Sri Lanka: Full-time Driver or Trains/Drivers Point-to-Point?
 

Hi,
Off to Sri Lanka in a few weeks mid-December. Doing a loop from Colombo -->Galle-->Tangalle-->Yala-->Nuwara Eliya-->Colombo (and a few other points in between). Moving every two days, with three days in Eliya.

Question: I could hire a driver and guide the entire trip but I don't know that I want someone in my business, so to speak, the entire 17 days. If you don't like the person, you're stuck with them for a long period of time. Not that I anticipate that being a problem, but it's a possibility.

I am a writer for Forbes, USA Today, etc. and will be using material from this holiday for articles, so on one hand, a driver/guide to point things out along the way is valuable, but I also want it to feel like a holiday and not a grand tour. I don't want to stop at their friends' businesses, etc. I want to get from point a to b and then get on the beach.

So, an alternative is to take a few trains (Colombo-Galle; Eliya-Colombo) and hire different drivers from point to point. But I keep getting told by Sri Lankans, like the Tourism Board that doing that "doesn't ensure the same quality and class of service" I might want/expect. Also, it might be a hassle having to organize a new driver every two days, but I could probably manage that through the hotels.

Any insights from folks who have done this and debated the same issue? Thanks!
Lauren

We used a driver for our whole trip. I understand your concern about getting a driver who isn't a good match for you. But I'd recommend hiring a driver through an agency - if something doesn't work out (either the driver or the car) the agency will trade it out for you. If you hire an independent driver, then you may well have the problems you dread. Our driver never took us to a friend's business. He asked about shopping (we generally said no), and he helped us get the best guides at the historic sites. Note that a driver is not a guide.

You are going to entirely different places than we did. Our trip was a while ago, but you might find our experiences helpful in making your plans: http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...-sri-lanka.cfm
photos are at www.marlandc.com/Sri-lanka-2007

Like Kathie I too used a single car and driver from a travel agency, Boutique Sri Lanka. I do understand your concern that you do not want to get stuck with someone you may not like, although whichever agency you use should be able to switch drivers for you.

And now for the unsolicited part of my response...Your itinerary does not include the Cultural Triangle, which is IMO the most significant part of the country - for its culture and its archaeological wonders. If you can do it, I would highly recommend a few days up there. Your readers will thank you for it.

I agree with you, laurenanne. I just got my plane ticket for Sri Lanka for September 2017, and I plan to use a driver about half the time. There is a frequent poster here who uses the screen name crellston, and he also has a website, "Accidental Nomads." He and his wife used a driver about half the time, and took trains the other half. Our family has a dear friend who lives in Kuala Lumpar, and he spent two weeks recently in Sri Lanka, and traveled strictly by train.

I just returned from Romania, and although I had a fabulous driver there for a few days, he wanted me to sit in the front with him and discuss American politics. I gave him a primer on the elections, and I explained to him the difference between legal and illegal immigration. He, in turn, explained how life was better in some ways under communism. It was all interesting, but it was exhausting in some ways. I also get embarrassed when I have to ask for frequent restroom stops.

I suggest seeing if you can mix trains, and car and driver. It may work out quite well for you.

As CaliforniaLady says, my wife and I used a driver for around half of the month we spent in Sri Lanka. The rest of the time, mostly along the south coast, we just hired taxis or tuk tuks as and when needed. I would say that a driver is preferable

The agency we used was Reddot, but quite frankly, I would not recommend them as we had more than a few problems. The first driver/guide we had was hopeless and when the car broke down, we used that opportunity to switch the driver as well. The second driver was excellent. That said, we did meet another couple who used reddot and were very pleased. They said they had "interviewed" their driver online beforehand before choosing him.

The driver can be used as little, or as much as you decide. They have their own separate accommodation at each location and once we arrived anywhere we didn't see ours until the next day. I understand you concerns about being cooped up in a car with a stranger for what are, necessarily, lengthy periods in a car - I just tended to "zone out" leaving my wife to chat with ours! One of ours took us to his home to meet his family, probably more for his benefit rather than ours, but it did make a very interesting diversion into Sri Lankan life.

My wife and I travel more or less continually and rarely use tours or guides, but in Sri Lanka it was undoubtedly easier and, arguably, cheaper to hire a guide/ driver. I would however ensure you schedule in a couple of train rides as they are an experience worth writing about! Don't bother with first class, go second or third and get your driver to drop you off at the station and pick you up at the other end.

We did the same as several others here and used a driver we booked through Boutique Sri Lanka.

He was a very good driver and very reliable; if I had a criticism he tended to stick to the activities that were on our itinerary [decided before we got to Sri Lanka when we realised that we wanted to change it somewhat] but he had got the idea by the end of the trip. He certainly wasn't over-friendly; if anything we'd have liked to learn more about his family and life, but that of course was a matter for him to decide.

I think that the message is that drivers are very variable but a good one is worth his weight in Sri Lankan sapphires [BTW it will definitely be a he - we barely saw one woman driver in our 2 week stay].