Beginning to plan for Sri Lanka and S. India trip in early 2019
 

Hi, all,

Your expert feedback is needed! I’m planning a month long trip for my husband and me for Jan-Feb 2019 to South India/Mumbai and Sri Lanka and am looking now for some feedback on the SL portion of the trip. This is the first-trip-after-retirement so am very excited about it :blush:! Given other obligations, I am comfortable with a month’s travel, but not more. Interests are culture, scenic, architecture, food, traditional experiences. And a little R&R!

What I’d like to see or do:

- Cultural triangle musts:
-Dambulla caves, Pollunaruwa, Minneriya Nat’l Park (probably). Not sure that I’m physically up to the climb up Sigiriya so will probably have to pass on this. Anuradhapura if there is time.
-Scenic train ride through tea country (Nuwara Eliya to Ella? Favorite scenic stretch?)
-Stopping at a tea estate
-Kandy – Temple of the Tooth, dance presentation
-Ella – vistas, Little Adam’s Peak

Any other favorite sights or experiences?

Budget for accommodation is mid-range – I know this is a very vague term which changes with the destination, so a splurge for me would be about $200+/night, and I see more modest homestays/small hotels around $100/night, with a happy medium around $150 (or less!). I’m looking to mix our stays with some of both. But I admit that I like my creature comforts (A/C especially!) and a pool would be nice so I’m okay with more at my higher end.

Nothing is firmed up yet, but I’ve been doing research and so far, here is my rough plan:

The international flight I’m considering will fly into Chennai and out of Mumbai; so the first 2 weeks of the trip will be in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. From Cochin, we would fly to Colombo in the late afternoon/early evening. I’m looking at 12 nights in SL. We’ll fly back to Mumbai for the last few nights.

Tentative Itinerary for SL
-1 night- Arrive Colombo (late in day) & sleep in Negombo. Villa Kupuru, recommended by CaliforniaLady (small but sweet).
-2 nights – Jim’s Farm Villas Jim's Farm Villas
Welltraveledbrit wrote about this place in her TR and it sounds very appealing; a good place to chill out and get that needed R&R: https://www.fodors.com/community/asi...adesh-1024256/
-3 nights in either Sigiriya or Habarana. There are a range of places in this area that I’m looking at, but the one that seems to be a good balance of comfort, cost, convenience is Cinnamon Lodge Habarana: Sri Lanka Resorts Official Site Cinnamon Lodge Habarana Sri Lanka
Also considering Aliya Resort and Hotel Sigiriya, but since I don’t expect to visit Sigiriya, not sure this makes sense.
-1 night-Kandy – a range of options for hotels/guest houses: Theva Residency, Secret Kandy, Elegant Hotel, Tenthola
-2 nights – Ella - 1st choice: 98 Acres. Other choices: Philips Bungalow, Chamodya Homestay (simple but good reviews on TA)
-2 nights – Galle - Fort Printer (read annhig’s description and the place looks lovely)
-1 night -Colombo (Taru Villas or Galle Face)

Comments on itinerary or choice of accommodations welcome!

A few questions :
1) I really like the look of Jim’s Farm Villas and this is definitely a good R&R place; however, this stop is instead of a beach. A beach stop isn’t that important for me but I wonder if I should do it instead of Jim’s Farm, especially since I see that the trip from Ella to Galle is a long one.
2) The drive from Ella to Galle – it does seem long. What would you change in the itinerary in order to have a stop between these 2 places. I really don’t want too many 1-night stops
3) Travel agents – the ones I see used by Fodorites are Boutique Sri Lanka, Antiquity Sri Lanka, Camlo Lanka Tours. Any other agencies recommended? I plan on contacting them to see what they are able to provide; anything that you found especially helpful in dealing with agents?
4) Any other thoughts or recommendations most welcome!

I’m working with Indianpanorama for the India portion of my trip and am very comfortable with my itinerary and will post it at a later time. I know this is still early in the planning stage but I love the planning -- and it sure helps me get through the stressful work days to think about this trip!.

Will be following this for sure, Progol! Right now, I'm planning just for South India in similar time frame as you, but seeing your tentative SL itinerary, and knowing the responses will be intriguing, is going to make SL tempting...if not during next January's trip, maybe the next.
Habsfahn posted on Sartoric's "memories" thread and I think his trip is to both South India and SL. It will be interesting to see his suggestions/comparisons for both, in addition to the many great TR threads describing both countries.

<<2 nights – Ella - 1st choice: 98 Acres. Other choices: Philips Bungalow, Chamodya Homestay (simple but good reviews on TA)>>
Oops, that should be Planters Bungalow, not Philips Bungalow!

