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Exactly what it says on the tin – a really good insight into the variety Sri Lanka has to offer.
Seeing an elephant clan only a few yards away inspired us to look into further wildlife adventures
Excellent - very knowledgeable, helpful & really seemed to enjoy what he was doing.
Be aware there is quite a lot of traveling between locations - albeit worth it.
This trip – met the title – Discover Sri Lanka – it was an introduction to the country – discovering the country really well.
This was my first Exodus trip (or similar adventure travel trip) I have undertaken. It was excelled all expectations. The trip was very carefully thought through; a mix of cultural sites (not all there was to see in Sri Lanka and not over doing it), learning about the country, its people (illustrated by a bicycle ride through rural Sri Lanka; eating lunch at a village and another lunch provided by a family affected by the Tsunami), history, wildlife (3 half day trips into national parks and whale watching); relaxation – some fantastic holes; a very little bit of city; finally a bit of beach – all assisted by an excellent leader – Roshan.
We had a great group – 7 of us – and we gelled really well.
The accommodation was excellent. I have never stayed in such luxurious hotels before; for me they could have been more basic to reduce the price (if they would have a significant impact on the cost of the trip)
Learning about the country
The tour leader, Roshan was excellent. He clearly enjoyed his job; was highly informative, quietly assertive with the group when needed; personalised the tour (such as supporting Tsunami victims, having good contacts for Tuks tucks/ local drivers, using great local companies for elephant watching/ whale watching that he had built up a reputation with over the years) and enjoyed engaging with British/ westerners and clearly understood english humour! The whole tour ran to time; he clearly did background work in the evenings, arranging trips the following day. He told us he had undertaken the trip 234 times before over the last 15 years; yet one would not have known it; his delivery sounded very fresh as if we were his first trip. Roshan has been voted as on the best Exodus guides and rightly so; this should continue.The tour leader, Roshan was excellent. He clearly enjoyed his job; was highly informative, quietly assertive with the group when needed; personalised the tour (such as supporting Tsunami victims, having good contacts for Tuks tucks/ local drivers, using great local companies for elephant watching/ whale watching that he had built up a reputation with over the years) and enjoyed engaging with British/ westerners and clearly understood english humour! The whole tour ran to time; he clearly did background work in the evenings, arranging trips the following day. He told us he had undertaken the trip 234 times before over the last 15 years; yet one would not have known it; his delivery sounded very fresh as if we were his first trip. Roshan has been voted as on the best Exodus guides and rightly so; this should continue.
A fantastic trip to Sri Lanka. A busy 2 weeks, but we saw and learned so much about the culture, food, history, etc of this beautiful country. The people were so friendly and the food was amazing.
Reaching the summit of Adam's Peak in time for sunrise. It was a really tough climb. Seeing wild elephants in the game park.
Sujan was fantastic. We could not have had a better leader. He was knowledgeable, organised, honest and fun. He wanted us to love his country and went far beyond what was expected to guarantee we had a memorable trip.
It was very hot and humid in January, but can still rain. Take a light rain coat. Binoculars are useful on safari. Most hotels had pools. I wish I'd taken flip flops! There is time to shop in Kandy and in Galle, but not much more.
The holiday offers an opportunity to see a wide range of what Sri Lanka has to offer – including ancient sites (some 2,000+ years old), national parks, a wide range of wild animals and birds, temples, churches and other historic buildings, and magnificent trees and scenery.
(1) Seeing 40-50 elephants (out of an estimated 3,000 in Sri Lanka) and wild peacocks roaming free in their environment. (2) Kandy's lake and botanical gardens. (3) Seeing and climbing Lion's Rock. (4) Cycle ride through countryside near Giritale. (5) Visiting the Hilltop Club in Nuwara Eliya ('Little England').
Roshan was very good! He imparted information about, and history of, Sri Lanka in easy-to-assimilate chunks. He was very sociable and easy-going and easy to get on with. Gamini and Nisha (driver and helper) deserve mention too - they were excellent.
