thursdaysd

I still haven't sorted my photos from the 2010-2011 trip.... But if you go here: http://kwilhelm.smugmug.com/Travel/R...11/hillcountry and use password "hill" you'll get my totally unedited photos of the drive from Kandy to NE, NE, the hike to and from World's End, and the drive to the coast via Ella. The hike is covered by photos 88 to 132.

indiancouple

Thanks for sharing the photographs. The hike looks very enticing.

Kathie

I'm glad the photos were helpful. Let us know what you decide to do.

annhig

indiancouple - I have to take responsibility if what i said made you too optimistic about driving times - apologies. I specifically checked some of the driving times given on google in relation to another thread and i can only second/third what is said above about them.

definitely at least 3 and closer to 4 hours to get from the airport to Dambulla, but I understand that may well not worry you like it would/did us to be driving in the dark. i suspect that you can easily see Sigiriya and the Dambulla caves in one day, but if not, you could do the caves in the morning you leave for Kandy. so 2 nights would do, unless you wanted to do Polunawara as well.

if you miss the stop at the spice garden [of little interest to you I suspect] you should be in Kandy in early afternoon, and a 1/2 day and night there should be long enough.

the next morning the drive to NE will be at least 3 hours, but again, the stop at the tea plantation may not interest you like it did us tea-drinking brits! What your group might like is the place we stayed at just outside NE as you could probably take it over - here's the link:

http://www.jetwinghotels.com/jetwingwarwickgardens/

though we didn't go [we preferred to take a walk from the hotel and got thoroughly lost!] a couple staying at the hotel at the same time as us did go to world's end and enjoyed it very much. [at least, HE did - she wasn't that keen!]

Craig

I agree with Kathie that you can drive directly to Dambulla when you arrive.

I also agree that one day in Kandy is plenty.

Spend the remainder of your time relaxing with your friends in NE.

RJames

I recommend driving to Dambulla on arrival (you mention Dambulla appeals more than Habarana). You only have six full days in the country, don't waste the morning of the second day travelling to Dambulla when you could be sightseeing.

What do you want to shop for in Colombo on day 8? If you're looking for something specific you may be able to purchase the item(s) elsewhere. NE is the best place for tea - buy directly from the plantations and the best selection of souvenirs were in Kandy.

indiancouple

Great suggestions from everyone above.

We have a total of 7 nights to be spent in Sri Lanka. The consensus above seems to be to drive straight to Dambulla on the arrival day. The "consensus" above seems to be : 2 nights in Dambulla, 1 night in Kandy, 2 nights in NE. We still have 2 more nights. Where should we add those ? Most posters above seem to reject Colombo and Bentota. Could someone suggest another destination where we could spend 2 nights ? We are perfectly ready to knock off both Bentota and Colombo. Suggestion of RJames to do shopping in Kandy and NE is sensible.

Or, should we not add any destinations, and just make it 2 nights in Kandy and 3 nights in NE ?

RJames

"Suggestion of RJames to do shopping in Kandy and NE is sensible."

Maybe not that sensible, many of the souvenirs I saw in Sri Lanka were similar to items available in India. I'm certain some items were imported from India and just being sold as local handicrafts. I wasn't sure what shopping you are interested in, but if tea and souvenirs are what you are after don't bother with a going out of your way to Colombo.

I would spend three nights in Dambulla, two in Kandy and two in NE. I certainly wouldn't add another destination to the trip as you'll be spending too long travelling from A to B. Also, I am not certain how New Years holidays will affect local business hours and if some sights/restaurants/stores will be closed - which could mean missing out on sights in one of the cities already on the itinerary. IMO, don't add an extra place, enjoy Dambulla, Kandy and NE.

I'd stayed in Habarana, not Dambulla. I don't know which is the better base geographically for the cultural triangle. I do recommend the hotel where I had stayed, Cinnamon Lodge Habarana. The lodge was a delight to stay at, wonderful colonial ambiance, excellent staff and exceptional food. While I understand Dambulla appeals more to the op, I just wanted to menion the Cinnamon Lodge as it's one of the more memorable hotels I've stayed at in my travels.

indiancouple

Thanks everyone for your patient inputs, which were invaluable in finalizing our itinerary. After taking all the above suggestions in account, coupled with our own research and the inputs from our travel group members, we have decided on the following :

Dambulla : 2 nights (driving straight upon arrival to Dambulla)
Kandy : 2 nights
Nuwara Eliya : 2 nights
Bentota : 1 night (drive straight from Bentota to our airport)

We have eliminated Colombo completely, based on suggestions above. Bentota is for some reason popular with Indian tourists going to Sri Lanka, and is a lot closer to Colombo airport to catch our flight on the last day, and hence was included.