CaliNurse, I completely understand! There are so many places to see and so hard to make choices about where not to go! And yes, it will be interesting to see what Habsfahn says after their trip to both India and SL.

Hello Everyone,

@progol, As you said that your interested to visit Cultural, Traditional and architecture places there are many traditional and cultural places to see in srilanka like Jetavanaramaya, Isurumuniya, Ruwanwelisaya, kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara, Gangaramaya Budhist Temple, Bakers Falls etc which seem to be very interesting places to visit.So, think about visiting these places also.

tralamo,
Thank you for your suggestions - they all look fascinating! I will see what I can and can't include, though many of the places you suggest seem to be outside of my current itinerary. Anything that you (or anyone else) would suggest or eliminate in the itinerary now? Would it make sense to skip Kandy and make a stop between Ella and Galle?

I know there are so many wonderful places to visit - as I said earlier, making choices about what not to see is the hardest part of planning any trip! Thank you again for your suggestions.

Hi Progol. I think you saw my trip report from Sri Lanka - we just got back a few weeks ago. Your itinerary seems well thought out - probably because it was similar to ours. I highly recommend 98 Acres! One of my favorite places of the trip. As far as Kandy is concerned, Botanical Gardens are well worth it; Temple of the Tooth was an average site. Kandy however, does make a good stopover after Cultural Triangle and on the way to Ella. I know you want to avoid one nighters - we did too, but sometimes it just makes the best sense. I would allot one night for Kandy. We had the same dilemma about the drive from Ella to Galle. We chose one night at jetwing kaduruketha which we throughly enjoyed, but I'm not sure it really cut back on the long drive - maybe by 45 minutes or so. It was nice to relax in the rice paddies and the hotel offers a few nature type activities. I think there are some game park type hotels between Ella and Galle - not sure if that interests you. Perhaps the travel agent you chose could make a good suggestion. Lastly, we really enjoyed the south - Indian Ocean and relaxing for a day at the end of the trip would be nice. Are you planning on spending time in Colombo?

Many thanks, donnahelene! Yes, I have read your trip report and have found it very helpful. I appreciate your comments here, too. I would like to add a day or 2 at the end to relax by the beach, but am also trying to keep it contained right now, and definitely trying to avoid 1-nighters as much as possible. I am planning the last night in Colombo, and current plan would be to fly into Mumbai from there for the last few nights. I prefer to stay in the city where we are staying -- I hate to have a long drive when we have to fly out; it always feels too risky.

The only park I'm considering right now is Minneriya; right now, I don't have Yala or the beach in the itinerary. But I'm still toying with it -- it's very much early in the planning stage.

Hi Progol, i think that your planning is doing pretty well, and with the time you've got I think that you are wise to avoid the long trek to Yala, which as you've read my TR you know I've got reservations about.

I would tend to agree with donnahelene about Kandy though if you are interested in temples I'm sure that the one there is a must. To me it was interesting, but no more than that. The gardens, OTOH were terrific and were well worth the trip to Kandy. Don't miss the orchid house near the entrance or the fruit bats hanging in the trees. We also liked having tea in the Queen's Hotel [might not be a bad place to stay if you are just there for one night; in any event don't miss the bar with its exhibition of photographs from the visit of the Prince of Wales in about 1900] and it's fun to wander around the nearby shops. We had 2 nights there so we stayed up at the Theva residence which we loved - very friendly people and some of the best food we'd ever tasted.

I would also add the gardens in NE to your list and the nearby cafe which was great and I'm glad to see that you're going to Galle - one of the nicest places I've ever stayed. There was just something about it that we both loved - it seemed to be a real place and the people there were so friendly.

On #2, that IS a very long drive.

We'd went from the train station in Nuwara Eliya, via Ella on our way to Tallala (east of Matara). We broke it up with a stay and morning safari at Udawalawe and just the two halves of the drive seemed long. Ella all the way to Galle I think would have been too much for us.

The Temple of the Tooth for us was quite memorable, however it was less for the temple than that there was a large pilgrimage going on. To pass through during such an event I think helped illuminate what the temple was really about.


Dambulla was our highlight from the Cultural triangle.

Many thanks for joining in, annhig and CounterClifton! I'm glad to hear from you both!

CC - I think I can squeeze another day into the trip and will add it after Ella; I like the idea of stopping in Udawalawe and perhaps doing a a morning safari there; that would give us a little more time for sightseeing in the cultural triangle, as we don't need to go on to 2 safaris. And it seems like the least busy of the main national parks.