(1) Take some just-below-the-knee shorts to ensure access to temples will not be barred. (2) It's mostly hot! So drink plenty of (bottled) water, not tap water. (3) In Nuwara Eliya, being high in the mountains, a sweater is beneficial.
The holiday far exceeded my expectations in many ways. The hotels, the organisation, the variety of activities and the tour leader.
Walking Adam's Peak.
I thought our group leader was excellent. Very organised, kind and with a great sense of humour.
Try not to take too much luggage.
The best holiday we have ever experienced. Not only were all the activities wonderful, Sujan and his team made every effort to make it a trip of a lifetime.
Too many to describe. River rafting was the most fun, the elephant safari was magical, climbing the lion rock fortress was scary but worthwhile and the temples were really beautiful. The variety of birds was more than I anticipated and lots of great photography moments. Everyday brought something new and exciting but the ultimate was seeing twelve blue whales just six miles off Dondra Head. Local people were so friendly and the food and hotels were great.
Sujan was the best part of the trip. He was friendly but strict to keep us all on time. Susan, Gamini (driver) and Nishantha (the conductor) all worked as a trusted team making us feel safe and happy at all times. They even organised non-tour activities including bird watching opportunities. All three smiled from start to finish. A pleasure to be with.
Just go and enjoy the experience. The more you take part in the activities the more you will enjoy every day.
Wonderful trip – excellent coverage of the country with visits to heritage sites, national parks and discovery of local culture. Our trip leader, Roshan, was terrific – the trip was very well organized and thought through up to the little detail. Accommodations and transport did exceed my expectation – we stayed in very nice properties throughout the trip and the condition of the tour bus was great.
I really enjoyed Dambulla and Polonaruwa sites as well as National Parks with fantastic wild life.
Our trip leader was fantastic. He was professional, very organized and thought about every little detail throughout the trip. He was one of the best tour leaders I encountered throughout my travels.
Bring strong insect repellent.
A great combination of sightseeing, activites, eating and cultural insights.
The most enjoyable parts included river rafting, a train ride through tea country and meeting local people in the times when I broke off from the group.
Sujan Weerakoon is really excellent. Friendly, fun, highly knowledgeable, a great wheeler dealer and fixer to get things done, and strict enough to keep a group of 18 punctual and ship-shape!
Take modest t-shirts for the temples and for decorum in general. Break away from some group meals to eat in the streets - it's much cheaper and the food is well worth investigating. It's also fun, cheap and simple to jump on a public bus or a tuk-tuk alone to go exploring.
This was a very varied trip, with lots of travelling and lots of activities. We stayed in mainly good hotels and we had a good range of culture and nature, with a bit of beach and exercise thrown in. We cycled, walked, climbed to the top of huge rock palaces, marvelled at temples and ancient sites, white water rafted, went on safari, rode the local trains, visited a gem factory and a tea factory, walked round botanical gardens, braved the crazy traffic in tuk tuks, went whale watching and drank cocktails in old colonial hotels. It seemed the only thing not on the agenda was relaxing!
The two safaris, where we saw elephants but not leopards, but particularly the moment when a family of elephants complete with young babies, came right up to our open jeep, passing so close that we could have reached out and touched them. It's hard to say whether we or the elephants were more awed.
Our group leader, Sujan, was very good at organisation and logistics, clearly loved his country, and always did his best for us to get the most out of every day. Very precise on time management, he didn't appreciate people being late!
Always expect rain, even if it's warm! Don't expect your food to come quickly in restaurants, or even to arrive in the right order!
A truly memorable experience that we will treasure forever. Not only was our first Exodus trip, but our first group tour. We feel that Exodus really did an incredible job. We covered at lot of ground and managed to see so much of Sri Lanka. The days were jammed packed, but all the hotels we stayed at were very comfortable and had a pool or bar you could relax in at the end of your day.
