Out of sheer interest, I'd like to know some experiences people have had in Sri Lanka too... we have just booked our honeymoon there, 14 nights in The Fortress near Galle.

As for trips, jay, I've done a lot of research as our first pick was the 7 day tour and 7 day stay with Thomson. We changed our minds on that due to the fact that it appears you can arrange a great many of the same visits and trips they do in that 7 day tour by simply finding a local guide. On Tripadvisor there appear to be a lot of named guides and drivers who are honest and good value. On average you'll save at least 50% of the tour or hotel agent's rates by organising direct with a driver/guide once you're there.

The choice of hotels was very limited with Thomson as well. We really wanted to stay in a top notch hotel as it is our honeymoon and The Fortress stood out as the one we wanted... but Thomson couldn't do it in conjunction with the tours etc. So we ended up going with Destinology to get the deal we wanted and we'll trust in the Tripadvisor info for our trips and excursions when we get there!

It's nearly 5 years since we went but some things won't have changed - you can see my review in the following topic:
http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=96856&hilit=sri+lanka&start=60

If you've got any other queries then let me know although my knowledge will be a bit out of date!

Hello,

We were wondering how safe Sri Lanka was for a holiday? We were looking at the Beruwela area. I've heard very mixed reports regarding safety and was just a little concerned.

However, it looks an amazing place!

Euan

A couple of friends of mine have been in the last couple of years and said it was no problem whatsoever.

I also go on the fact that there've been no stories involving western tourists who have been holidaying in Sri Lanka that I can remember. There is some instability in the country, but it is internal and it seems they leave foreigners out of it! Or I certainly hope so!

I've been looking at Sri Lanka for later on this year as well, maybe November when the diving season starts over there. I don't know why, something is drawing me to the place! It looks safe enough from what I've seen and prices are very reasonable (Mercury Direct have some good deals package deals), far cheaper than Caribbean alternatives.

Darren

It is an amazing place. People are so friendly and the place so relaxed. Excellent value. I last went December 2007 on a DIY trip to Colombo, Kandy, Hikkduwa and Negombo - booked flights and hotes via the internet and sorted travel over there. You won't have any trouble finding decent minibuses or taxis - everyone is either a taxi driver or is related to one.
As far as safety goes I too have never heard of any tourists being hurt in the 'troubles'. When I was last in Sri Lanka there wre quite a few security check point but a friend has recently returned and it sounds as though a lot of them are now gone. I certainly felt safe.
November is a good time to go as the sea should be calm.

I've been to Sri Lanka 4 times previously (2004,6,8,9) and I've never ever seen anything like any trouble anywhere. The people are wonderful - and since the war ended last year, they are happy to tell you they are all expecting to get rich "now the tourists will come".
There's lots to see - history, culture, wildlife all across the island.
Not sure how Darren will be set for diving though - every time I've been the sea has been pretty rough.
There are - right now - some really good deals to Sri Lanka using Emirates, via Mercury Direct. Unfortunately these are dependent upon Emirates special deals which end within a few days time.
I just booked to return yet again to a decent AI hotel this November - for less than it would have cost to go AI to Benidorm!
You do have to like spicy food to really appreciate the island, and you need to checkup when the monsoons happen, since you will see a little rain - but it's always warm rain! Prices generally are very low - with one special exception - wine drinkers beware -it's the only type of alcohol which is really expensive here. Beer and spirits are cheap.

I too am looking, although for a couple of years time for my 40th birthday. I am torn between Negombo or Bentota area and wonder if anyone could give me some pointers. I know it is personal choice but going that distance I would like to pick the right area.

From speaking to someone I know they said Negombo was better, with plenty of bars and restaurants, Bentota was a bit quiet and full of Germans. However that wouldn't bother me if it were full of Germans, I would just like to know there is a choice of bars and restaurants, as a change from the AI option.

Also looking at reports it appears the beach in Bentota is better, is that correct.

Any advice, tips, tricks, whatever information you can enpart would be appreciated.

Many thanks

Just thought I'd follow up my first post in this thread with the news that we did go to Sri Lanka and we did have an awesome time!

