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.

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.

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.

> 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

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.

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.

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?

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

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.

> 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Peter, rather a lot has changed in Sri Lanka since 1992.

'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, this 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-holidays-accommodations.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.

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.

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.

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 aren't. 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.

www.reddottours.com/24/eco-retreats-accomodation-list.htm

www.reddottours.com/49/guesthouses-accomodation-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/guesthouse-explorer-itinerary-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.

http://www.galleliteraryfestival.com/

January’s events are a celebration of literature, the creative arts and traditional Buddhist rituals. At the end of January, poets, writers, artists and architects from the world over will converge on the historic 17th century Galle Fort for the celebration of writing, photography, music, ecology, architecture and cuisine at the annual Galle Literary Festival.

Wednesday 19 January 2011 is Full Moon.

During the full-moon Poya in January, the ancient Kelaniya Buddhist temple just minutes away from the island’s capital, will hold their annual perehara – a dazzling cultural procession with scores of elephants all dressed in their finery, traditional dancers, drummers, flag bearers, and Buddhist monks, all walk in procession in honour of Lord Buddha.

Thanks everyone - I'll go off right after breakfast and investigate Red Dot!

justshootme - no, I haven't looked at Bradt for Sri Lanka - I found their guides for Georgia and Armenia overloaded with info for drivers, and basically useless for choosing hotels. Maybe the SL guide is better.

inquest - I'm not a beach person - I was just figuring on maybe three nights somewhere on the south coast - and I was certainly going to take the train there.

dogster - I plan to fly into Colombo Jan 9th (still need to book that) and leave anywhere around the 24th to the 27th - I'm thinking earlier rather than later. Thanks for the festival dates.

"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..." - that was my thought exactly - until a couple of incidents in the Middle East last year.....

Thursdays, I will look for the card. I'm at my office right now, so it will be tonight befoer I get a chance to look for it.

I'm glad to see dogster back to help with your planning. His point about considering transport from point A to point B and from point B to point C is a good one. We used a dedicated car and driver in Sri Lanka, and for most of the trip that was perfect. But once we got to Tea Trails, we didn't use him for 4 days. At that point, we just needed to get back to the airport. We are using the point to point transport approach in Sikkim and Darjeeling.

I'd suggest you post a question about women on trains over on Thorntree. Also, check on the LP prices for lodging - they are often wildly out of date.

And while your car and driver is doing nothing, you're paying him, the car rental AND the allocated mileage for the day.

Thursday, Sri Lanka ain't the Middle East. The train to Kandy and thence to Ella is absolutely the way to go. Chances of being groped in the observation car are errr... quite small.

However, your celebrated fan dance strip-tease is best left for another occasion. It would be a big success after dinner at Helga's Folly.

Good suggestion Kathie - I don't even need to post. This is from Jan this year:

"This [warning in LP] worried me a little, but I have just returned, having travelled on half a dozen trains, buses, three wheelers and solo on my bicycle, and in my experience I had no reason to worry at all. I found everyone I came across to be amazingly friendly and wonderfully helpful. At no point did I feel threatened or even like I needed to be especially on guard. In fact the only remotely scary thing that happened to me was getting chased by some snarling dogs who obviously weren't a fan of my bike (or me on it)!

So I just wanted to post and share my experience, so that any future female travellers that have read those paragraphs and are now unsure about their trip can have their minds put at ease."

Will put trains back in the mix. (Still not wild about buses, but for other reasons.) Red Dot seems willing to provide a car and driver for sections rather than a whole trip.

dogster - I can't imagine my fan dance being a hit anywhere! My waltz, perhaps.

Thursdays, I realize I've been delinquent. I promised you the contact info on the transport company that furnished our car and driver. We booked through Boutique Sri Lanka, but they subcontract transport.

I found the card, BUT - the web address is no longer active. The company was ECD Global, but a web search turns up only an old webpage with links that no longer work.

I have read with interest the contributions of Kathie, Mohommed, and justshootme and others. We are travelling to Sri Lanka for 6 weeks Dec / Jan. Our "rule" is never less than 4 nights in any one place. We'd like to have a car and driver from (for example) Negombo to Anuadhapura (4 nights) to Habarana (4 nights) then Kandy where we will no longer want the driver for 10 days. Is it possible to get a driver from A to B and then another driver and car to appear in several days time? We may want drivers to hand about at some places to do day trips etc but in others when we are just relaxing (Tea Trails, or Galle) we won't want a driver. Any suggestions of a good / safe (a nervous ER nurse) driver would be welcomed!

Has anyne been to Trinco lately - is there and hassles with travel there?

Thanks Kathie. Looks like I won't get Sri Lanka planned before I leave. I may just wing it - perhaps book the first night or two, and check into drivers. I'm trying to finish up India before I go, and I'm tired of planning!

Yes, you can certainly get a driver from point A to point B, then another from point B to point C, etc. Your hotel can arrange it, or, if you book though one of the booking companies (Boutique Sri Lanka, Red Dot, Sri Lanka in Style, etc) they can arrange it for you.

By arranging a car and driver though the booking service, if anything goes awry, they will take care of it. A friend had an experience of the booking service sending the wrong kind of car, and they replaced it quickly when she talked with them. They will also replace a driver, if needed. If you hire an individual, rather than through an agency, you do not any any recourse.

It sounds like a wonderful trip! I'm envious of the 6 weeks you have.

Trinco is fabulous! Go Go Go!

Ooops, I'm so sorry, I just noticed you said Dec/Jan for Trinco, that is out iof season, better avoid till March.

Trinco is brilliant from March - September.

Kathie Six weeks is India, Sri Lanka is just two or three. Depends on whether I decide to spend CNY in/around BKK or in Myanmar. BTW, could I ask for the contact info for you BKK TA? I'm going to need to book flights to/from Yangon at some point.

Mohammed How do you feel about the east coast vs. the south? Do you have a recommendation for a beach with AC accommodation but not over-much development? Is there such a thing?

Nilaveli Beach Hotel, Trincomalee is the place to go, fabulous, isolated.

Mohammed - sorry, should have said that I'll be there in January - didn't you just say that Trincomalee was a bad idea that month?

East Coast/Trinco/Nilaveli is fabulous an incomparable to south/west however east Coast Season runs March to September.

West Coast is best Dec-March. Lot of places to choose from, depends what you fancy, diving/fishing/just a big beach in a more remote location....

Bentota - great beach but a little over commercialised

Hikkaduwa/Narigama - crowded great beach but a bit hippiish, discos, restaurants etc

Heritance/Ahungala very nice beach with a good hotel

Galle - not much beach but great atmosphere, nice hotels, Unnawatuna beach ios nearby for an nice dip and also the idylic secret "jungle beach" is nearby, acesible by Tuk Tuk etc.

Mirrisa - very nice

Weligama - nice has some nice properties

The Fortress - Koggala - beautiful hotel but poor beach

Tangalle - quite remote, rustic, closer to Yala, but not the best swimming spot

hope this helps....

Thanks for the info. While I understand that the "season" for the East Coast is from March, we will be in Sri Lanka Dec / Jan so is it worth going there?

We are quite keen to do so as my father-in-law used to relate stories of the troop ships stopping at Trinco on the way to or from the Middle East (from Aus) during the war - he said when he saw Trinco he thought he'd died and gone to heaven!