General: Sri Lanka

Advantages: A little bit beautiful, interesting and friendly
Disadvantages: A little bit unchallenging

“I can see we’ve come at the right time of year,” my wife said, for once letting her enthusiasm run ahead of her horticultural expertise. She was gazing out at the flame-trees and bougainvillea as we were driven away from Colombo Airport. Having left a bare-branched February behind in England, perhaps she could be forgiven for being momentarily dazzled by the tropical luxuriance. “April is a little bit more the right time for blossom,” our driver ...
...on the left, like we do,” I observed, changing the subject. “Yes, but here it is a little bit more optional.” Within the first few minutes, four recurrent themes of our visit were thus already established: the beauty of Sri Lanka’s flora and fauna; the easy-going amiability of its people; the hair-raising character of travelling by road around the island; and the delightfully Sri Lankan concept of “a little bit.” ****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ... Read review

Advantages: Sensory overload of light and heat, colours and smells and myriad other things
Disadvantages: High probability of getting wiped out in a car crash, war in the north and east

Like a teardrop falling from the Indian subcontinent, the island of Sri Lanka is, despite its history of internal conflict, as vibrant and as diverse a slice of paradise as you're likely to find in the sparkling Indian Ocean. When Rufus, our driver for the day, overtook a car, which was overtaking a bus, which was overtaking an elephant, I caught sight of an approaching truck, swiftly closed my eyes and told myself that this was all part of the rich ...
...eyes open to see Rufus grinning at me in the rear-view mirror, I managed to return a rather forced and sickly smile and decided not to ask about driving test requirements on the island. We were heading south from our base in the beach resort of Kalutara (on the west coast) to our first stop, a turtle sanctuary and rescue centre. They protect the many hundreds of eggs laid at one time on the beach and buried in the sand by Ma turtle. The eggs are ... Read review

Advantages: Cheap, friendly, unspoilt
Disadvantages: Poor roads

"Sri Lanka, A land like no other" is the slogan of the Sri Lanka Tourist Board. I can't endorse or deny this, as I was only there for two weeks. But in those two weeks I discovered a beautiful country, met some friendly and helpful people, and came away with some great memories. You can see ads for packages to Sri Lanka in the weekend papers, and you can also pick from a choice of oversized featureless resorts from the glossy brochures. Before you ...
...about my experience of the Island, and in particular; Unawatuna. Looking at the map, Sri Lanka looks similar in size to Wales. Don't fall into the trap thinking that you can speed around the island in a couple of weeks, ticking off the cities and sights. Roads can be in bad condition, and traffic moves very slowly. I split my time between Unawatuna on the South coast and Kandy, an old colonial city in the highlands. At a push, you could include ... Read review

Advantages: Steeped in culture and history, Beautiful equatorial climate , Amazing sights sounds and experiences
Disadvantages: Heat can get oppressive, Water undrinkable - use bottled at all times. Terrorist incident at airport unfortunate, but likely to be a one off.

Sri Lanka, land of Serendipity, Ceylon. I have always wanted to go to Sri Lanka since seeing Duran Duran on top of Sigirya rock in Save a Prayer. In September 2000 I got my chance. And it was, quite simply, the best holiday I have ever had. No contest. Me and my partner travelled to Sri Lanka for two weeks, with Kuoni, on the “Sri Lankan highlights tour” – One week travelling round and sightseeing, and one week on the beach. Before you go it is necessary ...
...You also need to take malaria tablets, one week before you go and then for another 4 weeks after you get back. (Warning, you get malaria tablets that you must take once per week, and daily tablets for the rest of the time. The weekly tablets are THE most foul things I have ever tasted, so get your water ready and swallow VERY quickly, or you'll regret it for hours!) We flew with Sri Lankan airlines, and the holiday really starts before you get there! ... Read review

Advantages: Beautiful country, full of history
Disadvantages: High security presence

In January we visited Sri Lanka, on a package tour from the Tradewinds brochure. We didn’t really know what to expect, but we found a country full of culture and history. This is our experience... Day 1 – travelling. An early morning (direct) flight from Heathrow took us to Columbo. We arrived early in the morning (03.30) and the heat and humidity hit us as soon as the aircraft doors opened. Immigration and Customs clearance were quick ...
...security cordon. Lots of soldiers and military hardware were in evidence throughout the 15 minutes drive to our hotel, the Tamarind Tree. A room was waiting for us and we crashed out until 11.00. Day 2. When we awoke it was time for some further rest, under a clear blue sky, by the swimming pool – bliss! Day 3. An early start as our driver collected us at 07.00 to start our tour. He gave us some facts and figures about Sri Lanka including ... Read review