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I am planning part of a honeymoon in Sri Lanka next January. I have nine full days (e.g. excluding the days I fly in and out of Colombo). Day 0: Fly in to Colombo, stay at hotel on beach. Day 1: Travel Sigiriya (4h), hang out at resort hotel of sort. Day 2: Sigiriya Fortress, bounce around in the afternoon. Day 3: Full day trip to Anuradhapura Day 4: Polonnaruwa in the morning Minneriya National Park in the evening. Day 5: Travel to Kandy (2h), stay at a nice hotel on outskirts of town. Day 6: Full day in Kandy, around the city. Day 7: Travel to Nuwara Eliya (2.5h), lounge around at resort hotel. Day 8: Drive around the tea plantations, do some hiking, etc. Day 9: Travel back to Colombo (5h). Day 10: Fly out of Colombo in the afternoon. I have looked into Tuk-Tuk rentals off of this place: https://tuktukrental.com/ While at first glance it seems like an awesome idea (I have done a lot of motorcycle touring in asia before and loved it), but am unsure if this is a typical thing to do. Should I rent a car instead? Focus on trains and private transfers? Any suggestions on this itinerary? Anyone ever done this before? We kept the beaches out of it since we will be in the Seychelles and Thailand before and after this leg of the trip, with ample beach time.
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Jan 24, 2018 18:59
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| # ? Apr 24, 2024 18:21 |
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I would love to hear some info on Sri Lanka also, as I'm going in a couple weeks. I'm just gonna ride trains to Kandy and Anuradhapura.
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Jan 26, 2018 04:16
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For what it's worth everyone I know who's done Sri Lanka has gone the private driver route. We paid $275 USD for a driver for a week. Wake up in the morning, make a plan for the day then just sit back and relax.
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Jan 28, 2018 06:02
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I spent 2 weeks in Sri Lanka for Xmas/New Years. It was pretty incredible. I liked Sigiriya enough, but climbing up the fortress is expensive. Not that I couldn't afford it, but there's another similar rock a couple km away called Pidurangala that gives you a good view of Sigiriya rock and has fewer people. I did Polonnaruwa instead of Anuradhapura and to be honest, it was a bit overrated. The "ruins" were crowded and my driver told me they were recently renovated so even though they're really old, they don't look like it with all the concrete and stuff like that. Maybe I was burnt out on temples and ruins, but I think 5 days in that part of the country is entirely too much. You could go up to Dambulla and spend the night there, do Sigiriya and one of Anuradhapura or Polonnaruwa as a day trip the next day, then leave Dambulla the following day. It might sound rushed, but it's better than spending so much time up there that, to be honest, does not seem worth it at all to me. Kandy is cool, plenty to do there for a day. Then we took the train to Ella. Ella was really nice for two hikes - Ella Rock and Little Adams Peak. I didn't do Nuwara Eliya but I heard nice things about it. Since you're in the area, I'd recommend doing a safari at Udawalawe. We saw dozens of elephants and water buffalo, crocodiles, peacocks, jackals, etc. The coast is pretty awesome too but I understand if you can't get to it. If you do, I'd highly recommend doing a whale watching tour. We saw dolphins, some mating sea turtles, a blue whale, and a white whale. Definitely worth it. As far as travel goes, I wouldn't drive there. I'm comfortable driving a motorbike in Thailand, but driving a car there was a little crazier. The roads are small and everyone is waiting for the tiniest sliver of daylight to pass another car. From what I saw, there are only two options for traveling - public buses (dirt cheap but slow and uncomfortable), or private cars/taxis (more expensive, but definitely worth it if you're not by yourself). From the airport to Sigiriya, for example, should be 9000 SKR, which is maybe $60US. It gets expensive to be constantly using those, but the time you save is worth it. The train to Nuwara Eliya is pretty incredible though, if crowded and uncomfortable. Eat so much curry there please. I love the food there and miss it more than anything else. LosMein fucked around with this message at 15:01 on Jan 31, 2018 |
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Jan 31, 2018 10:59
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Thanks, this is great. Was Colombo worth any time, or just kind of a bland capital? Also did you enjoy Ella? If we just stay on the train from Kandy and skip Nuwara Eliya, we can go to Ella. This makes the trip to Udawala much shorter. Also, any thoughts on Galle? Anything notable there? Cheesemaster200 fucked around with this message at 21:34 on Feb 1, 2018 |
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Feb 1, 2018 21:00
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Cheesemaster200 posted:Thanks, this is great. Was Colombo worth any time, or just kind of a bland capital? I didn't spend any time in Colombo. The consensus from what I heard was that it wasn't really worth it, though I'm sure there's plenty to do there. I really liked Ella. It's a chill little town in the mountains that's becoming more and more popular every day. It's worth doing Little Adams Peak there, as well as Ella Rock. Nuwara Eliya is probably nice too - maybe worth going to both? We didn't go to Galle. Instead we spent a couple of days in Mirissa (where we did the whale watching). I hear it's nice in Galle, but a little pricier than the rest of the coast.
