2 Week Travel Itinerary Sri Lanka with Yala Safari & Train Ride

Great tour guide and beautiful locations visited, highly recommended, enjoyed wonderfully without worries

Just returned from this trip and had a great time. It took me to the main cultural locations I wanted to see. My guide, Chintha, was extremely knowledgeable about the sites, Buddhism, and Sri Lanka in general, and he spoke excellent English. Ask for him to be your guide and you will be glad you did! Prior to booking, I read many reviews complaining about the room, so I took the "economy" upgrade. This resulted in very nice and scenic hotels with great service. Definitely no complaints about the accommodations! This tour can be very flexible if you need, just call when you book to work out what you want. For example, I traveled solo; hotels were very nice, but a bit remote - I should have called ahead and asked for accommodations in town (my bad). Let them know what you want and they will make it happen.

<p>We had a fantastic time and were able to see much of the beautiful country. Jared was a very attentive guide and took great care of us. Thank goodness he drove - the traffic is awful - it took 4 hours to drive from Colombo to Kandy about 100 miles. We were able to see ancient temples, beautiful scenery, tea plantations, lovely coastlines and sit in the middle of a herd of elephants in a safari park, memories to treasure for a lifetime.<br/> Our first night was in a hotel not far from the airport and was disappointing however, our concerns were not founded for long as the rest of the accommodation was delightful. Do some planning ahead of time so you can ask the guide to take you off the standard tour if you see something you would like to visit, if you have time, Jerad was very considerate of made sure to take care of you.</p>

I originally was trying to plan my entire trip on my own but because it felt more stressful to plan my vacation (especially because of how I'd get around in such little time), I eventually found (company name) and I'm glad I did! Philip (the agent) was very accommodating, even while on the trip, for any changes I wanted to make. They were also the only agency I spoke to that was willing to add in Adam's Peak with no issue (I only paid $100 extra to include the extra day/night at Adam's Peak). The hotels were of superb quality and I probably had the best rooms in almost every hotel I was at. I had a beautiful view almost everywhere (the only exception would be Colombo (still a wonderful hotel!) because that was a last minute change while I was towards the end of the trip); I was staying at three-star hotels so I can only imagine how amazing five-star hotels would be if that's how great these ones were. I enjoyed all the activities for sure, especially in Kandy generally, the Yala Safari and the lunch trip to/from the village in the ox cart/boat/tuk tuk. One thing to note is that you have to be open to the activities they want to take you to, and that you need to think about your tolerance for heat and climbing/heights (especially together - like when we did the Cave Temple... may not have been smart to do it in the middle of the day). Knowing this will help you decide to perhaps do outdoor things more towards the early morning or evening if you're prone to heat stroke, or plan for alternatives like a balloon ride in Sigiriya if you're not interested in climbing Lions Rock. If you let the agent know about your preferences, they'll arrange it accordingly for you. Despite travelling alone, I always felt safe and secure - both because Jerad (the driver) and the Sri Lankans as people. Having a driver meant I missed out on taking some of the most scenic train routes but because it was my first time in Sri Lanka and I was alone, I felt it was better to reassure of myself (and my worried family and friends!) of my security and ability to get everywhere with a driver. I would definitely recommend them to anybody going to Sri Lanka if they are looking for an agent to coordinate their trip and/or driver to take them around. Why stress about your vacation planning when you can let someone who lives there help you out?

My husband and I were fascinated by the history and the ever changing scenery as we travelled around Sri Lanka. Our guide Chintha made our trip very memorable. From the day he picked us up, on time, our tour was customised to our needs and wants. It was very relaxed and every day was like a wonderful adventure with ever changing vistas and things to do. We loved the mix of temples, history, animals, food and spices, mountains, traditional and modern life and palaces. Chintha filled in the history of Sri Lanka's countryside, the kings, religion and people. The food was just amazing, try as much as you can from each area and go to a spice farm to get some for yourself. Yum Viator were very accommodating, allowing us to change the starting place of the tour and did the usual schedule in reverse. I would fully recommend our driver and the company who made our holiday memorable. Jacque

<p>The itinerary is ok for someone who is limited on time and ok with spending several hrs in a car each day. But I paid so much money just to be driven around and put in terrible hotels, nothing else is included. My “tour guide” barely spoke English so I didn’t learn much about Sri Lanka. Disappointing.</p>

<p>The four night, five day excursion to the Highlands, Cultural Triangle, and southern most point of Sri Lanka from Colombo was beyond wonderful. The guide was very flexible, the accommodations perfect, and the sights and sounds incredible. From hiking through tea plantations, climbing mountains to see temples, antiquities, caves and ruins, mixing with locals, a safari filled with wildlife, and adventurous meals, one could not have asked for a better way to be introduced to this amazing island nation. I highly recommend this experience.</p>

<p>We just did a 4 night tour in Easter holiday. The operator wad very accommodating to our request and the itinerary was flexible enough. The driver/ guide was nice and friendly. Overall excellent experience.</p>