thursdaysd

I'm seriously considering taking a tour for the Sri Lanka leg of my upcoming RTW. I figure that after three and a half months of solo travel I'll be ready for some company, and for having somebody else worry about the logistics. Plus, I leave in eleven (!!!) days and I'm still stuck planning the end of the India leg.

Intrepid and Imaginative Traveller (turns out it's actually Gecko) both have tours for my dates, but the Intrepid one has too much hiking and too many basic guesthouses. I'll drop the tour after Unawatuna and spend a few extra days on the coast - likely Galle - and in Colombo.

Is this missing anything really major? http://www.adventurecenter.com/Geckos/trip/gihs

Kathie

The tour does hit the major sites. It looks like it goes too quickly though the ancient cities for my taste, but it may be fine for you. The drives between places take a long time, so it looks like you have more time in each place than you actually do.

The other option, of course, is to hire a car and driver from an agency and let them book hotels for you. Easy, and you have control over your time.

thursdaysd

The fast pace is definitely a downside, Kathie. As is my discovery that the tour is aimed at "younger" travelers. However, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed right now! (And it's not exactly expensive...) I need to go reread your TR, although I seem to remember that your hotels were out of my price range.

Kathie

We did opt for expensive places, but you can hire a car and driver and not choose expensive places. We booked everything through Boutique Sri Lanka, and they were great. If I remember correctly, they have lower priced hotel options as well. Their website has very complete descriptions of places. They booked our car and driver through an agency. If you are interested in that agency name, I'll hunt for their card.

PeterN_H

> I'll drop the tour after Unawatuna and spend a few extra days on the coast - likely Galle - and in Colombo.

There isn't much to do in Galle, and the beach at Unawatuna is a near-perfect crescent of pale sand around a lagoon made by coral, alive with turtles. At least, it was this both times I was there (travelling independently) although the last time was in 1992. I'd stay there.

Peter N-H

thursdaysd

Kathie - thanks - I checked the website, and it looks like we could maybe work something out, especially as I won't want a car and driver after I get to the south coast. Let me see what I can work out with them before you go hunting!

Peter - thanks - apparently the south coast was badly hit by the 2004 tsunami, but the reports are that Unawatuna is still idyllic. I figured I could work out how long to stay there and how long in Galle after I got there. I've been stressing over India because I'll be there over Christmas and New Year, but I'm hoping things will have slowed down by mid-late January.

justshootme

The pros can cons of the tour you are looking at I'd sum up as follows:- pros it hits all the major sights; cons - it's a tour. Definitely look into the possibilty of hiring a car and driver, you'll have the flexibility to go where you want to when you want to. I hired a car and driver and choose my hotels and sightseeing itinerary.

thursdaysd

justshootme - my summary too. Although in the middle of a long trip a tour isn't always a bad idea. Would you recommend your driver?

PeterN_H

I'm not sure if India comes before or after Sri Lanka, but be warned that if Sri Lanka is second you may find it a little underwhelming after India. It has less colour, less impressive sights, and less energy in general (in my experience of two two-week trips there, and two months in India). Independent travel is easy enough, but public transport is a bit of a bun fight, and I suspect I would now opt for a car rather than face hours on wooden benches in the back of a pick-up, or squeezed into an apparently suspension-free bus on a road more pothole than road.

If it's calm you're looking for, then a pause in India's Kerala state, perhaps around Trivandrum, a short flight from Colombo, would be one choice: it's so laid-back and with such a reduced level of hassle that it hardly seems to be India at all.

Peter N-H

thursdaysd

India does come first. I'm currently planning to spend Christmas in Trivandrum, then a night in Kanyakumari followed by Madurai (much more chaotic, I'm sure). Then I was going to go on to Trichy or Tanjore, but everywhere seems to be full... Maybe Kodaikanal instead, but it's high season there, too.

I'm going Nepal - south India - Sri Lanka - with the current difficulties with re-entering India I didn't want to try putting Sri Lanka between two pieces of India. Lonely Planet is actually advising against solo women travelers using trains in Sri Lanka, which I found rather surprising.

PeterN_H

> Lonely Planet is actually advising against solo women travelers using trains in Sri Lanka, which I found rather surprising.

Me, too. There's only the line from Colombo to Galle, I thought, with daytime trains that are actually very busy.

There's a certain fondling risk in both countries ('Eve-teasing' is the local expression, I believe) but I found (I had young female companions on these trips) Indonesia and the Philippines to be far more of a problem.

thursdaysd

There are more lines than that now - you can get to Kandy and Anuradhapura by train, for instance. I usually prefer to go by train, but I suppose I should take the LP warning with some seriousness.

thursdaysd

Kathie - if you wouldn't mind, I would like the contact info for your driver. A little more time on the Boutique Sri Lanka web site turned up the info that their cheapest accommodation starts at $50/night, and LP has plenty of good-sounding listings for $20-30.

PeterN_H

Actually, now I think about it, I did take a short train ride from Kandy. I remember a station master explaining the system with the hoop things that have to be passed from hand to hand to ensure there are never two trains on the same section of track.