In Kandy, I'm more interested in seeing the Temple of the Tooth for the experience of seeing so many worshippers and not so much for the actual temple; I could easily bypass it if it were simply an unpleasantly crowded site. But I will add the gardens to my list - sounds like a worthwhile stop. I like the suggestion of staying at the Queens Hotel, too - looks like it would be an interesting place to stay.

Yes, Dambulla is a must! It looks amazing. It intrigued me the first time I saw photos!

Has anyone visited the Mulgirigiala Raja Maha Vihara, another remarkable-looking temple in the countryside outside of Tangalle? I was thinking of a stay on the beach here for 1 night, although Udawalawe probably makes more sense. The temple looks fantastic, and somewhat off-the-beaten-path though it is also a steep walk up, and I was curious if anyone had been there.

Don't know if you have seen my TR, as it is from 2011.

Agree about the Botanical Gardens in Kandy. I also liked the Botanical Gardens at Nuwara Eliya. I stayed at NE rather than Ella so I could hike to World's End instead of Adam's Peak, but after driving through Ella on the way to the coast I think the scenery was better there. The drive from NE via Ella to Unawatuna near Galle was long, but doable. I was not overly impressed with Galle, which I visited from Unawatuna, but i wasn't overly impressed by the beach either. The renovated rooms in Galle Face are very nice.

Wouldn't it work better to fly into Mumbai and out of Chennai? Or put SL first?

Hi, thursdaysd,
thanks for your comments! Given our limited time, I don’t know that I’ll have the time for the gardens at NE, but will keep it in mind.

As far as the flights, assuming that they remain pretty much the same, the best pricing and scheduling works out to be into Chennai (only one stop) and out of Mumbai. If I fly into Colombo, the costs, even with the extra flights between the 2 countries, is significantly higher. The flights leaving Chennai or Cochin just aren’t anywhere near as convenient as those leaving Mumbai. I will probably purchase the tickets in the late spring or early summer, but I’m guessing the schedules will probably be pretty much same as they are now.

Well, yes, but there are round trip flights, Chennai-Colombo-Chennai, for under 200 USD in Jan 2019 on Sri Lanka Airlines. Depending on your arrival time I would spend the first night recovering in a hotel near the airport and fly to SL the next day.

Plus, on skyscanner, picking a couple of random dates in Jan 2019, I'm seeing very comparable prices for NYC - Colombo and Mumbai - NYC to NYC - Chennai and Mumbai - NYC.

Thanks for checking this out for me, thursdaysd. I don’t see any advantage to starting the 2 weeks in Sri Lanka if we are flying into Chennai, though. It’s easier to hit the ground running from Chennai, and start our 2 weeks in Tamil Nadu & Kerala. Kind of 6 of one or half a dozen of the other, I think, but I’ll play with this approach and see how it works.

Also, I’m planning on getting premium Economy which limits my flight options - it’s one of the concessions I’ve made for our flying to make our long distance trips tolerable, So looking on Google flights (and I’m using November and December 2018 as not all flights are available for Jan and Feb 2019), I find the best flight for price and schedule on BA.

Even in Premium Economy I would not expect to hit the ground running after that flight! But I need lie flat seats (i.e. biz class) to sleep on a plane. (That's why I have an AA affinity credit card so I can do long distance on FF miles.)

You might find this interesting: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/n...lass-compared/

Thanks for the link, thursdaysd. I wish we had the miles for biz, but not happening anytime soon.

Touring will be gentle upon arrival! I was rather "tongue-in-cheek" earlier; hopefully we will have had some sleep with the not-quite-flat seats before we land!

The renovated rooms in Galle Face are very nice.>>

mmm - we stayed at the Galle Face and as you may have seen from my TR we had a rather alarming experience when there was a fire in the old side of the Hotel and we were all evacuated from our rooms in the middle of the night. I have to say that their procedures left quite a lot to be desired.

It does have the most wonderful position though, and being able to swim and sit in the garden is lovely.

I haven't been in the Galle Face (or any hotel other than the small hostel we did stay at) but it would hard to pass on a swim after a few hours of Galle's heat and humidity!

progol,

You dont skip Kandy as it is a 'cultural hub', why because you mentioned that you want to visit cultural and traditional places. Ella mainly consists of beautiful landscapes. so my suggestion is don't skip visiting

Thanks, everyone! I'll definitely keep Galle Face on the options for Colombo. And tralamo, Kandy remains firmly on the itinerary. I've got a good handle on the overall plan - things will get more firmed up when I buy tickets, most likely in the late spring.