I have so many favourites, but my best experiences were climbing Lion Rock, the optional elephant safari, optional grade 3 river rafting, the cycle ride, walking at Horton Plains and the optional lake boat ride at Koggala.
Definitely the cycling through villages and the walk in Horton Plaines National Park. The cycling allowed us to see a glimpse of real Sri Lanka. People were bathing and swimming in the canals, and everyone was so friendly. They all waved at us and said hello as we went past. We then stopped to have fresh coconut water and then rice & curry in a jungle restaurant. Be warned, make sure you take plenty of water and sunscreen or a hat. The sun was beating down and there were a few people who got burned. There was also an incident where someones pedal came off and another lady fell off her bike. In both instances the follow-up crew in the van did not have any tools or a first aid kit (I do not know if this is the norm, or there was a lapse), luckily someone in the group came prepared. The walk at Horton Plains was also amazing. Though there a lot of cloud cover, so no view, it was still very atmospheric and an invigorating walk. There are some steep, rocky climbs which gets your heart rate going, but nothing too strenuous. You do leave early from The Hill Club (5:30am) and the bus journey is quite bumpy, but they do this so that it's not too hot, and you hopefully get the best view. The journey in vans to the national park was a treat in itself. The scenery reminded us all of places in the UK. An honourable mention would be the boat trip on Koggala lake to the cinnamon island. Definitely worth the £10. It's a very tranquil catamaran-style boat and you get to see areas relatively untouched by tourists. Also, you witness the cinnamon farmers drying the cinnamon, and can purchase it much cheaper than in certain shops and the spice garden.
Roshan did a wonderful job. He was very informative, friendly and a good laugh. He gave us plenty of information about Sri Lanka, the culture, people, history and places we were visiting. You could always ask him questions and he also suggested a lot of stuff to do on our days off. We're both interested in art and asked if there were any galleries. He said modern art isn't really a big thing in Sri Lanka, but there was a hotel called Helga's Folly that we may like. The Victorian style house is owned by Madam Helga, who has decorated each room, hallway, passage and ceiling in the most eccentric art, photos and designs. Apparently the locals are scared to go there because they believe she is a witch in an old haunted house on the hill, but we went for dinner in the evening and truly loved the place. Very vibrant and such a great recommendation from Roshan.
- Take anti-histamines, LOTS of DEET, itch relief cream and plenty of sun lotion. Though we took some, we didn't pack enough. Also carry a small pack of tissues and hand gel as a lot of toilets did not have toilet paper. - You have 3 days in Kandy so you can wash some clothes on your first day, and can pick up any necessary items in the city. - The gem museums was the worst experience on the whole trip. Neither of us are interested in gems or jewellery and knew going in that we did not want to buy anything. The museum aspect was interesting and you got to see how they farm the minerals and see the men working on the jewels, however we were rushed through that part and were taken to the shop were the gentlemen all harassed us to buy something. Even when we said over and over that we did not want to buy they would say 'okay, only look' and as soon as you did they would whip out their calculators. If you know that you do not want to buy jewellery then I would skip this part entirely and get a tuk-tuk back to the hotel, or explore the city for an hour or so. - The kitty that we paid for at the start of the trip did not cover the guide, the driver plus the helper. We individually left tips but put them in a group envelope at the end. (We left 15000 rupees for the guide, driver and helper, though do not know what is the recommended amount as Exodus did not say in the trip notes). - If you do not like curry, or get a bit bored of it, all the hotels we stayed at offered alternatives, even the restaurants that we went to alone had a few options. The only times we did not have choice was when we visited the jungle restaurant during the cycle, and also at the Tsunami house. Though those were the best curries on the whole trip! (The food you have at the buffets was pretty much the same from hotel to hotel. If you order your food, be prepared for a long wait. If you only have 30minutes before you have to leave then you will not get your food in time.) The service in Sri Lanka is so friendly and polite, but the speed can be a bit slow at times...however this isn't a problem when you have great hotel to relax in with a cold beer.