3 independent reviews for Sri Lanka wildlife and whales tour
Reviews for Sri Lanka wildlife and whales tour
Catherine Stothart review 8 Feb 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
It was all great. The diversity of bird life is astonishing - we saw 85 different types of bird - Sri Lanka is wonderful for anyone who likes bird watching. I guess the rainforest was different, but we liked all the places we went to - great variety of habitat and places to stay. It was good having a naturalist with us - he spotted and identified a lot of the birds for us.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Take binoculars - you get a much better view of the wildlife, especially birds, if you have binoculars. Don't go if you don't like curry! (Though most places had alternatives).3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Not sure. It was good that we used our own water bottles that were topped up each day, rather than having single use bottles. Apart from that, tourism does damage the environment, but on the other hand, it also provides employment to local people. There probably needs to be more control over the jeep safaris - when a leopard was spotted in Yala, there were about a dozen jeeps trying to get close.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Excellent holiday for anyone who likes wildlife and especially birds. We stayed in lots of different types of accommodation in wonderful locations (rainforest, beach etc,) the food was good, the people friendly and it was a relaxing experience. Our guide was especially good - both his organisation of the tour, and in the information he gave us about Sri Lanka. We would go to Sri Lanka again.Read the operator's response here:
We would like to thank Catherine for her feedback and we were very pleased to read that she had a great time overall. We were concerned to read of her experience at Yala National Park and have brought this to the attention of our Responsible Travel Manager who will discuss ways in which to prevent this happening with our local manager.
Martyn Todd review 10 Dec 2017
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Not a good trip but good birds.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Food is mainly served cold - be prepared for this.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
No.4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Poor.Chris Rose review 14 Apr 2014
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
There were many, but it had to be finally seeing a Leopard in the wild, it was not without its stress as there were too many jeeps trying to populate a very small space but eventually we were lucky and had wonderful views as an adult female came down to drink at a waterhole.2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
It is extremely hot in early April, ensure you use plenty of sunblock, and be prepared for very early mornings, and quite tiring drives and boat rides, in the end though it is worth it.3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
yes, but I was concerned that we were taken to two events that exploited us, one was the stilt fishermen, and the other a Turtle hatchery. The fishermen was blatant tourist exploitation, and I resented being treated like a fool. The turtle hatchery claimed to be a conservation concern, but was not. They were using turtles and turtle eggs to attract tourists. The turtles themselves looked awful, longing for the sea that they could clearly hear4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
It was a wonderful trip, providing many new sightings, Sperm, Bryde's and Killer Whale, and of course the Leopard. The country was wonderful, and beautiful. The people very friendly. Our guides were very attentive. I would definitely recommend to any one to go to Sri Lanka, it was excellent, and we have the perfect reason to go back, as we never did see Blue Whale!Read the operator's response here:
Thank you for your feedback and the concerns you have raised over certain aspects of your trip. We have investigated these as clearly they are a concern to us as well. The turtle Hatchery you visited was an optional excursion and we have been looking at the release data and discussing the practices here with our local leaders and operator. Historically the local population have used Turtle eggs to supplement their diets and this has been a practice that has been going on for hundreds of years, the aim of the hatchery is to facilitate the release of Turtle after they have been dug up and the nest disturbed. There is a large amount of conflicting data and whether the hatchery actually encourage s the disturbance of nesting sites for the Local population to remove the eggs and be paid by the hatchery. I will personally be going to visit this in November and we will make a decision then. As to the stilt fishermen being a blatant tourist attraction I am sorry you felt this way again it’s an ancient practice and I have been there at 6am in the morning and the only tourist in sight and they are there and its an iconic element of this coastal stretch. I am glad there as so many other positive aspects to your trip with us and that you had some spectacular wildlife sightings there is always something else on the list to see like the Blue whale.
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