Thanks everyone for your inputs. Now we have to book our hotels. We will come back for specific advice on activities later.

annhig

that looks like a good plan, indiancouple. I'm sure that you will love Sri Lanka.

indiancouple

Thanks annhig, you have always been of great help in planning many of my trips.

tansmets

Just an FYI...I would recommend booking ASAP. I'm also in the middle of booking our holiday trip to Sri Lanka, and many of the hotels I wanted were already booked up. We are not going to the Cultural Triangle (yes, some crazy people take a trip to Sri Lanka and skip it), but I imagine there it will be quite busy. The Tea Factory in Nuwara Eliya is already fully booked in late December. I reserved some cancellable rooms on Agoda and various sites where I could sense availability was tight early on because working with agents through an itinerary takes a bit more time in Sri Lanka then I'm used to.

indiancouple

Thanks tansmets. We have already booked for 3 out of 4 destinations. Agoda.com does give the best rates, but I believe they charge your credit card immediately for the entire booking. We are not comfortable with that, and used booking.com . Their rates are slightly higher in some cases, but your card is not debited now; we pay upon arrival at hotel.

thursdaysd

I found travelguru.com useful for Indian hotels. Don't know whether they also handle SL.

RJames

I use both Agoda and Booking.com, both websites are part of the same parent company.

Booking.com doesn't charge upfront unless you're booking a prepaid rate.

Agoda sometimes charges up front, but not always. Cancellation fees on Agoda often have a US$15 service charge, so not exactly a free cancellation. Agoda displays rates without taxes and service charges and that can add to the cost of the room and can give a false impression of a low rate. Agoda does have a rewards program that could be useful for frequent travellers.

Indiancouple, enjoy your visit to Sri Lanka.

annhig

Thanks annhig, you have always been of great help in planning many of my trips>>

likewise - we're going to be following more or less your route round NZ in 3 months' time.

you're right about Agoda taking the money up front - I got burnt by them once on what they called "free cancellation" terms and won't use them again. Booking.com OTOH do what they say on the tin, and I have found if there are any problems, they are very helpful on the phone. I now use them almost exclusively.

RJames - I didn't know that they were part of the same company - thanks for the info.

indiancouple

I have not seen travelguru listed as a booking agent for most Sri Lankan hotels. Doubt if they operate in that part of the world. Appears that agoda.com are the preferred booking agency for most Sri Lankan hotels, but they always seem to ask money upfront with Sri Lankan hotels. The next most ubiquitous agency is booking.com . I have used this agency dozens of time all over the world, and have never had a problem, and in most cases they do not charge upfront (none of the ones we booked in Sri Lanka).

RJames, we certainly will enjoy our Sri Lanka trip. Since it will be a reunion of a kind for 4 old friends, it will be even sweeter.

Annhig, do enjoy your NZ visit. One of the best travels we have ever had.

RJames

annhig, both the websites are part of Priceline - yes, the same company that has the bidding website for hotels. NZ, that should be a great trip. NZ remains one of my top destinations. Enjoy your holiday.

Indiancouple, check Sri Lankan tour operators for hotel prices too. I found local travel companies had better rates than Agoda/Booking.com. Most of my accommodation was booked on a half board basis, which cost less than the room only option of the online websites.

Are you going to write a trip report once back? "Herding cats in Sri Lanka", lol, just teasing you (and Craig!).

indiancouple

Yes, will surely post a trip report. You have just given me the right caption for the TR !

Cicerone

So far I agree with all the comments and input, I have some thoughts on the itin:

<b>Mini-bus</b>: I just did a Habitat trip to the Dambulla area and we were a group of 16. We had an extremely comfortable, new, 20-seater bus for the trip up and back from the airport. I would recommend this over a minivan if you can find it. We used 8-seater mini-vans for the local transport in Dambulla for 2 weeks, and it was fine for short hops, but we did not have any luggage. A larger bus may be more expensive, but in terms of fitting luggage and being comfortable for the long drives, I think it would be worth it. (I don’t really see how a mini-bus will hold 8 people and presumably 8 large suitcases.) I can see if the Habitat office in Colombo can provide reccos on the company they used to hire the bus. You could also look at 12 and 16 seater buses.

<b>Driving up to Dambulla</b>: The trip will take about 4-5 hours, but bear in mind that if you arrive into Colombo airport at 3:30 PM, <i>you will be hitting the roads on the outskirts of Colombo right at rush hour</i>. So it may take longer than that, it will all depend on luck. Sunset will be at 6 PM and you will have twilight until about 6:30 PM, so you probably have 2 hours for daylight driving. (Assuming you get out of the airport area about 4:30 PM after collecting bags, Immigration, etc) I live in Asia and have been to India more than 100 times and am very used to driving there, but even given that, I myself would not drive this very hilly route to Dambulla much after dark. There are too many people, motorbikes, trucks and occasional animals in the roads. You may want to reconsider this. You could stay the night someplace like the lovely Wallawwa hotel near the airport and start next morning going directly to Sigiryia.