Hello Linda.
We are used to going to goa,candolim,but thought it would be a bit of a change,although sri lanka is called india,s gem. I,m not so sure about the location now it sounds too quite for us,we,re not the lager lout,s or anything of that sort we like to visit a different resturant every night try a different bar,have you been to any other parts of sri lanka thats got a bit more to it life wise .

Hi Sleep

So you too are a fellow Goa Lover We usually stay in Calangute and I have already booked Xmas/New Year but back to the subject of Sri Lanka. I cannot comment on other parts but the Triton is very much in the middle of nowhere. Don't get me wrong it is on the beach in a very beautiful setting but the AI bar finishes at 12 and if like us you like to ramble on into the small hours (paying if applicable) then this hotel is not for you. The small village where the hotel is located has no bars and we found the local taxi drivers and beach sellers quite intimidating not like Goa where a polite no thank you or maybe tomorrow would suffice. I cannot comment on other parts of Sri Lanka because I haven't been but at the Triton you are more or less confined to what is on offer in the hotel as there is nothing outside and even the nightclub (when we were there) closed at 1am. We are giving Margarita a whirl in July so watch this space

Went to Beruwella, south west coast of Sri Lanka in July last year, we have a couple of showers but the lasted only 5 min. The only downside of going at that time of year was that the sea has strong under currents.

We had a great time doing all the usual trips Kandy, Elephant orphanage , Sgyria, also visited the Yala national park, which unfortunately is closed.

We were based in Beruwella but did an over night trip to Kandy and an over night trip to Yala. If doing this be prepared for long journeys!

We also saved a fortune by booking with a local guide apposed to the tour rep, also think we got a better service and got to visit some more areas of off the beaten track, due to guides local knowledge.

Me and my partner have been looking at brochures for Sri Lanka for our wedding in November early December. Any info about weddings there and the weather would be excellent.Thanks.

Lindy.

Hi Lindy

My son got married at the Triton Hotel (Sri Lanka) just over 2 years ago. It was absolutely fabulous and a beautiful setting for such an occasion. The weather in March was quite good but I am not sure about Nov/Dec but believe a lot of people go at this time of year. It cost them about £3K through Kuoni but that included scheduled flights with Emirates 15 days holiday and the best package on the wedding which includes dancers, musicians, (the elephant!!), wedding cake, video, photographs the list is endless. The only drawback with this hotel is that it is a long journey from the Airport 3 hours or more and there is nothing much in the vicinity of the hotel I don't think that bothered him much but was a bit of a let down for me and my husband who have been married for donkeys years However I am sure that there are other hotels in Sri Lanka nearer the airport where you can get married. I believe also that the Triton will not be open till October as it was one of the hotels that suffered in the terrible events over Xmas. and hope you find what you're looking for.

Hi,

I've noticed that the rainfall in Sri Lanka is very high in May, but I wondered if anyone can tell me if its a REALLY bad time to go, or if the rain isn't that bad?

Thanks

It depends where you are!

North/Central Sri Lanka in May is the "wet" season; south/southeast - where the beach resorts are is the "dry" season.

However in May last year when I was there, almost no rain in central Sri Lanka - huge thunderstorm first night (- after bedtime!) two large showers next day but we were undercover anyway, and no more rain in that region.

On the coast the next week, three showers - true tropical downpours. Once while in town, and we shopped till it stopped (!) second time at the hotel, lasted about an hour, third time again at the hotel, saw the rainclouds coming, but also saw the clear behind them, so just dived into the pool until it passed.

Thanks Linda

The wedding package we are looking at is the Serendib hotel 3 hours from the airport. Thanks for your post all information greatfully recieved.

Lindy

The dry season on the west coast runs from November to April. The weather should be really good.

Hello Linda.
Yes we love goa,we stay in candolim just off the beach road we are there in nov this year. We are supposed to be going to sri lanka in nov this year but since the disaster we are now changing our dates,probaly go in late march early april 06. I think that we will now be changing our hotel and go closer to colombo there seems more life there.The hotel looks really nice hope we can find one that measures up to the triton.

Can anyone advise me where,s the best place to stay, we like plenty of restaurants bar,s shacks, somewhere we don,t have to walk to far to get any where, nice beach,s 3 or 4 star hotel. hopefully going in april.

Has anyone just got back from sri lanka, could you please give me some new reports on the hotels as they are now I am trying to choose a hotel for possibly april/may 06 been to the travel agents and quiet honestly they are USELESS.
Need to know whats nice,clean,good value,pleasant surroundings,close to night life as such,not to rowdy.

AWAITING your reports. THANX.

Hi, I am going to Sri Lanka on 3rd June and am staying at The Blue Water SW cpast, will let you know what it's like when back!

Beth

We're going to be staying at the Blue Water at the end of June - if you get back before the 19th - could you let me know what it's like?

Thanks

Corinne

We are going to Sri Lanka for 2 weeks at the end of June for a tour & beach holiday. I've read both the Rough Guide and Lonely Planet but still have some questions. If anyone can help me with any of the following questions then I would be really grateful!

1) Will we need adapter plugs or do they use the same type of plug sockets as we do?

2) How much money do you think we'll need for a two week stay, given that we'll be on half board for half of the time we're there and full board for the rest?

3) Should we take cash or travellers cheques (ie is it as easy to change TCs as it is to change cash in hotels as we won't really be able to go to banks)? Is it better to take sterling or dollars?

4) How easy is it to get bottled water and how much does it cost?

5) We are having a private car for our 6 day tour - can anyone give an idea of how much a reasonable tip for driver/guide would be?

6) Has anyone stayed at any of the following hotels? All views welcome!

Mount Lavinia
Tea Factory
Earl's Regency
Habarana Lodge
Blue Water

7) Any other useful tips?

Thanks in advance!

Of course am back on 13th, did you get the deal through The Times? I'm slightly worried about what the weather will be like, have you been before?

No, we booked our holiday through Kuoni - we've got 2 nights at Mount Lavinia, a 6 day car tour of the hill country and then 4 nights at Blue Water. I've looked at the Times offer on the web though and it looks really good. We actually ended up paying the same price as we would have done if we had booked before the tsunami, but don't mind as we still think we're getting good value for money.

We haven't been before but from reading posts by other members, I am expecting the rain to come in occasional heavy downpours rather than constantly as it does when it rains over here. As we'll be touring for most of the time I'm not really bothered about the weather though as we will be taking waterproof jackets etc as it's cooler in the hill country. We'll be going away again in Sept so I can always wait until then for my next sunbathing fix.

Hope the weather is good for you though - speak to you when you get back!

Has anyone recently got back from South West Sri Lanka and can tell me what the weather is like. We are going about 40kms south of Colombo on 3rd June and every website I check to try and get an idea of what the weather is like at the moment tells me a different story.
I am expecting some big downpoors daily but am really hoping for sun too.

Can anyone help??!!

We were there late May last year; one or two tropical downpours. One was about an hour and we had to come indoors from the pool; one was while we were shopping in Beruwela, so we hung about in the shop and by the time we emerged it had passed; and one so brief we covered up things like books and so on and jumped in the pool - it lasted maybe 20 minutes.

HTH