I'd be grateful for recommendations of good guides/ drivers for a tour of Sri Lanka. I prefer to deal with an individual not a company and want someone who speaks good English, is knowledgeable about the history and sites,a safe driver and also has a very flexible patient attitude.

We used Terry at Jeero guest house in Negombo [email protected]. We were there for one week in February and spent 5 days in Annaradhapura, Sigiriya, Kandy, and Adam's Peak. We spent the last 2 days at Jeero Guest House on the beach in Negombo. The prices were reasonable and they were very responsive to our needs. At one place we were given a better room after we told our driver our first room was less than we expected. I think you would find Terry to be the type of tour organiser you are seeking. We actually had one of his drivers, Sheehan, who did a remarkable job. Terry can be a little hard to get a hold of as he often out with customers, but he was good about responding to our inquiries.

I highly recommend that you book through an agency. That gives you back-up if the car has probelms (they will replace the car) or of the particular driver doesn't work for you. If you hire an individual driver you have no recourse if there are mechanical problems with the car or the driver drives like a maniac or isn't helpful or whatever.

We used Boutique Sri Lanka and had an excellent experience with them.

we've just booked a trip including driver with Boutique Sri Lanka too - so far so good. The booking process was very easy and efficient. they will probably book just a driver for you, if that's what you want.

I contacted Boutique Sri Lanka four days ago for a quote for a driver and have not heard back from them yet. Is this normal?

Last time I contacted them it took a few days (and its now the weekend, so expect a response next week). If you don't hear from them a week after you sent your initial email, send them another message.

i think that there were a few delays with my booking over the weekend, so don't panic.

you might also look at reddot, and other providers - try this forum [there are a few sri lanka threads so it shouldn't take too long] or our old friend google. or even the sri lanka tourist board.

Hi,

I'm doing the very same research at the moment, and based on trip reports and some very helpful people in this forum, I have contacted Boutique Sri Lanka as well as Red Dot for quotes. There is another independent car hire place that I am also considering. Refer to http://www.malkey.lk/ as well.

I would be hesitant to hire anyone without support of a fleet behind them in case of breakdowns etc.

i got an e-mail from our actual driver company today - it is www.tropicaltravelsrilanka.com.

the e-mail address is [email protected]

they are charging us about U$850 for 15 days car and driver, with a 10% deposit on booking and the rest payable when we arrive.

i can't tell you how good they are when you're there, but so far so good.

So far, Red Dot has not responded to my enquiries or reminders! Poor start.

Albert - Click on my screen name for my experiences with Reddot