6 independent reviews for Sri Lanka family adventure vacation
Reviews for Sri Lanka family adventure vacation
Tim Woolman review 14 Sep 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Many memorable parts; wildlife safaris; ancient historic & cultural sites; visiting tea plantations with a factory tour & tasting; scenic train journeys; an Ayurvedic medical visit & massage; white water rafting; a mountain hike; excellent beaches and hotels including smaller, homely (boutique) hotels, connected through an experienced & attentive guide and driver - all very good.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
If you can stretch to two full weeks, it is good to include some beach time after a week or so, as moving on after every 1 or 2 nights to make the most of the wide range of attractions spread across the country, can seem a bit intense otherwise. Sri Lanka may have been subject to ethnic tensions in the past - now it all seems to work without anxiety. Tourism is well supported and appreciated.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
We felt our vacation did support a range of staff workings guides and in the hotels, restaurants & cafes and attractions. We did not meet many local people. There was one particularly environmentally and socially proactive hotel chosen within our itinerary, which shows what can be done. Hopefully the revenue from safaris in the National Parks supports wildlife conservation, and entrance fees to historic sites promote preservation, for example of the amazing World Heritage Sites.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
The vacation arranged with a local tour operator to provides a guide and driver to accompany our family group of five through the bespoke itinerary that we helped to evolve, gave us the chance to experience the best possible combination of activities, with some flexibility to adapt a little e.g. to try an additional train journey. Sri Lanka has a lot to offer a wide range of visitors, This vacation suited our family very well - we feel we made the most of our 14 days there.Andrew Lawson review 27 Aug 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
It would be impossible to pick one moment from our vacation as we packed in so many amazing adventures. Rafting, wildlife safaris (seeing a sloth bear and some leopards takes some beating), cooking lessons with locals (and generally eating some fabulous food), some very special hotels and locations to stay - but if forced to select only one distinct memory, then it has to be the people of Sri Lanka. They are so warm, welcoming and happy to help.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Go. It is a beautiful country full of adventure, sights and wildlife. The welcome you get everywhere just makes you feel at home as soon as you arrive. Our driver also learned what we liked and disliked - so tailored his outputs, suggestions and thoughts to what would interest us.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Certainly staying at more locally owned and smaller hotels felt of benefit to the people. Most hotels seemed to source local food therefore retaining value locally. The last location we stayed at definitely embodied this principles of conservation, local employment and training and retaining all value locally(supporting local school etc with monies from the hotel).4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Amazing. First Class. A trip of a lifetime - will be very hard to top.Tina Antill review 6 Aug 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
The vacation was excellent for providing a great variety of experiences, all of which we enjoyed: wildlife, beautiful mountain views at tea plantations, ancient ruins and Buddhist temples, spice growing and gem stone mining, local massage and beach relax.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
There was a lot of flexibility about what you want to see and so think about the balance best for you.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes. One small hotel in particular was run on very ecological lines and was a community project supporting local workers. We were impressed generally by the desire to protect flaura and fauna. We were concerned that tourism has been badly hit by the terrible Easter events and were pleased to see it slowly returning as it is clearly very important to the country.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
The vacation was excellent. The country is very beautiful and small enough to see a lot in 2 weeks. People are very friendly and having English spoken and on signage everywhere helps. We enjoyed the balance of wildlife, culture, walking and R&R.Katherine Patrick review 11 Jun 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
So many amazing memories! Seeing see blue whales swimming, a colony of bats on the roadside, wild peacocks, hearing the wonderful bird song, watching a land monitor play 'chicken' with the traffic in a town and all the cars carefully driving around it!2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Absolutely book it because you'll have an amazing time.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
The smaller hotels we stayed in employed the local people and sourced local produce which was great. Two of the hotels had their own filtered water thus cutting down on bottled water.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Truly marvellous!Guy Stephens review 11 May 2019
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
There are many fantastic memories because we had such diverse itinerary. The abundance of wildlife certainly stood out throughout the trip. The elephant orphans were just fantastic to see. Turtles swimming next to the beach after spotting blue whales. The elephants in the national parks plus leopards, bears and so many beautiful birds. There were also unexpected treats like stumbling upon a Hindu village ceremony at new year, and the train ride in the cab of the loco proved to be a train-lovers dream2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Spend the extra time as we did confirming what the itinerary has on offer and don't be afraid to tweak it to get the most from every day. You will not see everything and some of the journeys in Sri Lanka are 3-4+ hours, so make sure that you do not take on too much and try to travel too far.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
There was definitely a feeling that the workers in the small local hotels benefited from our business and tips. Furthermore, local guides and services were used when possible. The vacation greatly increased our awareness of environmental matters in Sri Lanka and the Ibis Hotel in Wilpattu was an excellent example of the combination of low impact tourism helping people in the local community. The wildlife tour operators were considerate and responsible which was very encouraging for us - we never felt our enjoyment was at the animals' expense.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
We experienced an abundance of culture, wildlife, trekking and beach days to round off one of the best experiences of our lives. We are all eager to explore more of the small but incredibly diverse island.Mikkel Bates review 5 Oct 2018
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
There were so many memorable experiences on our vacation - white water rafting to the set of the Bridge on the the River Kwai, watching the sun rise from Little Adam's Peak outside Ella, the train journey from Ella to Nanuoya, climbing Lion Rock at Sigiriya early in the morning, scuba diving for the first time at Pasikuda - but the stand-out one has to be seeing hundreds of elephants, including many babies, at Kaudulla, because we hadn't planned it, but our driver recommended it and the guide knew exactly where the elephants were that day.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Don't try to do too much, or take longer over it. There is so much to do and see, so it's easy to get carried away.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
It's great to feel that more of our spending went straight to locals, rather than into the pockets of UK-based vacation companies. Not sure about the environmental impact of being driven everywhere in a Toyota Hiace, though.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Despite being caught up in some monsoon downpours, it was a wonderful experience, with such welcoming people everywhere we went.Holiday Reviews
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