiring and the cave temples in Dambulla were simply stunning. The mini safari in Uduwallawa National Park was great fun and we loved seeing all the elephants at such close hand.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Take protection from the heat. Make sure you cover up your shoulders as a woman in the temples to avoid any stares or the wrath of the locals. Always take the time to say hello to those helping you as they are very friendly people and try to tip well in local restaurants. You should not be too worried about crime, but remember to be firm to those who are trying to sell you trinkets if you do not want them to. Once you have made it clear, they will leave you alone unlike other countries.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
I think that because we visited so many places that we did benefit local people, although I did feel at times that some of the shops we were supposed to buy from did slightly rip off the tourists when you could have bought similar quality goods more cheaply elsewhere. however, we loved the herb garden and thought that was very genuine and it seemed beneficial that all those visiting the country got to see what is produced in Sri Lanka. In terms of minimizing the impact on the environment, the fact you drive everywhere maybe does not help but it is the only way to get around in order to see it all. The fact we stayed in some lovely eco-lodges did however help and we absolutely loved Ranweli Lodge and the Sigiriya lodge. They were beautiful.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
A great experience with a good insight into the diverse nature and culture of Sri Lanka and its people and religions. It was definitely worth all the planning and the cost and we would probably go again given the opportunity in the future. Our driver was helpful and Prasanjith was an absolute star from the moment we booked the holiday, through all the questions prior to the holiday and in particular at the end when we had the issue with the Icelandic ash cloud. He helped us enormously to ensure that we stayed in great accommodation and was always available to answer our questions and helped us liaise with Colombo airport and Sri Lankan airlines. He is a star and would recommend his holiday to anyone.
Reviewed on 29 Dec 2009 by John Dodson
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Definitely the look of pure joy on my wife's face when taking a bath with an elephant at the Millenium Foundation; it was one of her life dreams and it was a really wonderful moment amongst many memorable parts of our honeymoon. For me, the visit to the Turtle sanctuary was equally as moving; it was a special moment to hold 1 day old turtles, and to know they would have a much better chance of survival due to the fantastic work of the volunteers.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
First and foremost - LISTEN to the guide! He has so much local knowledge; he saved us money, time and hassle and his advice was worth its weight in gold! Take plenty of insect repellent. Don't feel obliged to buy goods, but tip well for good service. We took some small memo pads and pencils for local children, and these were very gratefully received.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Very much so - we went off the tourist trail quite often, and goods were often much better quality and a better price. Knowing that our holiday funds were going direct to local trades people made us feel much better about spending hard earned cash. Although our trip was high class throughout, many of our hotels employed recycling and conservation methods, which we were happy to adopt during our stay.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Quite simply, superb. Nothing was too much trouble for either our tour operator or our guide, both of whom remained flexible and friendly throughout. We can't wait to go back!
Reviewed on 24 Sep 2009 by Jon Hobbs
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Of very many memorable parts the most exciting was the national park jeep safari and watching the elephants make their way to water in the setting sun.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Do a little bit of research and identify any particular locations you want to visit or hotels you would like to stay in. But don't do so much that you cannot be surprised by the extra stops that the very knowledgeable tour guide can suggest.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes. Any tourism would help in Sri Lanka. Our local tour guide was able to give us extremely useful tips such as when it is appropriate to tip, when you are seeing a genuine local craft and when a salesman is likely to be selling poor quality tourist traps!
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Excellent. Full of activity and interest when we wanted it to be but also gave us a much needed chance to relax and unwind.
Reviewed on 22 Jul 2008 by Adrian Golder-Hayes
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Highlights were the beautiful countryside, particularly in the high-lands and beaches, sampling the local culture and food, climbing Sigiriya, visiting the Tea Plantations and Safari's at Uda Walawe and Minnieriya where the sight of 100's of wild elephants migrating and bathing just in front of us will stay with us forever!2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
This tour was great if you really like to experience a country and enjoy some relaxing time by the pool at the end. A purpose built tour can be arranged just for you, by a small, but established, travel company in Sri Lanka who have the best up to date knowledge of where is best to go and stay.
Yes, there are some security problems with terrorism in some parts on the country, as in many countries, but we stayed away from those areas and never felt at risk at all. The local people are so proud of their country and are always happy to help you and serve you well.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
We used a Sri Lankan tour company, a local driver and stopped at mainly local places for lunch, so most of our money stayed in the country. We also helped with contributions to the Elephant sanctuary and a local turtle hatchery.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
We had a fantastic Honeymoon, organised by this operator. It was lovely to have a personal tour, with our own professional and knowledgeable driver. The tour was designed just for us by Jith and was cheaper than using a large UK based company, and also preferable as our money benefited the local people more. Our trip enabled us to really see Sri Lanka away from the tourist areas, highlights were sampling the local food, climbing Sigiriya and Safari's where we were lucky to see many wild Elephants, birds and crocodiles. We then spent 5 days by the beach, which was nice and relaxing at the end. I would happily recommend this operator as an independent travel company.
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