Why are you staying in Kandy? Are you going to sites in Kandy or would you prefer just to see the scenery around Kandy?

We loved the Kandy House, a small boutique hotel in the hills near Kandy. I don't know how well it would work with children, however.

Frankly, I think you would be happier staying in Damulla at the Kandalama. There is lots to see and do in the area, both cultural sites and wildlife. And the Kandalama would be a much better place to take children.

Hi Kathie,
I considered skipping Kandy but I am interested in the cultural show and wonder if can catch that anywhere else?
the reason we are thinking of skipping the cultural triangle is that my kids and husband are not interested in temples or relics. All three love nature and animals (or beaches and water activities). Since we live near the beach, we decided to skip Bentota which was suggested by the travel agents.
I just found Mas Villa which looks gorgeous and seems to be located an hour away from Kandy with possible day trips to cultural triangle and Kandy. Would that work given that we are spending 3 nights in tea factory.

Thanks

http://www.masvilla.com/explore/around-mas-villa/

The Cultural show was an interesting (but not amazing) hour or so. Personally, I wouldn't stay in Kandy just for that.

The Mas Villa looks nice, I know nothing about it. But the places they highlight are cultural sites - ruins of temples and cities. I don't know how close it might be to one of the parks where you can do game drives. From the Kandalama, We did a drive in Habarnara, where we saw herds of wild elephants.

I fear that the Mas Villa location may end up being a compromise that satisfies no one.

Can.t help with boutique type accommodation in Kandy as we used a home stay which was nice but fairly basic. Assuming you are using a driver/guide I wouldn't worry too much about location as they will take you anywhere you want. For me, the highlight of Kandy was the evening Puja ceremony at the Temple of The Tooth, an amazing sight that certainly will not be seen elsewhere. Also, well worth a visit is the nearby Pinnewela elephant orphanage.

Mas Villa is a wonderful place, but at least 90 mins from Kandy on dodgy roads. I would be inclined towards Victoria Golf Course. There are some winderful villas with staff to be hired as well as the luxury resort itself. The course is very picturesque. I stayed there as a non golfer. Fabulous. And 20-30 mins outside Kandy in Digana. Kandy is unique and if you have the chance to travel during perahera you'll see a wonderful dancing procession of elephants. It's considered Sri Lanka's biggest event. The Temple of the Tooth is great, trekking in the mountains is lovely and if you can avoid the traffic, Kandy has a lot of charm.

Thanks Stuart for that. You seem to agree with our agent on Victoria. Our agent suggested Eagle's Fall on Victoria Golf course. I had initially wanted to book Tamarind Lodge in the same area but it has no AC. I am not sure how necessary the AC is in October though. Any thoughts on that?

Can anyone advise on whether it is a good idea to take a day trip to Galle from Colombo?

Thanks so much

A day trip to Galle from Colombo? That is quite a long drive. You have two children who will be quickly bored. Not a good idea. Indeed, I remember a trip report from someone who drove from Galle back to the airport on their last day and said it was too long - imagine trying to do it roundtrip in one day!

In November we stayed at the Kandy House which has no AC and it was fine. I don't know how the location of the place you are visiting compares.

A day trip from Columbo is not a great idea. It took us about 4 hours to drive back from galle and another 2 to tNegombo. Staying in Kandy with no AC was fine for us in feb

Thanks Kathie and Crellston for your input,
I am thinking of skipping Negombo and going straight to Galle from airport and adding another night there. Our flight arrives at 6 am so the kids will probably be asleep, and maybe the roads will be easier also. Thoughts?
If ac is not a problem, then maybe Kandy house or Tamrind Lodge.
Does anyone have input re park street hotel or Tintagel in Colombo. We were advised that Casa Colombo is not child friendly and they don't offer extra beds even.

Thanks

I stayed just outside Kandy without AC in Jan and certainly missed it, but I live with AC much of the year. I would have been much happier staying IN Kandy, there are a number of hotels with good views in Kandy itself. The cultural show is a big tourist trap and not worth a detour. The best single sight in Kandy is the Temple of the Tooth, but if your family isn't interested in temples...

Yeah that's the way for us too. We live with AC year long and I prefer to close the windows at night anyway.
They are not interested in temples but I would like to visit one at least as it is an integral part ofthe culture. So what else is to be done in Kandy for two nights if the cultural show is a bust?
Thursdasd, can you tell me the name of these hotels you mention in Kandy?

Thanks a lot

Any suggestions for hotel in Galle? Is the Galle Forte worth the price, almost 300 with taxes. We prefer to stay in the Center.

Only hotel I remember from Kandy is Serene Garden - see http://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com/2011/05/31/liking-kandy/ for my take on Kandy. The Hotel Suisse didn't look too bad, but it's down by the lake. dogster liked Helga's Folly but it was out of my price range, may be in yours.

If you want beach time you're better off staying out of Galle and day tripping.

esperanza - on our trip in September, we are staying here for 2 nights -

http://theva.lk/theva.html

it's about 2 kms out of Kandy, according to the website.

it's pretty new so doesn't feature in any of the guides. we have used boutique Sri Lanka too so you ought to be able to find it on their website.

thanks annhig,
they did suggest Theva but said we can only stay in suite for 400$/night or penthouse for 500$ which I think is too steep.
But please do report back on this when you go. Where else are you staying?

Esperanza - that is a bit steep, though you do of course need extra room for the kids which is probably going to cost more. I think we are paying less than half that.

re where we are staying, I have just posted our itinerary on a new thread:

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia/less-than-6-weeks-to-go-help-me-refine-my-sri-lanka-itinerary.cfm

we booked in April and managed to get some good prices i think; though I'm sure that there are cheaper places where we would have been equally comfortable, I've done the roughing it bit in the past.

i will certainly be doing a Trip report when we get home.

annhig, yes we do need the extra space for the kids but for all the other hotels we have chosen suites or superior rooms and the price is not nearly as high. An extra bed at theva is 100$/night!