Regarding location, we stayed in Koggala, on the south coast about 20 minutes out of Galle. It was our honeymoon so we booked the best hotel we could find, in the shape of The Fortress. Expensive, but well worth it.

We ended up going bed and breakfast, to force ourselves to eat outside of the restaurant and it was a good job we did, the hotel was WAY expensive! Average cost of a meal in the evening (with drinks) was about £40! Average price outside the hotel in the various restaurants we tried was about a tenner... for two of us!

One thing about all the restaurants we tried... it's decent food, but don't expect Michelin star quality and standards. They're a humble and poor people and when you're going to local restaurants you are getting generous portions of relatively standard fare.

That said, what we had was always good and always cheap.

An example of beer prices - in the hotel I could buy a 325ml bottle of the local Lion lager for 400 rupees (about £2.40 or something like that). In the restaurants I was paying 200 rupees for the 650ml bottles!

Regarding trips... as I said in my first post, we didn't go with a tour option at the start and we're very glad about that. Not that it would have cost more or less, but the quality of the trips we went on was far higher as we had the whole place to ourselves most of the time. We went with one of the beach boys (Sunil, lovely guy) who spoke to us on the beach. One of the hotel porters said he was a real good guy and we could trust him, so that was that.

Our first trip was the local tour. We took in the tea plantation up the road, spice garden, turtle hatchery and a trip to Galle and the historic fort. It was just my wife and I, Sunil and the driver in a minibus (air conditioned and comfy) for the whole day... £10 each.

We were so happy about the trip that we immediately booked them up for a visit to Yala National Park, which was no problem. It cost us £70 each and we had a great day. Not only Yala, which was timed to be done in the afternoon for the best time to see leopards, but we also took in Sri Lanka's tallest buddha and its only underground temple and Sri Lanka's tallest lighthouse. It was just a nice couple of extras along the route.

The Yala tour itself was great, though we didn't get to see the leopard properly. Sunil made sure we had the best jeep, best driver and best spotter/guide he could get.

In comparison, the hotel trip would have cost £90 each, required a minimum of 4 people (which would have meant four people sharing a five seater vehicle for the whole day) and would only include the Yala trip. Sunil was much better value for money.

We also did a two day trip to Kandy and took in the Pinawela Elelphant Orphanage (not great), Kandy Botanical Gardens (lovely) and Temple Of The Tooth in Kandy itself (awesome). As it was an overnighter, Sunil sorted us out with a hotel in Kandy.. the most amazing location we have had on any holiday so far, it was right at the top of a mountain and had the most amazing view... (I would put a link to the image here, but I don't have enough posts) - but do a Flickr search for my username and Maha Valley....

As ever with Sunil he also sorted us out for the best guides. At the gardens we had the head botanist of the gardens showing us around... just my wife and I! He spoke great English and obviously knew everything about the place. It was great.

At the Temple we also had the best guide, a young chap who spoke perfect English. Despite the fact we were part of a larger group, Sunil had made sure he was predominantly dealing only with Megan and I... even when we got out of the temple and it was pouring with rain, it was Megan and I that got the umbrellas!
Overall, the most awesome holiday either of us have been on and I cannot recommend Sri Lanka enough. It's not a cheap place to go, but we did find you can operate to a reasonable budget once there.

We stayed at the Royal Palms Hotel in Kalutara in September 10 and booked with Mercury Direct. It was about £1050 each for 2 weeks all inclusive. Flights were with Sri Lankan Airlines (I don't recommend them), but others went with Emirates on the A380 and changed at Doha. It is a wonderful, warm and friendly country with amazing wildlife and scenery. We are definitely going again and would definitely go with Mercury Direct again. They were a lot cheaper than Thomson or Virgin Holidays for exactly the same holiday. Everything is very cheap once you leave the resorts, my wife had a huge lobster which would have cost over £100 here for less than £10. There is an awful lot of poverty, made worse since the tsunami, but definitely a country to go to before the holiday explosion that will happen there. Remember, Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt was great back in 2004/5, it is like hotel alley there now with millions of russians. Hardly any russians in Sri Lanka