Kandy Itineraries

A great trip with such a varied itinerary. So many highlights, from ancient cities and iconic temples to elephant safaris and walking among the tea plantations. Other highlights were the early-morning Lion's Rock ascent, the splendid botanical gardens in Kandy, and the dramatic train ride crossing the Nine Arches Bridge.
Our guide Nala has a great local knowledge and always enthusiastic to answer questions.
The hotels are generally excellent with spacious rooms. Most of the hotel rooms have UK-style sockets, but one or two places just have the local round-pin sockets so it's worth taking a Type D travel adaptor.
Worth changing some money into SL rupees at the airport on arrival, as the exchange rates are the same as in the towns. Cards are widely accepted at larger restaurants and shops.

The Sri Lanka section started very full on, but did calm down. The Maldives dhoni cruise was a fantastic way to finish, particularly as we had come from 53 days in India, independently organised that was also full on.
Sri Lanka was a bit like a cleaner, calmer India. We saw much more on safari there than India. We didn't go whale watching as we were a bit late in the season, and we were going on to the Maldives. George, our guide was very organised and pleasant to be with.
The cruise was fab, we were 'lucky' that our expected boat had problems so we were upgraded to one with AC overnight which was a joy as it was exceptionally hot (48 reported on an island one day). The guide, Moosa, and all the crew were great with the chef creating amazing meals from a very small galley.
We had a great set of fellow travellers and had a wonderful time

Sri Lanka in Depth provided a good overview of the country with a variety of experiences from temples, to hikes, to elephant safaris, to a train ride, tea plantations and more. The pace was good with some busy days and some free time. The country is very green and tropical so the countryside was beautiful along the way. It was very hot on the April trip so plan for light clothing with a couple of layers for the cooler highlands. If you like rice and curry, you will love the food. I'm not a curry fan so had limited choices some days, but always tropical fruit. The bigger towns had more Western food. I personally didn't like the shopping opportunities - remember you are under no obligation to buy despite the hard sell. The guide went to great lengths to make sure we were all comfortable and he even got some medicine for me when I needed it. He made some small changes to the itinerary due to the heat. The hotels range from basic to lovely jungle lodges to a modern city hotel to a colonial style hotel. Only one didn't have air conditioning. Pack casual clothes, loose cotton tops and pants, shorts, a loose dress for women, a wide brim sunhat and a swimsuit. Toiletries at hotels were basic - most had a small soap and a little shampoo but bring your own as well. I felt very safe in Sri Lanka. The people were very friendly. When we had free time, the guide warned us of any concerns. Take normal precautions - wear a cross body bag, don't bring expensive jewelry and don't flash large amounts of cash. There were ATMs in most towns as you will need some rupees but credit cards were accepted at hotels and bigger restaurants.

What a trip! We have memories for a lifetime! Our guide Su was totally brilliant and while the pace of the trip was pretty full on we saw and experienced so much! Totally recommend!

George made our trip seamless and his knowledge of Sri Lanka and the specific regions we traveled to were top notch. I would highly recommend George as a mentor for other guides moving up the ranks absorbing his vast knowledge and calm demeanor.
Cheers Grant

Brilliant trip for families. I went with my 11 yr old son and we had an amazing time surfing, white water rafting, kayaking, cycling, safari-ing with one of the best tour guides I've encountered. The schedule is busy but the diversity of landscapes, wildlife and sights makes it worthwhile. The accommodation is a mixed bag but if you're up for a bit of an adventure in one of the most beautiful countries then I would definitely recommend this trip. Also wanted to mention that as a single parent, I loved being in a group with other families with children (ideal for children aged 10-17 I would say).