An extra bed at theva is 100$/night!>>

in which case I'd be going elsewhere!

what about somewhere else in the hill country? or longer on the beach. if all you are interested in at Kandy is the cultural show, i think that it may not be worth the bother.

ps - I've also seen that you are asking about Galle - do you want to post your entire itinerary so that we can look at it all at one go?

so far what we reached was
arrive early around 6 am transfer to Galle
Galle 2 nights- Galle Fort hotel or Jetwing Lighthouse. I am inclined toward Galle Fort as we have beach access yearlong.
colombo 1 night-tintagle or park residence
hill country -3 nights Tea Factory
train to kandy
kandy 2 nights-no idea about hotel. was thinking mas villa and going to to kandy for day trip. BSL are saying it's too far. In Victoria the options are Eagle's Falls. Mas villa is 90 mins from kandy. I heard a lot of negative reviews about teh cultural show but i would still like to see Kandy.
1 night in wallawwa Negombo, or colombo hotel.

Please let me know what you think

Actually extra bed at Theva is 105$

IMO, the one thing that is worth seeing in Kandy is the Temple of the Tooth. If you aren't interested in that, I'd choose another place.

I'd reconsider staying near Dambulla at the Kandalama so you can go to one of the parks and see herds of wild elephants. And even your husband and kids might be impressed with the climb up Sigirya if you want to visit one of the ancient cities. Or, you can just hang out at teh Kandalama.

Kathie, I think I will consider the Kandalama. Is the hotel as stunning as it looks on the website?

Can we do the temple of tooth/city tour of Kandy from the hill country?

The Kandalama is even better than the website photos, IMO.

No, you can't really do a day trip to Kandy from the hill country - it's hours away. While Sri Lanka is a small country in terms of distances, it takes time to get from one place to another. You have a very short time in Sri Lanka, you'll have to postpone seeing some things for another trip. We had twice the time you have and didn't see half of the places we'd like to visit there. We will return.

One option, you could drive through Kandy on your way from the hill country to Dambulla and you'd have time for a brief visit to the Temple of the Tooth. I can't say there is really a "city tour" in Kandy.

Thanks Kathie. I think this is definitely an option now. I have to consult BSL now, does that mean I can't have the train ride

If we go to Kandalama, waht would be the best order to minimise the driving time. We put one night in colombo in the middle just to break the drive from Galle to hill country. So should we go from airport to Kandalama or galle? Please help.

Thanks

The airport to Kandalama is 2 - 3 hours. The airport to Galle is 4 - 5 hours.

BSL can help you make a plan that minimizes driving time.

Oops-posted too soon. Yes, you can still do a train ride.

esperanza - why are you going to colombo for a night between Galle and the hill country?

as you are not too interested in Kandy, why not do this:

Airport - Dambulla - 3 nights, - Kandy [one night] Hill country 3 nights - Galle 2 nights- Airport

or - as you have a very early arrival, do the long drive at the beginning and reverse the order?

i can't see the need to go back to the coast between Galle and the Hill country - you'd just spend more time driving and waste a night.

Hi Annhig
The distance between Galle and hill country is 6 to 6.5 hours. The stop in Colombo was suggested to break the drive. Honestly I can't keep my kids in a car for 6 hours. and although many advised me to skip Colombo, I still want to spend at least one night there.

hi Esperanza,

using google maps, I got an estimate of less than 4 hours between Galle and nuwara eliya - less than 2 hours for the stretch up to Colombo, and then another 2 hours for the stretch up into the hill Country.

it does go via Colombo, so you might as well stop there a night if that's what you want to do.

BTW, i also put in the alternative route via Madampe, and that comes out at only just over 4 hours too. it goes via Horton plains, which you might think of as an alternative place to stay rather than further up in the Hill country.

I'm not sure how much faith I'd put in google map's estimates. I'm pretty sure two hours for Galle to Colombo is far too short, I think it took me all morning.

I'd go with the travel agent's drive time estimates, not google's. Other posters here have also said it took them 4 hours from Galle to Colombo or the airport.

well, on my other thread, Mohammed has said that it should only take about 2 1/2 hours to get from the airport to Dambulla, which is the same as the time given by Google.

I have to say that this surprised me a bit, but I'm prepared to rely upon Mohammed.

My agent [Boutique SL] hasn't given me any time estimates for driving times as apart for the drive between Dambulla and Kandy they are not critical - perhaps i should ask them.

Esperanza - i think that the main problem for you is that you are trying to fit a quart into a pint pot. were I travelling with my kids in Sri Lanka, I think that I would spend a few days on the coast and a few in the Hill country, and that would be it. and my kids are grown up!

It may well "should" take 2 1/2 hours from the airport to Dambulla, I was expecting it to take that from Negombo. It actually took over four hours. Allow a (large) margin for error.

Do ask BSL. My notes say it took 2.5 hours from Negombo to Dambulla, thus my estimate above of 2-3 hours. I'm sure it depends on time of day and day of the week as well.

i wonder what happened to the OP?

of course you were all correct about the driving times in Sri Lanka - think of a number and double it seemed to be a good rule of thumb!

as best I remember, Airport to Drambulla was 4 hours +, Drambulla to Kandy 3 hours, Kandy to NE another 3 hours plus the track up to the hotel was extra - must be the longest 82 km road in the world! - NE to Yala was well over 5 hours, Yala to Galle another 5, and Galle to colombo at least 4, though we did go via the coast rather than the new highway.

so the OP's itinerary was even less possible than I thought.