Any other suggestions most welcome!

I haven't been in the Galle Face (or any hotel other than the small hostel we did stay at) but it would hard to pass on a swim after a few hours of Galle's heat and humidity!>>

CC - just for clarification, the Galle Face is in Colombo.

Thanks ann. I didn't catch that at first. I thought it was curious that I didn't remember it on the list of places we looked at.

I've been wondering about Galle - some of you have loved your visit there, some of you found it overly touristy or not that interesting. I'm definitely stopping there but is one night enough? Perhaps put the other night toward a 2-night stay at the beach. We love cities/architecture and Galle has an interesting history with its colonial past. I'm not keen on luxe shopping, and it looks like the city has become a mecca for the high end: Free travel guide to Galle, Sri_Lanka | CN Traveller

I'm also beginning to notice in some of the photos just what annhig was distressed by in her experience of a safari -- this is from a photo on TripAdvisor at Udawalawe National Park:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...7&ff=300361560

I've also seen others similar to this in which there are many jeeps. This is definitely not something I want to do.

So again, lots of room for thinking about it; one other option would be to go to the beach (Tangalle) after Ella for 2 nights; then go to Galle Fort for a night, ending in Colombo for a night. I know that I've said I want to minimize 1-night stays, but perhaps that might make more sense.

Hi Progol. I didn't find Galle very touristy and think it is worth a one night stay. We enjoyed walking around the fort and popping into some of the churches and various other buildings. The Dutch architecture isn't the most exciting, but I am glad we spent a day there. As far as shopping, I definitely would not consider it high end - there are some cute boutiques with a range of prices and interesting items that we didn't see elsewhere in Sri Lanka. As a matter of fact, it is the only place where we popped into some stores. Of course you mention Colombo and since I wasn't there I can't compare any shopping experience. I love the idea of 2 nights on the beach.

Hi progol.

We spent a month in SL partly on a tour and partly independently. It was in 2011 I think so I am not sure how relevant my comments may be as things appear to be changing fast in SL.

The drive from Ella to Galle would be a very long one and I think it would be good to break it up with at least a night by the beach. we had planned to stay at Tangalle but didn’t like it much so changed plans and moved on to nearby Goyambokka and really liked the beach there (as long as you don’t mind sharing with a few cows wandering around!). Another place we like with a very pretty beach was Mirrisa. Weligama also had nice beach but the town sewer emptied directly on to it. we skipped the beach but there were some great places to eat in the town and some interesting walks & temples in the area as I recall.

We enjoyed our time in Galle. some terrific restaurants and really nice Boutique type hotels. We lucked out as our place had over booked and they moved us to a fantastic villa. but the hotel we were due to stay at was very nice. A pleasant place to hang out for a day or two.

Colombo was ok but I can’t say we enjoyed it that much. Galle Face Green and the eponymous hotel were very pleasant in the evening for a sundowner. However, even though I am an avid proponent of street food, even I balked at eating at the many stalls there. teh hygiene standards were appalling! If you do go there then a visit to The Pettah, the huge and manic market is a must (if you like markets that is).

Whatever you do, incorporate a train ride into your itinerary.

Thanks, donnahelene and crellston! I'm still playing with the itinerary (and definitely have plenty of planning time) but I do like the idea of the beach as well. Thanks, crellston, on your impressions of the different beaches; I know people have said that Mirissa is a lovely beach, so that will be on the list! I do want to include some time on the beach - I think it will be a nice way of winding down.

As the trip gets closer, I'll refine the allocation of days, but from what you've said, Galle Fort would be fine for one night, especially since we'd probably be coming from the beach, which would be a relatively easy trip.

I don't feel compelled to visit Colombo (though the Pettah sounds great), but don't know how I feel about a longer drive the day that we fly out of SL.

Well, planning a trip is fun! And the closer I get to this, the closer my retirement comes! ;)

progol - I'm glad that you read my comments about the "safaris" that we went on; the chasing of animals was the very opposite of what we wanted to do and you too I'm sure. After our experience I think that if you want to see wildlife in Sri Lanka it's better to go with a specialised group that can hire the right guides to take them to places where the animals are not going to disturbed.

the way we dealt with the beach was to stay in Galle [so we could wander around in the evening and enjoy the atmosphere, see the shops, etc] and get a tuk tuk to our hotel's sister hotel which was on the beach. That worked very well for us. My recollection is that we only had 2 nights there but we packed a lot in - walking round the Fort, the Naval museum, seeing the town, taking a tuk tuk to the beach and back, shopping - Bill even went swimming with the locals by the fort wall; not sure how we found the time to do all that in little more than a day. So I would definitely want 2 nights there - which really only gives you 1 whole day, even if it means a long drive from Ella. For me, a long drive followed by 2 nights in one place is more restful than short drives and moving on every day, but of course everyone is different.