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Feb 2, 2018 01:19
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Anuradhapura was better that Polonnaruwa in my experience, plus the temples are still active, so you have alot of pilgrims which does contribute to the atmosphere. Galle is really nice, if a bit touristy and somewhat pricier than the rest of Sri Lanka. The old town definitely has a lot of charm, food is of good quality too. Colombo is really big and noisy, and not very interesting architecturally. There surely are fun activites if you know where to look, but for a first time I don't think it's worth it. Trincomalee was pretty cool, since you can get a taste of the Tamil culture (e.g. colourful hindu temples) and do a lot of beach stuff. As for transport, we did everything by tuk-tuk, train and bus: - Tuktuks wanted to take us everywhere, even on 4h drives, but we never did more than a few kilometres with them. - The red and blue buses are public: dirt cheap but slow and uncomfortable - Other buses are privately owned I think, they cost a little more, are faster and somewhat more comfortable, but the drivers are also much more suicidal (gotta make that money!) - Train is slow but more fun and also safer. 1st class has AC, so you can't open windows and make pretty pictures. 3rd class is authentic but crowded. 2nd is an awkward inbetween, but ok for longer journeys. - There actually is Uber in Colombo, though you pay the driver in cash at the end of your trip For those it may interest, our (approximately) 3 week itinerary was the following: - Flew into Colombo, took the train to Anu and visited for a few days - Took the bus to Trinco for beaches and local culture - Took the bus to Dambulla and Tuktuk to Sigiriya, where we stayed. Day trips to Polo and Dambulla caves. - Took the bus to Kandy and went to the big tooth temple - Took the train to Ella, explored a few days, then to Haputale (more authentic but somewhat less pretty) and Lipton's Peak - Safari in Uda Walawe - Bus(es) to Tangalle for beaches, then to Galle for visiting. - Train back to Colombo, stayed one day, flew home. Could have skipped: Haputale (if not for our lovely hosts), Tangalle and maybe Trinco if starved for time. Feel free if you want any additional info or adresses!
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Feb 9, 2018 20:17
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What was wrong with Tangalle? I was thinking of potentially doing that for a few days as a beach stopover (this is a honeymoon) and doing a udawalawe day trip.
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Feb 9, 2018 21:39
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Cheesemaster200 posted:What was wrong with Tangalle? I was thinking of potentially doing that for a few days as a beach stopover (this is a honeymoon) and doing a udawalawe day trip. Nothing in particular, it just didn't really "click" with us. Beaches were fine, though the sea was too rough to swim comfortably in March, and we found less opportunities for activities (snorkeling, whale watching, etc) than in trinco or mirissa. If you just want to relax at the beach it's perfectly fine though.
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Feb 10, 2018 13:37
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No Pinnawala? I found that relaxing as a stop mid-way from Colombo to Sirigiya on the day that I got in. Got in at 2 A.M., crashed at a friend's place, woke up a few hours later. I pretty much did the OP's itinerary, except I didn't get to the national park, and I regretted not being able to relax on the beach in Galle with friends. Also was over a decade ago before the north was unified. All the coasts were still recovering from the tsunami at that point too. I did enjoy a couple of days in Colombo to visit park/museum and walk around ignoring tuk tuk drivers constant wondering why I would walk anywhere. Ate some amazing spicy lunch street food.
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Feb 11, 2018 23:25
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I had a short but very sweet trip to Sri Lanka. Landed in Colombo at 00:00, took Taxi to Fort Railway station. Waited with the locals til my 5:55 train to Kandy. Managed to get a isle seat in 2nd class unreserved, watched the sun come up and about half way thru the guy next to me left so I got the window seat which was great. Spent 2 nights in Kandy, went to the lake and did the tooth temple. 2nd day went to the Botanical Gardens which was amazing! Really loved that place. Next day took a series of trains up to Anuradhapura. 3rd class, loved it. Lurked around Anuradhapura for 2 nights. First night went on a night tour of the old stuff. Following day I lurked around and then I went to Mihintale to watch the sunset. Beautiful. Back on the train to Colombo for the red eye out of town. Everyone I met was genuine and super friendly, food was great, everything is cheap. loving love Sri Lanka.
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Mar 3, 2018 04:43
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