As for guide book warnings, while they shouldn't be dismissed without due consideration, I'd look for further corroboration. A single incident or numbers so small as to be statistically insignificant can still provoke a warning, just as they would on a consular travel advice website. Nobody is ever criticised for telling you to be careful, but they are roundly denounced for failing to warn of dangers, so there's a tendency to err on the safe side. Warning of danger also makes you sound more authoritative than remarking that everything's wonderful.

PeterN_H

I should add that in general when looking for authoritative advice, LP would be my last choice.

dogster

Peter, rather a lot has changed in Sri Lanka since <i>1992</i>.

'the beach at Unawatuna is a near-perfect crescent of pale sand around a lagoon made by coral, alive with turtles...'

Not these days. It's alive with backpackers, cruddy guest-houses, marauding Sri Lankan youth intent on seeing white women in bikinis, restaurants and beach hustlers.

Thursday, you can make Sri Lanka up as you go. It's EASY. If you want some advice from someone who has been there four times, <i>this</i> century, just yell. I can give it to you chapter and verse.

Go look at Red Dot, many more options than Boutique Sri Lanka.
http://www.reddottours.com/sri-lanka...mmodations.htm

Car and driver is EASY. You don't need to do it the way Kathie did it, Craig did it - or anyone else. There are some very, very cool places to go where you'll meet people, easy. You don't need the full-time driver to shlep you around. You can arrange transfers from A-B with ease, on the spot, without being stuck with some curmudgeon driver for a week. You can make it up as you go. Don't fall into the trap.

Easy, thursday, easy, easy, e-e-e-e-easy.

justshootme

I cringe when I need to refer to LP; I've had to a few times only because LP are the only guides or most recent guides available for some destinations I've been to. I didn't read LP's Sri Lanka guide when I planned my trip. I would be surprised to hear that they advise against train travel in Sri Lanka for solo females and don't advise the same in India. The reason I dislike LP is simply because they cater to backpackers and budget travellers. As a guidebook LP is my last choice; full stop! I'll end my rant about LP now.

thursdaysd, have you looked at the Brandt guide for Sri Lanka?

I realize you may think I booked the car and driver and hotels separately given the way my last post is worded, that's not the case. I used Red Dot, I did price things separately, and I found that Red Dot could book everything for a better price then if I had made all the arrangements myself. I choose my hotels and I did stay in expensive places, the Red Dot package with half board, a car and driver and entrance fees was less than what I would have paid booking the car and driver and hotels by myself. Red Dot got better rates at hotels than I could get. I also contacted Boutique Sri Lanka, and they could book all but one hotel I wanted, and their quote was double Red Dots quote. You may want to contact Red Dot for a quote to see what Red Dot can arrange for you. I did have a problem with Red Dot when travelling, it was resolved and I did get compensation from them.

Not 100% sure if I have my driver's contact information, I'll check for you. If I do have it I'll post it later this week, In Sri Lanka prices for a car and driver are based on mileage, so if you're not travelling alot (in terms of miles) it can be very reasonable. You will have to cover the costs for the driver's accomodation and meal(s), this should be built into the rates. I doubt the <$30 a night hotels have a drivers accomodation area. You'll need to choose accomodation that has a drivers section or that is close enough (locationwise) to accomodation options for your driver. Most of the large/luxury hotels have a separate section for drivers. Do a search on Trip Advisor and see if you can find some contacts for recommended drivers.

Also want to add that Colombo has very little to offer a tourist. The main sights can easily be covered in a day or two.

inquest

Easiest, to hire a car( I did so,gives one a lot of flexibility to do the hill country).There are two circuits.The hill country-Kandy,Nuwara Eliya,Sigiri,Anuradhapura & back to Colombo.The other one running south,which is the beach circuit-Bentota-Hikkaduwa-Galle-Unawatuna.As dogster put it,Unawatuna is not what it was.Can be avoided.Bentota too is a commercialised,with a string of star hotels.Hikkaduwa is nice,quieter,not much of beach because of the Tsumani.
Train travel for the beach circuit is ideal,safe,I did'nt find any element of risk in it.
Mind you,traffic is chaotic in Srilanka.Roads are single track with two-way traffic.More like most of Kerala.Since you would have experience it by then,would'nt be alarming.

dogster

It occurs to me that the biggest hurdle you'll have in Sri Lanka thrusday, is the fact that you'll be traveling at the height of the height of the tourist season. All the more reason to go where the tourists <i>aren't</i>. Have you thought of going north?

On the hazards of trains for females - it's ju-u-u-ust possible that the dangers of 'eve-teasing' reduce a weeny bit once Eve gets to be sixty...

This old Adam has certainly noted a less than subtle decrease in enthusiasm for his errr... services while traveling - except in Thailand of course, where the closer one is to death the more attractive one becomes.

dogster

http://www.reddottours.com/24/eco-re...ation-list.htm

http://www.reddottours.com/49/guesth...ation-list.htm

and, of course, Dogster's all time Kandy Fave:
Helga's Folly.
www.helgasfolly.com

It's a shame Galapita has gone upmarket. Another great place.
www.galapita.com/

Here's an option:
http://www.reddottours.com/69/guesth...ry-profile.htm

FYI: High peak runs from 20 Dec to 10 Jan. Peak runs from 10 Jan to 30 April and 15 July to 31. Off Peak runs from 1 May to 30 June and 1 Sept to 31 Oct.