I would definitely want to be in Colombo the night before my departure and the Galle Face would be great for one night.

I didn't find Galle all that touristy. There's a good portion of the town that's outside the walls as well as away from the beach, but it's pretty modern and I suspect not a place many visitors spend time in. We did, but only because there was a holiday and the streets were packed and it seemed like something worth wading into. The fort is where most people hang out and it IS composed of quite a few hotels and shops and restaurants, but IMO it's not overbearing about the tourism aspect. I think one could walk around and see it all in a day, but I don't tend to linger in shops or anything. Walking the walls in the evening is nice, when people are out getting up a game of soccer or walking and getting the breeze as well.

Personally, (and I'll admit I'm not a "beach person" anyway), but the views of the beaches between Matara and Galle didn't wow me. Not your big, wide tropical beach or cozy little hidden cove beaches as you drive along. But I'm sure there must be a few. We stayed in a little place called Talalla that was nice. Bit hidden out on a point, where the highway cut away from the ocean for a bit. Just one (very funky) hotel and some small private villas with a path going down the half-circle beach and a bunch of small fishing boats there. Odd hotel, room exterior walls just sort of folding louvered panels and the showers were outside, but hidden by walls. Had a nice pool though and a pavilion serving food.

Our safari at Udewalawe was the three of us in a largish jeep with a driver and a english speaking guide in front, arranged by the Udewalawe Lodge we stayed at. We did see some animals - not a lot, but some - but never chased them. They stayed to the designated roads and if something was visible, they'd stop. Mostly elephants, buffalo and some bird life.

Holy cow. That IS a lot of jeeps. When we were there, which was only in 2014, we were the only jeep we saw in the park.

<<Personally, (and I'll admit I'm not a "beach person" anyway), but the views of the beaches between Matara and Galle didn't wow me. Not your big, wide tropical beach or cozy little hidden cove beaches as you drive along. But I'm sure there must be a few. We stayed in a little place called Talalla that was nice.>>

CC - I'm not sure but that may have been part of the area affected by the Tsunami which as well as killing about 30,000 people washed away a lot of the beaches in the affected areas. Your safari at Udewalawe was much much better than our first experience which involved every jeep in the area chasing whatever the guides thought might be interesting. At one point we got between an elephant herd and the water they wanted to get to which seemed to me to be positively dangerous. When we got to Yala we specifically asked that they didn't do that so we were able to enjoy the wildlife hopefully without causing too much disturbance but of course all the other jeeps were chasing round madly every time something moved.

Hi, CC and annhig,
I’m enjoying your discussion and finding it helpful. I’m not really a beach person, either, although appreciate having a relaxing place to spend part of a day. Still playing this out. As I’m planning this as part of a trip with S. India, I’m trying to be mindful of managing our stops so we’re not on the go constantly. While both these places lend themselves to the “road trip” style of traveling, I also am trying to linger where we can.

This discussion is really helping me to decide my priorities and to figure out the questions when I begin to contact some of the travel agents.

i don't want to upset bhushpatel but we had a wonderful time without staying at Bentota which I understand is mainly a beach resort.

As for Kandy we stayed in a hotel up on one of the hills that surround it; if you didn't have a driver it might be a bit of a pain being up there but your diriver will be on hand to help out with the transport.

We didn't stay in NE itself but in an old colonial lodge in a tea plantation. Though lovely it was a little remote and staying in or nearer the town might have been better.

Hi, annhig,
Thanks for commenting - I am staying in Kandy, and taking a page from your suggestions, I've now increased it to 2 days. I'm not planning on going to Bentota , either, and though not staying in NE, we will be passing through. We'll be going on to Ella after Kandy, so am very happy with the plan so far!

Hi progol,

glad that some of my suggestions are being helpful! [oh the responsibility!].

looking forward to reading your TR in due course.

in India there is a lot of beautiful places you ca visit, but choose destination according to the season, most of the area is hot .

Thanks wiki, for your advice. Yes, we know it will be hot. We are going to S. India in January so hope we'll have it not AS hot as it might be otherwise. But we want to visit S. India this trip!!

November through February are the peak travel seasons for South India. When does "wikirouts" advise that you go...when it is even more hot and humid, or during Monsoon??

Too funny, CaliNurse! Good point! I'm wondering what Wiki was thinking!